Hannibal Latino 2021 -

Hannibal Barca

character through a Latin American lens, or an exploration of the historical Carthaginian general in relation to Latin (Roman) history.

Critique and Caution

Though not as ubiquitous as the Virgin of Guadalupe or Che Guevara, Hannibal appears in Latino literature and visual art as a touchstone. The Cuban poet José Lezama Lima invoked Hannibal in Paradiso as a figure of erotic and intellectual audacity. The Chicano muralist collective Los Tres Grandes (inspired by Rivera, Siqueiros, Orozco) placed Hannibal alongside Toussaint Louverture and Emiliano Zapata in a mural titled “Los Que No Se Rindieron” ( Those Who Did Not Surrender ). In contemporary Nuyorican spoken word, Hannibal gets mentioned as “the first Afro-Mediterranean to make Rome pee its toga.” hannibal latino

• Comparative textual analysis of primary political texts and literary works.
• Reception studies approach: tracking citations, metaphors, and visual motifs.
• Contextual historical analysis connecting uses of Hannibal to political moments.