by Aidan Turowski
Daily Lobo
Enrique Lamadrid is a busy man.
When he's not teaching or helping students, he is planning his next class excursion to central Mexico or the Caribbean.
Known as "El Profe" by his students, Lamadrid was awarded the AmÇrico Parades Prize on Oct. 21 for his work in Chicano studies as a cultural activist and teacher.
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Lamadrid, director of University College Chicano Hispano Mexicano Studies, takes his students on field trips to other countries, which are part of his course curriculum aimed at exposing students to links between other countries and how they tie in with the cultural roots of New Mexico, Lamadrid said.
"I love to travel with students," he said. "I've traveled all over Latin America and Spain. It's really rubbed off from my undergraduate experience here at UNM."
Lamadrid won the AmÇrico Parades Prize from the American Folklore Society for his work engaging his students in cultural studies.
The prize is given annually to recognize those who show excellence in cultural studies.
Lamadrid said Paredes is his personal hero. Paredes was best known for speaking out against the mythology of the Texas Rangers. He argued the group was not a peace-keeping band of heroes, but rather a group of gun-slinging vigilantes who killed thousands of innocent Texans and Mexican-Americans.
UNM is in Lamadrid's blood. His father was a professor of linguistics at the University before him.
Lamadrid had several majors as an undergrad, he said, including English, Spanish, music and anthropology.
He said his best experience was being a part of the University Honors Program.
"If I had dropped out, I'd have been immediately drafted, so I like to say that the UNM honors saved my life in a way," he said.
After his time at UNM, Lamadrid went on to do his graduate studies at the University of Southern California.
His first job was at the University of Oregon teaching Chicano literature.
"It's tough to get back home in this profession," Lamadrid said. "The whole institution is set up to throw you out there into the world, and it's very tough to get back home. But New Mexico is a cultural homeland area, and there's lots of people out there who want to come home very badly, so I'm one of the fortunate."
Lamadrid said he still spends a lot of time working with the University Honors Program alongside his colleague, professor Michael Thomas.
Thomas said Lamadrid is energetic and consistently optimistic.
Thomas and Lamadrid co-founded the Conexiones program, an honors and Spanish department program. Thomas said the program stresses the importance Mexican culture and integrates it with the Spanish language.
"We both believe that you can't learn a language without being immersed in culture," Thomas said. "We worked together and came up with the Conexiones approach, and have had programs going since."
Julia Gilroy, a second-year graduate student, said Lamadrid is motivating.
"Dr. Lamadrid is, in a sense, a trailblazer for New Mexico cultural studies in that he inspires students to discover New Mexico heritage through travel experiences that explore New Mexico's history," Gilroy said.
Lamadrid said he has also won the Southwest Book Award on two occasions from the Border Librarians Association.
His next field trip is scheduled on Nov. 19 to El Camino Real, where he is also a guest curator, he said.
