The IU 2023 Latino Faculty and Staff Council awarded the Diálogos XX conference for best Group/Event of the year. GSAC worked for a full year to raise funds, invite three keynote speakers, organize an alumni panel, and host researchers from IU as well as twenty-one universities across the USA, in addition to São Paulo University, Brazil, University of Alberta, Canada, the Universidad Veracruzana, and the Universidad Autónoma de México, Mexico.

The keynote speakers held talks and workshops for Hispanic Linguistics, Hispanic Literatures, and Portuguese Literatures. Professor Melisa B Baralt (Florida International University) delivered the lecture “Investigating the Role of Bilingualism on Preterm-born Children’s Executive Function.” Professor Daniel da Silva (Rutgers University) presented “Resonant Tracks: Queer, Black, and Diasporic Formations of Luso-Afro-Brazilian Popular Music.” Professor Henry Berlin (University at Buffalo, SUNY) gave the lecture titled “Philosophical Poetry and the Problem of Experience: Ausiàs March and Beyond.”

During February 24-25, in a hybrid format, the conference offered several opportunities for graduate students to network during social gatherings. The Portuguese/Hispanic Literatures alumni panel included Zak Montgomery (Wartburg College), Amina Shabani (Princeton University), and Nora Lynn Gardner (Lincoln University). The Hispanic Linguistics alumni panel counted with the presence of Aarnes Gudmestad (Virginia Tec), Lauren Schmidt (San Diego University), Tayna Flores (University of Utah), Bret Linford (Grand Valley State University), and Nofiya Denbaum (Minnesota State University). The conference was dedicated to the memory of the beloved professor Kimberly Geeslin, whose mentorship and research left a permanent mark among the people of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.