Faculty Spotlight-Camila Torres-Castro

Camila Torres-Castro

Ann Plato Fellow
Hispanic Studies
Language and Culture Studies

I am the Ann Plato Postdoctoral Fellow in Language and Culture Studies for the 2022-2023 year. I come to Trinity College after graduating with my PhD in Spanish & Portuguese from The University of Texas at Austin, where I authored a dissertation on the affective politics of sound in contemporary Mexican cinema. I recently published a paper on the film Güeros (Alonso Ruizpalacios, 2014) in the Journal of Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture (UC press), which is a brief excerpt of my dissertation project.

During my time at Trinity, I’ve been able to expand my scholarship further into the realm of sound studies. I’m currently working on a couple papers that deal with the politics of listening in modern Mexico, at a time where a long overdue racial reckoning is happening. As a Mexican, the process of learning more about the country where I was born and raised has also brought a number of personal discoveries that I never thought academia would bring. It’s strange, but this reminds me why I decided to go down the path of research and teaching.

Aside from my academic work, I’m also a vinyl DJ and collector. Beyond the impact this has had on my research, building community through music has been a lifeline as I sail through the uncharted waters of a life abroad. The people that I’ve met through my artistic practice, the spaces that I’ve been able to access, and the ever-growing musical landscape that I’ve been able to catch a glimpse of remind me that there is a life out there! Music keeps me grounded and feeds my curiosity, a driving force behind every single one of my endeavors.