In its fourth round of Gastrodiplomacy events, Young Professionals of the Americas (YPA) spent the evening cooking with Argentine chefs Martín Auzmendi and Martín Molteni, who created a traditional meal and spoke about what food means to Argentines. Auzmendi, who is the co-creator of La Fuerza, a vermouth winery sourced at the foot of the Andes, also taught us to make a classic vermouth (75 percent wine, and the other 25 is alcohol and herbs), and soda drink, perfect for pairing with meat at a traditional Argentine asado. "The vermouth has to be an expression of a place," said Auzmendi.

The food and wine experts started off the cooking class by talking about how versatile Argentina is in its territory, which translates into many climates and possibilities for food, but an authentic porteño experience means food, ambience, and hospitality. They started cooking with the minuta meal, meaning made in minutes, which was the scrambled gramajo (a mix of eggs, a potato, peas, and butter). Next, they showed how to make a chimichurri sauce for the steak, and on the side, roasted butternut squash with salted butter. As they cooked, the experts dove into the history of their ingredients, including the vermouth, wine, and steak. After all, hospitality is synonymous to diplomacy, said Molteni.

Learn more about Young Professionals of the Americas.

In an AS/COA launch of Nicholas Griffin's new book, The Year of Dangerous Days: Riots, Refugees, and Cocaine in Miami 1980, the journalist shared his top findings in discussion with the Knight Foundation's Alberto Ibargüen. Griffin began by describing Miami as a city shaped primarily by its location, a crucial point to understanding the history and economic and social affairs of the South Floridian city. As former Mayor Maurice Ferré once said to him, "if you want to understand Miami, think of three things: geography, geography, and geography." From the Mariel boat lift and Cuban immigrant influx to the McDuffie 1980 riots to the exploding cocaine trade, the writer explores the key moments which took place in the "cauldron" city within six weeks of eachother in the year 1980, and how such turning points careened Miami into the 21st century and how it stands today as a "Latin American city" in the Unites States.

The writer spoke about the central figures highlighted in the book, such as former Miami Mayor Ferré, to marine Arthur McDuffie, whose murder by policy sparked a surge of violence and riots, and journalist Edna Buchanan, who covered crime and documented important events that election year. The author drew comparisons between movements that overcame the city in 1980 and the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020.

Speakers:

• Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic
• Andrés Gluski, Chairman, Americas Society/Council of the Americas; CEO, The AES Corporation (interviewer)
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas (welcome)

“One of the few good things of this pandemic, because of the virtual obligation that we have, is that what was going to take five years to do, now we’re doing in five months,” said Dominican President Luis Abinader in a keynote address as part of the 2020 Washington Conference on the Americas virtual series. As such, technology can help improve educational inclusion, he said. The president, who took office in August, talked with Andrés Gluski about his plans for energy reform and rebooting the Caribbean’s largest economy in the wake of the pandemic. Along with promoting Dominican exports and attracting more foreign direct investment, tourism will be a key driver of the recovery, said Abinader, who noted that at the moment, hotel reservations are at 50 percent of their levels at this point last year, which, all things considered, “is not bad.”

Speakers:

• Gabriel Pérez Barreiro, Curator of Feliciano Centurión: Abrigo
• Pablo León de la Barra, Curator at Large, Latin America, Guggenheim Museum
• Karen Marta, Co-editor, Feliciano Centurión
• Aimé Iglesias Lukin, Director and Chief Curator of Visual Arts at Americas Society

On September 30, 2020, Americas Society Visual Arts celebrated the virtual book launch of Feliciano Centurión, the first monograph ever published in any language on the life and work of Paraguayan artist Feliciano Centurión.

Gabriel Pérez Barreiro, curator of Feliciano Centurión: Abrigo—now currently on view again in New York City at Americas Society until November 20—presented the artist and explained his work showing three different phases of the artist's career in the exhibition. Karen Marta, co-editor of the monograph, discussed her editorial and design process for the book. Pablo León de la Barra joined the conversation, contextualizing the value of Centurión's practice among that of artists from Latin America and the United States. The conversation was moderated by Americas Society's Aimé Iglesias Lukin, and it was possible thanks to the support of the Institute For Studies on Latin American Art.

Speakers:

• Eduardo Engel, Professor, Universidad de Chile and Director, Espacio Público
• Viridiana Ríos, Political Analyst
• José Ugaz, Partner, Benites, Vargas & Ugaz Abogados
• Roberto Simon, Senior Director and Head of the Anti-Corruption Working Group, AS/COA (moderator)

AS/COA’s Anti-Corruption Working Group convened a panel of experts from around the region on September 30 to discuss whether the pandemic could put Latin America in a better position to pass anti-corruption reforms. José Ugaz, partner at Benites, Vargas & Ugaz Abogados, noted that the region has an opportunity to generate a new narrative around fighting corruption. “If we link the issue of poverty and inequality to corruption, we can open a new, unexplored path of tackling corruption with a human rights perspective," commented Ugaz. However, reforms will not be achieved easily because “anti-corruption policy has always been a political weapon in Latin America,” warned political analyst Viridiana Ríos. As professor at the Universidad de Chile and director of Espacio Público, Eduardo Engel observed, “Corruption is the manifestation of weak institutions.” 

• Learn more about the AS/COA Anti-Corruption Working Group.
• Access the 2020 Capacity to Combat Corruption Index.