Leonardo Santamaria Montero is a doctoral candidate in the history of art, archaeology, and visual studies from San José, Costa Rica. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Costa Rica and now studies visual and material culture of 19th-century Central America under the guidance of Ananda Cohen-Aponte at Cornell.
What is your area of research and why is it important?
I am specializing in Latin American art with a dissertation on visual and material culture of 19th-century Central America. I focus on the K’iche’ Communal Government of Totonicapán in the highlands of Guatemala, the Afro-Indigenous Mosquito Confederation on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, and the region of Talamanca ruled by the Bribri in southern Costa Rica as my primary case studies. My research challenges conventional interpretations by centering objects, traditions, and communities that have been historically marginalized. This approach offers a new perspective on Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous expressions of sovereignty and visual resistance during the 19th century.
What does it mean to you to have been selected for a Zhu Family Graduate Fellowship?
Being selected for the Zhu Family Graduate Fellowship is a privilege and a meaningful academic achievement. Receiving the fellowship is the result of years of hard work, and I feel proud. I am a first-generation student who was able to attend college thanks to my family’s support and scholarships from the University of Costa Rica. Receiving the Zhu Fellowship makes me especially thankful to all of them and to the Zhu Family. I understand the responsibility that comes with being a fellowship recipient, and that motivates me enormously to continue working on my dissertation and give my best.
Read the full story on the Cornell University Graduate School website.
