el CafeciTO

For our season final, Sarah sits down with José Galván and Wagner Carrera from the Apartamento Collective. The iconic duo tell us about their relationship to the city of Toronto as recent Latin American migrants and how their work in the audio-visual industry led to the development of El ApartamenTO. Galván and Wagner also share how events such as Street Cup fulfill the collective’s purpose of making community, sharing some interesting anecdotes of the planning processes behind these events. Lastly, the collective shares their future plans to continue Latin American place-making efforts here in Toronto. We hope you enjoy the episode!

It's back to school on El Cafecito! In this episode, Romario sits down with Samuel Suarez, OLAS's new Director of Academics, and Caleb Muther, a fourth-year Latin American Studies major and Student Ambassador. They speak about what they love about their programs, what it's like being a Latino student in STEM, and how organizations like OLAS can do more to bring STEM students into the fold. Lastly, Samuel and Caled also share what's on the horizon for the year ahead, sharing their perspectives as students in OLAS and Latin American Studies. We hope you enjoy the episode!

In this episode, Sarah sits down with Stefano Montjoy, the Peruvian Film Festival’s Production Coordinator. Stefano tells us about how the festival came to be, and what to expect from its second edition. The coordinator also shares his recommendations for this year’s edition and reflects about the importance of bringing Peruvian films to a Torontorian audience. Lastly, Stefano shares how el CafeciTO listeners can win tickets to watch any film at the festival. We hope you enjoy the episode!

This Episode has been recorded in Spanish

On today’s episode Romario sits down with local podcaster Andrés O’Brien Ramirez of Tres Venekos podcast to discuss their work in organizing Aid for Venezuela following the destructive earthquakes on June 24. The grassroots aid organization started by 3 Venekos started off locally and has quickly ballooned into a national effort amongst volunteers working tirelessly to get aid to the people most affected. Attached below are some links to help:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/united-for-venezuela-earthquake-relief-fund?attribution_id=sl:ae0e0c86-89a2-4682-bc7e-b433d88b39d9&lang=en_US&ts=1782494161&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp20_control&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

For Season 13’s premiere, Sarah has the pleasure to talk to Noelia Coñuenao, a Mapuche actress from present-day Chile. Noelia tells el CafeciTO about her professional trajectory and the importance of honouring her Indigeneity and femininity throughout her artistic work. The actress also shares the process behind her interpretation of Pancha Garcia in Prime Video’s House of Spirits (2026). Lastly, Noelia calls for future Latin American Studies graduates to embrace the arts as an alternative and more sensitive way to learn about the region. We hope you enjoy the episode!

This Episode has been recorded in Spanish.

For our season finale, Romario sits down with Ernesto Alencastre, the owner of Causa Culture in Kensington Market. They both talk about jewelry, time, the market and more. This episode takes us to a small shop in the market that's been around for 16 years, a personal favourite of our host and unpacks what it's like to run a shop in one of Toronto's most unique neighbourhoods. We hope you enjoy this episode!

Episode 5 is a special one: it’s the first in our podcast’s history to be entirely in Portuguese! In it, Luísa sits down with Raul Galvão, a graduating UofT student studying History, Portuguese, and Political Science. Our guest delved into what the Portuguese Program is really like, unpacked some common misconceptions about studying the Portuguese language, and highlighted what, in his experience, made it such a rewarding path of study. Raul and Luísa also chat about university life, building connections within the Brazilian community both on campus and beyond, and the experiences that shaped their time at UofT. We hope you enjoy this episode!

For Episode 4, El CafeciTO welcomes back Luísa Melchert as our second student collaborator. She has the pleasure of talking with Prof. Rocha Osornio, an Associate Professor of Spanish (Teaching Stream), in the Department of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies (ISPLAS). They chatted a bit about learning Spanish, the importance of learning a language outside of the classroom and some of the tips and tricks to expose yourself to the Spanish language. Our guest also talked to us about his research on Queer Representation in Mexican Literature spanning across the 20th century, as well as his very own podcast about Latinos in Canada. This episode is filled with interesting conversation - we sincerely hope you enjoy it!

For Episode 3, El CafeciTO welcomes one of our new student collaborators, Romario Sarmiento. He sits down with Samantha Beltran-Velasco, a representative from UofT’S OLAS (Organization of Latin American Students). Together, they discuss cultural connections, focussing on music and student events that keeps them grounded during school times. Lastly, Samantha talks about all things UofT and OLAS, including where to find community on campus and life as a diaspora kid. We hope you enjoy the episode!!

For this episode, Sarah talks to Roberto Cayuqueo, a Mapuche playwright and actor from Santiago Warria (City), Chile. Roberto tells el CafeciTO about his theater company, Collectivo Epew, which works interdisciplinarily with children and the urban Mapuche diaspora, bringing Indigenous cosmologies and dramaturgy into Chilean theater. The actor also tells us about the collective’s use of site-specific is a means to visibilise Mapuche urban histories and to co-create local stories with Mapuche children who attend rural schools. Lastly, Roberto calls for future Latin American Studies graduates to embrace interdisciplinary projects that look beyond academia and dialogue with other knowledges. We hope you enjoy the episode!

This Episode has been recorded in Spanish