Contact Information
707 S. Mathews Ave. | MC-176
Urbana, IL 61801
Office Hours
Office Hours: TBA SP 2026
Biography
PhD candidate in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a Graduate Certificate in Gender and Women Studies. Holds a diverse academic background in Literature, Creative Writing, and Performance. His research lies in the intersection of representation, gender & performance Studies with a interdisciplinary and transnational lense. Investigates the construction-representation of the Iberian baroque trope of La mujer varonil and La mujer varón, exploring how these figures inhabit in contemporary narratives in film and finction from Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Research Interests
- 20th-21st Centuries Latin American & Caribbean Film & Literature
- Gender & Women Studies
- Female Crossdressing in Film, Narrative & Theater
- Spanish Baroque Theater (XVIth & XVIIth Centuries)
- Monster Theory
- Performance Theory and Practices
Education
- Ph.D. in Spanish, Literature & Culture, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (ABD, in progress)
- M.A. in Spanish, Ohio University
- M.A. in Creative Writing in Spanish, University of Sacred Heart of Puerto Rico
- B.A. in Humanities/Theater-Drama, University of Puerto Rico
Grants
- Department of Spanish & Portuguese Summer Research Scholarship 2024
- HRI Interseminar Graduate Fellowship / Andrew Mellon Foundation 2022-23 (First Cohort)
- SPI Pre-doctoral Summer Program 2021
Courses Taught
- SPAN 248 Latin American and Latinx Film
- SPAN 228 Composition
- SPAN 200 Reading Hispanic Texts
- SPAN 142 Spanish in the Professions
- SPAN 130 Intermediate Spanish
- SPAN 1120 Elementary Spanish
- SPAN 1110 Elementary Spanish
Additional Campus Affiliations
- Inner Voices Theater Group of University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Gender and Women Studies (Graduate Minor)
- HRI Graduate Advisory Committee Member (Fall 2025)
External Links
Highlighted Publications
(2023) Martínez, Ramón E. (Ray). et. Imagine Otherwise: Speculation in the Americas. Excerpt of novel Vacío. Chapters 1 and 2. Book Collaboration, Sept., pp. 197-212.
(2020) Martínez, Ramón E. Fuego Cruzado: Antología Épica, Crossfire: Epic Anthology. Edited by Dr. Amado Lascar. Translation of poems: “El poeta” by Samuel Gregoire (Haití, 1983) “A propósito de los 4 Sonetos del Apocalipsis” “Infinito Periódico” “Poética” “Canto de Guerrero” “Kiñe Troy” “Río de Cisnes” by Paulo Huirimilla (Chile, 1973), Published. Sept.
(2020) Martínez Ramón E. (Ray) “La Madelón como ejemplificación del fracaso de la Transición Española en Una mala noche la tiene cualquiera de Eduardo Mendicutti” Revista Phrónesis, Vol. 1, Oct–Dic. pp.34-41.