Ana Sanz Llorens

Originally, from Valencia, Spain, Ana Sanz Llorens now calls Utah home. She graduated from the University of Valencia with a degree in English Literature and is currently the Director of Education in the State of Utah for the Ministry of Education of Spain. However, it is her love of capturing light, movement and images that drew her to photography.

Since 1982, Ana has exhibited her photographs in Spain and the United States in solo and collective exhibitions as well as at fairs and art festivals. International venues of recent note include:

• Flecha 2015, Feria de Arte Contemporáneo, Arturo Soria Plaza, Madrid (2015)
• Galeria d’Art L’Arcada, Blanes, Gerona. Exposición permanente (2015)
• ArteABCE, Centro comercial ABC de Serrano, Madrid (2013)

In 2017, her photographs were highlighted as part of the Jewish Community Center’s Artist Series in Salt Lake City. She also participated in both the Kimball Arts Festival in Park City and the Utah Arts Festival in Salt Lake City. Her photographs are also featured during the Global Spotlight: Spain series at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Click here for Ana Sanz Llorens Photography.

Dr. Maritza Sotomayor

Dr. Maritza Sotomayor is an associate professor from the Finance and Economics department at Woodbury School of Business. Her field of research is on the economics of Latin American countries. Her last paper, co-authored with Dr. Amir Kia, is titled “Determinants of Inflation in Egypt and Mexico and the impact of distance.” She has been the co-chair for the Global Spotlight Peru. She teaches among others, Macroeconomics, International Economics and Development Economics. She received her PhD in Applied Economics from the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain.

*Research assistant Allison Bate (MBA student) will be collaborating on the presentation

Dr. Baldomero Lago

A native of Santander, Spain Dr. Lago arrived to the US in 1987 to embark on an educational journey that continues to this day. As the Chief International Officer for Utah Valley University, Dr. Lago organizes and manages UVU’s global and intercultural academic initiatives; working mainly with external communities including the Governor´s Office of Economic Development of the State of Utah, The United Nations, and many other organizations, chambers, and global companies.

Prior to his current post, Dr. Lago dedicated his professional career as a professor of language pedagogy and has presented his teaching philosophy and research in Europe, the Americas and Asia. He received his undergraduate and post graduate degrees in the US and returned to his home country to complete a doctorate degree in instructional technology. As a service to his country and to the local community since 1999, Dr. Lago fulfills his appointment as the Honorary Consul of Spain and is the past-president of the Utah Consular Corps. In addition, he currently serves as President of the World Trade Association of Utah.

In his work at UVU, Dr. Lago enjoys working with his colleagues by developing global academic partnerships and hosting diplomats. Some of his favorite pastimes include the arts, classical music, current events, history and spending time with his family. On Oct 2016, Dr. Lago was awarded the title of Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Civil Merit by King Phillip VI of Spain.

Mr. Manuel Valle Munoz

Mr. Manuel Valle has appointed as Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Spain in Los Angeles in September 2014. Immediately before becoming Economic and Commercial Counselor, he served as General Director of Industry and AME of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism since 2014. He was Director of Industrial Products and Technology at the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade in 2011.

Prior to that, he was Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Spain in The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan and Afghanistan from 2006 to 2011, and General Director of Labor at Regional Government of Madrid from 2004 to 2006. He also held the positions of Economic Advisor to the First Vice President and Ministry of Economy of Spain from 2003 to 2004; Economic and Commercial counselor of the Embassy of Spain in New York between 1998 and 2003; Consumer Goods Director at the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade from 1994 to 1998l Chief of Cabinet of the Undersecretary of Commerce and Tourism; Deputy Director at the Department of Relations with the EU and the OMC from 1988 to 1990; and Managing Director of Equipos Agricolas Españoles, S.A. from 1984 until 1985.

Mr. Manuel Valle holds master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, a State Chartered Economist from Spanish Government School of Economic and Commercial Studies, and Agricultural Engineer from University of Madrid.

Mark Lentz

Mark Lentz, Assistant Professor of Latin American History at Utah Valley University, has previously directed or co-directed two travel study programs for UVU students, including many history education majors. These two programs included a Short-Term Multicultural Experience (STME) in Spain along the Camino de Santiago during the summer of 2015 and a 2016 Fall Break Domestic Multicultural Experience (DME) along the path blazed by fray Silvestre Vélez de Escalante and Atanasio Domínguez. Though this will be his first time co-organizing a National Endowment for the Humanities Institute, he previously participated in two National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institutes and Seminars in 2012 and 2013. Other awards he has received include the 2015-2016 R. David Parsons Fellowship at the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island, and most recently, a Mellon Foundation-supported short-term fellowship at the Vatican Film Library of St. Louis University (2017). His recent publications includes “Castas, Creoles, and the Rise of a Maya Lingua Franca in Eighteenth-Century Yucatan,” Hispanic American Historical Review 97, No. 1 (February 2017), and his first monograph, Murder in Mérida, 1792: Violence, Factions, and the Law will be published by the University of New Mexico Press during the spring of 2018. He received his Ph.D. from Tulane University in Colonial Latin American History in 2009. When he is off campus, he enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and skiing in the Wasatch Range.

Antonio Andrade

Antonio Andrade was born in Pueblo de Cazalla near Sevilla, one of the Andalucian villages full of tradition regarding flamenco-singing. Growing up in a family of "aficionados", that's what they call flamenco-lovers there, his life was involved in this ancient form of art, dance and singing from the beginning. His leader from the start was his uncle Jose Menese - a living legend in matters of flamenco-singing. So it was a matter of course that Antonio started to play the guitar very early as a small child

His career started as a 15 year old teenager, when he recorded two CD's with his flamenco-group "Los Alhama". Later he took a leading position in his group and founded "Compania Flamenco Alhama", who he was guiding as artistical chief. Together with his brother Javier Andrade, who is accompanying him until today as a manager, they produced one successful production after another, like "Mi Andalucio", "Flamenco es me vida" or "Mi Carmen Flamenco".

He was also contributor at productions of other producers like "Magneten", lead by famous Andre Heller and groups like "Music Ensemble of Benares" of India and also "Maria Benitz Teatro Flamenco". As a guitar player he worked together with great artists like Javier Barón, Israel Galván, Antonio "El Pipa", Javier Cruz, Sara Baras, Carmen Ledesma, Concha Vargas, Manolo Marin, "La Lupi", Ricardo Modrego, Curro Fernández, Luis de Luis and many other who influenced him strongly and brought him up with great experience.

Uncountable tours from Europe (f.ex. Deutsche Oper Berlin, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Prinzregententheater München, Philarmonie Warschau, Konzerthaus Wien, Teatro Ariston San Remo) over to USA (u.a. Joyce Theatre New York, Fox Theatre Atlanta, Lensic Theatre Santa Fe) and to Japan (f.ex. International Forum Tokio, Granship Daichi Shizuoka), China (f.ex. Shanghai Oriental Art Center and Pekin Mei Lang Fan Gran Opera), Russia as well as many other countries, like Panama, Turkey, Morocco, Syria, and Canada.

Together with Úrsula Moreno he founded "Compañia Flamenco Antonio Andrade" and created new tendancies in Flamenco in great productions names "Noches de Amor", "Vaya con Dios", "Bailando al Cante" and "Lluvia de Tierra".

The art of Flamenco is expressing all human feelings, even those, we have no words for.

Miguel Sotelo

Miguel Sotelo (Huelva) is one of the most versatile, contemporary flamenco guitarists in the world today.

He is a master of the concert guitar, as well as playing accompaniment to flamenco singing and dancing and excels in a wide range of other genres such as jazz, pop, and other world music styles.

He has worked with a variety of Dance Companies and Flamenco Artists, including El Torombo, Domingo Patricio, Carles Benavent, and Joaquín Ruiz.

He has also taken part in many productions with artists such as two time Grammy award-winning Nene Vázquez, Martin Finn, Toni Braxtion (USA) and Rafet "El Romano" (Turkey).

His extensive repetoire also includes participation in shows by Circus Roncalli, Cirque de Soleil and Variete Theatre GOP.

John Hunt

John Hunt (Ph.D., Ohio State University) teaches medieval and early modern history at Utah Valley University. His research interests include popular culture and street life in Renaissance Italy and the Mediterranean World. He is author of The Vacant See in Early Modern Rome: A Social History of the Papal Interregnum. He is currently working on a book manuscript on gambling and sociability in Renaissance Rome and Venice.