Líderes formando líderes

Costa Rican. Amalia holds a Master’s degree in Latin American Literature from the University of Costa Rica and is an Associate Professor at the University of Costa Rica’s School of General Studies.

She has published in different University of Costa Rica's publications: Káñina: Revista de Artes y Letras, Revista de Filología, Lingüística y Literatura; Escena and Herencia. Amalia has also authored publications in the Costa Rican Institute of Technology’s Revista Comunicación as well in international journals and magazines (Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies; the journal of the International Institute for Sociocriticism, Montpellier, France; the Catholic University of Chile’s Revista Letras; in Monash University’s literary journal, IXQUIC; and in the Autonomous University of Puebla’s Escritos 13/14 magazine and the online publication Istmo.

She is a contributor to La Nación newspaper’s opinion pages and cultural segment, Ancora. Her writings have been included in several anthologies prepared by the University of Costa Rica’s School of General Studies and one of her essays has been included in the book Identidades Culturales Latinoamericanas.

Other positions held:

• Former member of the Academic Council of the Center for Research on Latin American Culture and Identity (CIICLA) and current member of Istmo magazine’s Editorial Board.
• Amalia has taken part in numerous symposiums, congresses and seminars abroad.
• In 1998, she was appointed Director of the Museum of Costa Rican Art. During her time as Director, she began the construction of the Museum’s Sculpture Garden as well as the Museum of Shapes, Spaces and Sounds with the objective of making arts and culture more accessible to people with disabilities.
• Amalia was appointed Vice Minister of Culture in 2002 and that same year, she took part in the initial draft of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Paris. She led the working group that resulted in UNESCO declaring Costa Rica’s ox herding and ox cart painting traditions a “world intangible heritage” in 2005.    
• In 2006, she was appointed full member of Costa Rica’s Academy of Language.
• She coordinated the special edition of the book El Quijote Entre Nosotros to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the publication of Cervantes’ Don Quixote de la Macha (the first part). The book won the 2006 Aquileo Echeverría National Award.