USI Global Studies to welcome Pilar Egüez Guevara as Distinguished Scholar presenter

imed at drawing attention to one or more of the disciplines within the liberal arts. This year, the College will welcome Pilar Egüez Guevara, PhD, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 1 in Kleymeyer Hall, located in the lower level of the Liberal Arts Center, to present her documentary. Raspando Coco, a film about the food and medicinal traditions of Afro-Ecuadorians, and a lecture, Coconut Controversies Gone Global: A Case Study from Ecuador.  

Guevara is an Ecuadorian cultural anthropologist, writer and award-winning filmmaker. Over the past 20 years, she has lived, worked, and carried out research and community-based projects in and about Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and Japan. She is co-founder and director of Comidas que Curan (Foods that Heal), an independent food education and media company dedicated to researching and promoting traditional foods and knowledge through ethnographic research and film.  

Raspando Coco has won and been nominated for multiple awards including the Official Selection for the 2019 Liberación Film Festival and Official Selection for the 2019 Latin American Studies Association Film Festival. The film unravels the controversies surrounding overeating coconut in Esmeraldas, which are largely rooted in the clash between Western medical beliefs and local food traditions. 

Her presentation will focus on the dietary role of coconuts in the Esmeraldan culture and how today, Esmeraldans shy away from eating this and other local and traditional foods out of fear of getting sick.  

This event is open to the public at no charge but registration is required.