Tomorrow: Peter Solandâs Presentation Exploring Aviators in Latin America
February 20 at 1pm CST
Peter Soland
(University of HoustonâDowntown)
âA Godâs Eye View: Aviators and the Re-Conquest of Latin Americaâ
Brazilian flyer Alberto Santos-Dumont incarnated turn-of-the-century enthusiasm for aviation. The wealthy, stylish, thrill-seeking inventor possessed a maniacal drive to
push the limits of human and technological achievement. Aviation enthusiasts across the globe mistook his 1906 flight as the first aerodyne flight in world history. Louis Cartier crafted the original pilotâs wristwatch for him, as a personal favor. Poet Eduardo
das Neves immortalized him in the popular anthem, âA Conquista do Arâ (The Conquest of the Air): one of Brazilâs earliest popular audio recordings. Santos Dumont established the archetype of the aviator as a modern conquistador. Although he is best remembered
for inspiring generations of pilots to take to the skies, nation builders with grand, modernizing visions for Latin American societies were likewise deeply influenced by his legacy. Peter Solandâs talk scrutinizes the aviator-conquistador metaphor. It examines
airplane pilots as personifying high modernism and the technological sublime in Latin America from the turn of the century through the early Space Age, when spaceships and astronauts eclipsed airplanes and aviators.
Peter Soland is a scholar of Latin American History specializing in modern Mexico and Latin
America. He earned his doctorate in History from the University of Arizona in 2016. and subsequently accepted a position as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Center for Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO during the 2016-2017 academic year.
Most recently, he was an Assistant Professor of Latin American History at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO. His first book, Mexican Icarus: Aviation and the Modernization of Mexican Identity (University of Pittsburgh Press,
2023) examined the development of aviation in Mexico. His current monograph project, The Radiance of Tlatelolco: Politics, Culture, and Nuclear Technology in Latin America, 1938â1994, investigates the history of atomic science and nuclear development
in Latin America. He was awarded a 2023 Research Fellowship from the Arizona Historicalââ.
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Mark Your Calendars for the Next Presentation in the Aerospace Latin America Seminar Series
March 6 at 1pm CST
Anne W. Johnson
(Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City)
"So Far from God, So Close to NASA"
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About the Series: Over the course of 2025, the NASA History Office
is presenting a seminar series on the topic of Aerospace Latin America. This series will explore the origins, evolution, and historical context of aerospace in the region since the dawn of the Space Age, canvasing a broad range of topics including aerospace
infrastructure development, space policy and law, Earth science applications, and much more.
https://www.nasa.gov/history/aerospace-latin-america-a-history/
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