Claremont, Calif. (April 24, 2012) — Pitzer College Assistant Professor of Spanish Milton Machuca has been elected Vice President of the Southern California Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP).
Originally from El Salvador, Machua took the lead role in organizing the spring meeting of the Southern California Chapter of the AATSP on April 14 at Pitzer College. His research interests include Central American studies, sociolinguistics and the indigenous peoples of Latin America.
Spanish is the second most common language in the US, Machuca said. In California, more than a quarter of the population speaks Spanish at home.
“Spanish permeates every aspect of the culture in California—it is hidden in broad daylight in nearly every street, town and city name,” Machuca said. “Studying and teaching Spanish in the early twenty-first century not only acknowledges but affirms the intrinsic relationship between Spanish language and California culture.”
The AATSP is the primary professional organization for Spanish and Portuguese language teachers and promotes the study and teaching of Spanish and Portuguese and their related literatures and cultures.
