Being and becoming Latinx in Aotearoa New Zealand
Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand
The collaborative work of Latinx scholars resulted in a collective autoethnographic project that examined the challenges we faced as femme-presenting migrants of colour volunteering in urban agriculture initiatives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. By weaving collective autoethnography with critical race perspectives, the project amplified our shared counter-stories of othering and racial oppression, challenging dominant ideologies of meritocracy, colour-blindness, race neutrality, and equal opportunity while centring a commitment to racial justice. Attentive to Māori–tauiwi of colour relationships, the research foregrounds the potential of connecting diverse experiences of racialisation to build solidarities grounded in decolonisation and antiracism, and was disseminated through conference presentations and a podcast on migration, race and feminism: Our Colours in Aotearoa.
Related publications and engament activities
Braga Bizarria, M. T., Palomino‐Schalscha, M., Sánchez Bolívar, I. (2024). The spatiality of Collective Autoethnography: Praxis of care and (co)becoming. Emotion, Space and Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2024.101043 [Scientific paper]
Palomino‐Schalscha, M., Braga Bizarria, M. T., & Sánchez-Bolívar, I. (2023). Racism in Paradise: Being migrants in urban agriculture initiatives in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand Geographer. https://doi.org/10.1111/nzg.12380 [Scientific paper]
Sánchez-Bolívar, I., Braga Bizarria, M. T., Palomino‐Schalscha, M. (2025). Beyond resilience: cultivating hope in the face of racism as Latinas in Aotearoa. Working to End Racial Oppression (WERO) Conference, Waikato, New Zealand. [Conference paper]
Palomino‐Schalscha, M., Braga Bizarria, M. T., Guerrero-Rondón , A.; Moreno-Durán, L. V., Sánchez-Bolívar, I. (2025). Emerging Migrants' Geographies of Aotearoa: Weaving affective intensities from a Latinas perspective in turbulent times. Working to End Racial Oppression (WERO) Conference, Waikato, New Zealand. [Conference paper]
Palomino‐Schalscha, M., Braga Bizarria, M. T., Sánchez-Bolívar, I. (2024). Racism in Paradise: building safe spaces and solidarity in the context of Māori and tauiwi of colour relationships. Te Tiriti-Based Futures and Anti-Racism Conference, online. [Conference paper]
Braga Bizarria, M. T., Palomino‐Schalscha, M., Sánchez-Bolívar, I. (2022). Interfaces between Collective Autoethnography and Embodied Geographies as migrant women: shared spaces of resistance, resilience and solidarity. Biennial New Zealand Geographical Society (NZGS) Conference, Christchurch, New Zealand. [Conference paper]