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Henry L’Esperance Alvarez, PhD

Assistant Professor, Ethnic Studies
hlesperance@palomar.edu

EDUCATION:
PhD Cultural Studies concentration on Visual Studies, Claremont Graduate University.
MA Latin American Studies, University of California, San Diego.
BA Philosophy, University of California, San Diego.
Minor: International Migration Studies

DOCUMENTARY & FILM PRODUCTION:

  • “Cantos Desérticos” (2025). Duties: Director. Comcáac with English Subtitles.
  • “Pies Ligeros” (2014). Duties: Producer & Photography. Rarajipar with Spanish and English subtitles.
  • “Yo Soy Teresa Castro” (2010). Duties: Director and Producer. 26’ Pai’Pai with English subtitles.
  • “The American Tapes” (2013). Duties: Translator, Subtitling, and Research Assistant. 134’ Director Louis Hock, Professor of Visual Arts, UCSD.
  • “Pomba Branca: Dove” (2006). Duties: Director and Producer. 20’ Portuguese with English subtitles.
  • “Tlacuitapa: Realities Behind a Migrant-Sending Community” (2005). Duties: Director and Producer. 30’ Spanish with English subtitles.

PUBLICATIONS:

  • Lesperance, Henry. (2025). Sonora’s Sacred Soundscapes-Sones Sagrados Sonorenses–CGU Thesis & Dissertation, 1000. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1000. 
  • Lesperance, Henry. (2024).  A Navajo/Anthro Perspective: Wesley Thomas on Diné Landscape, Identity, and Spirituality. Smithsonian Folklife Magazine.
  • Lesperance, Henry (2023). Daughter of the Sea: An Intimate Portrait of Yoruba Traditions on Film. Smithsonian Folklife Magazine.
  • Cornelius, Wayne A., and Jessa M. Lewis, eds. Impacts of Border Enforcement on Mexican Migration, the View From Sending Communities. San Diego: Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, 2007. Chapter 4, Impacts of U.S. Immigration Policies on Migration Behavior—J. Fuentes, H. L’Esperance, R. Pérez, and C. White.
  • Lesperance, Henry. (2008).  American Hegemony And its Influence on Brazilians’ Decision To Come to the United States. University of California, San Diego, 2008, 1457801 ProQuest.