Gabriel Eljaiek-Rodriguez (NHC Fellow, 2024–25)

Gabriel Eljaiek-Rodríguez is a Colombian writer and academic. He comes to the National Humanities Center from his role as Lecturer of Spanish at Spelman College. Eljaiek-Rodríguez received his PhD in Latin American Studies from Emory University. He has written extensively on Latin American Gothic, global horror cinema, cultural migration, and the relationships between politics and cinematic horror. He has published with Palgrave Macmillan, Anthem Press, the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Press, and is preparing a book manuscript for University Press of Mississippi. His articles have appeared in ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America, Hispanic Research Journal, and Revista de Estudios Colombianos, among others.

Eljaiek-Rodríguez’s current book project seeks to explore the different ways in which Latinx film directors have represented the difficult and sometimes horrific processes of immigration that Latinx communities endure in the United States. The book will focus on genre films, and on how these films are effective in representing migratory experiences and enabling discussions about migration policies—in part by being more accessible to Latinx and US audiences.

Beginning his academic training as a researcher at the Pensar Institute in Bogotá, Eljaiek-Rodríguez is strongly invested in international collaboration and scholarly exchange. Most recently, he completed a certificate in Afro-Latin American Studies from The Latin American Social Science Council (CLACSO) and was a keynote speaker at the Bogotá Art Fair (ARTBO). Regularly organizing film talks and screenings, Eljaiek-Rodríguez has created bridges between the academic spaces of which he has been part and the communities in which these spaces are immersed.

Selected Publications

• Eljaiek-Rodríguez, Gabriel. Baroque Aesthetics in Contemporary American Horror. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.
• Eljaiek-Rodríguez, Gabriel. Colombian Gothic in Cinema and Literature. London: Anthem Press, 2021.
• Eljaiek-Rodríguez, Gabriel. “Fantasmagorías Bogotanas: Invención y Producción de Fantasmas en la Candelaria.” Revista de Estudios Colombianos 54 (2019): 16–26.
• Eljaiek-Rodríguez, Gabriel. The Migration and Politics of Monsters in Latin American Cinema. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.
• Eljaiek-Rodríguez, Gabriel. Selva de Fantasmas: El Gótico en la Literatura y el cine Latinoamericanos. Bogotá: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 2017.