While most students may be familiar with Windowpanes or El Camino, many are not as aware of Loyola’s two other annual publications: Ecos Iberoamericanos, a literary magazine produced by the Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Literature class, and Transit, a fine arts magazine developed by the AP Studio Art classes.
Ecos Iberoamericanos is a Spanish poetry magazine featuring pieces written by students in the AP Spanish Literature class, and Transit is a travel photography magazine featuring photographs taken by students in the AP Studio Art classes. This year marks the publication of Ecos Iberoamericanos’ 19th edition and the publication of Transit’s first edition.
Moderated by foreign language instructor Dr. Ricardo Pedroarias ’84, Ecos Iberoamericanos was founded 19 years ago to allow students taking the AP Spanish Literature to express themselves through their own creative work. At the beginning of the first semester, students are tasked with writing poetry that reflects themselves as individuals; then, at the end of the year, Dr. Pedroarias returns the pieces to them and asks if they wish to change their writing.
“I grew as a person throughout my senior year, so I felt like I needed to add more to reflect on my new experiences,” said senior Paul Vega.
To go along with the self identity poems, students also contributed an additional poem on any subject of their choosing. The students also collaborated as a class to produce a group surreal poem entitled “La familia nos abraza” based around the theme of “love.” Beyond their required poetry submissions, students were also assigned various roles ranging from artists to photographers to editors.
“Typically general themes of the poems are about leaving high school, manhood, love, and brotherhood. Sometimes they will write about a story they felt close to or something about their self identity,” said Dr. Pedroarias.
In its first year of publication, Loyola’s first travel photography magazine, Transit, features 27 pictures taken in various parts of the world by AP Studio Art students. Having traveled to places such as Costa Rica, Africa, and Italy, students were able to photograph the native wildlife, the landscapes and the people.
“The theme of Transit this year was personal travel and journey. We asked that students submit photos that had relevance to their personal journeys, personal growth and personal expression,” said junior Scott Tamkin, the editor of Transit.
When planning the magazine with fine arts instructors Cristina Saggese and David Roberts, Tamkin and co-editor junior Parker Moreno looked to dedicate Transit to the graduating senior class.
“Transit was inspired by the senior class. As they look back on their own experiences and travels, we realize that they are truly shaped by their past. The best part was the feeling that we were sending off the seniors with a memory of their accomplishments and journeys,” said Tamkin.
According to the Transit staff, the magazine will be published annually and will continue to emphasize the experiences of student artists on their trips across the world. Tamkin said, “Next year we hope to expand the project, but it will mainly remain a tribute to the success and hard work of the AP Studio Art students, particularly our photographers.”
