[1][2] The 1954 founding of RMCLAS antedates the 1966 formation of the Latin American Studies Association.
[3] In 1955, RMCLAS adopted a constitution and elected officers for the new organization.
[5] An important demographic change was the expansion in the number of female academics participating.
RMCLAS encourages participants from a variety of fields, “including, but not limited to Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, Cultural Studies, Economics, Environmental Studies, Ethnomusicology, Film Studies, Gender Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature, Political Science, and Sociology.” Although nominally a regional meeting, participants came from universities all over the U.S., as well as some from Mexico, Canada, and Europe.
[7] The wide geographical draw of the meeting is of long standing.