Norman E. Whitten, Jr. is Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Studies and Affiliate of Afro-American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His publications include Black Frontiersmen: Afro-American Culture of Ecuador and Columbia; Sacha Runa: Ethnicity and Adaptation of Ecuadorian Jungle Quichua; Cultural Transformations and Ethnicity in Modern Ecuador; and Sicuanga Runa: The Other Side of Development in Amazonian Ecuador.
Arlene Torres is Assistant Professor of Anthropology. She is affiliated with Afro American Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies and the Latina/Latino Studies Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She serves on the editorial board of the Afro-Latin American Research Association. Torres has conducted extensive field research in Puerto Rico and Barbados.