Ricardo Padrón is an Associate Professor of Spanish who has been teaching at U.Va. since 1997. He is also an alumnus of U.Va., having graduated in 1989 with a degree in Political and Social Thought. During his time as an undergrad, he formed part of the first class to live in what was then Monroe Hill College, where he served as Selections CoChair and as a Resident Coordinator. He remembers the first “Haunted Tunnels,” but can’t quite place the year. As a profesor, he specializes in the literature and culture of Spain and Latin America during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and does research on literature, historiography and cartography. His favorite class to teach, however, is Don Quixote. When he is not professing, he enjoys spending time with his wife Zoë and his son Santiago, who is now in college. He loves to read, does not exercise as much as he should, and is excessively fond of cookies. He knows how to make dulce de leche from scratch, and makes very good Cuban black beans.