Reina, Ruben E.

Ruben E. Reina (1924- ) is a cultural anthropologist and emeritus professor of anthropology and curator of ethnology who taught at the University of Pennsylvania and worked at that institution’s University Museum of Archeology and Anthropology from 1957-1990.

Broadly interested in modern and historical cultures of Central America, South America, and Spain, Reina is most widely known for his contributions to the study of the culture and peoples of Guatemala. His research interests include: the study of cultural change; ethnographic and ethnohistorical studies; contemporary and traditional Maya Indians; and modern Latin American peoples, peasants, and urban communities. Throughout the course of his career, Reina undertook extensive fieldwork in Guatemala, Argentina, Spain, and Puerto Rico. Widely traveled, he also pursued additional field activities in Mexico, Brazil, Guyana, Turkey, Iran, Morocco, Alaska, the Southwestern United States, Peru, Bolivia, and Scotland. In addition to teaching in the Department of Anthropology at Penn, Reina held a long-time appointment as a curator for the University Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.

Ruben E. Reina was born in Huinca Renenco, Cordoba Province, Argentina on December 5, 1924. His parents were Domingo and Margarita (Vidala) Reina. After graduating from a Bachiller in Argentina (1945-1947), and briefly studying geology at the Universidad de Cordoba (1947), he moved to the United States to further his education.

Reina earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology and anthropology from the University of Michigan in 1950, and a master of arts degree in sociology and anthropology, with an emphasis on rural sociology, from Michigan State University in 1951. He followed these achievements in 1957 by being awarded a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina. Reina has the distinction of being the first person to graduate from that university with a Ph.D. in anthropology.

After early teaching stints at the Women’s College at the University of North Carolina as an instructor in sociology and at the University of Puerto Rico as an assistant professor of anthropology, Reina accepted two appointments at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1957, he was appointed to an assistant professorship in the Department of Anthropology and to an assistant curatorship at the University Museum. This began more than three decades-worth of association with the prestigious Ivy League university. In 1962, after five years of service, Reina earned a promotion to associate professor and associate curator. A further five years at Penn saw him establish himself as a full professor and curator.

During this time, Reina began his association with the Hispanic-Latin American Research Project. The project began in 1967 and sought to compile source material from distant Spanish and Latin American archival and manuscript repositories and make them more easily available to scholars in the United States. Reina served as director of the project and led a team compiling information on “Society and Culture in Sixteenth-Century Guatemala.” The team culled thousands of pages of materials from the Archivo General de Indias (AGI) in Seville, Spain and Archivos General de Centro America (AGCA) in Guatemala. The project, which lasted the better part of twenty years, was funded in-part by the American Philosophical Society; its findings are part of the Reina Papers.

After firmly establishing himself as a full professor at Penn, Reina was awarded an honorary degree by the university, having been granted a master of arts, honoris causa, in 1971. Reina taught full-time at the university until 1990, when he achieved emeritus status, both as a professor and curator.

As curator for the University Museum, Reina directed several exhibitions including: “The Traditional Textiles of the Mayan People of Guatemala” (1971); “The Traditional Potters of Guatemala” (with Robert Hill) (1978); and, “The Gift of Birds: Featherwork of Native South American Peoples” (1991). This final exhibition explored "featherwork as a medium through which to examine the aesthetic, religious, and social values of the native South American peoples."

During his tenure at Penn, Reina performed several administrative functions, serving as: chairman of the undergraduate program in anthropology (1960-1966); acting assistant chairman of the department of anthropology (1966); chairman of the department of anthropology (1971-1976); and curator of the Loren Eiseley seminar and library (1982-1984).

In addition to teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, Reina also taught as a visiting professor at Bryn Mawr College (1969) and Colorado College (1976, 1978).

Reina’s major publications include: Chinautla, A Guatemalan Indian Community: A Study in the Relationship of Community Culture and National Change (1960); Entrepreneurship in Argentine Culture (with Thomas Cochran) (1962); The Law of the Saints: A Pokomam Pueblo and Its Community Culture (1967); Parana: Social Boundaries in an Argentine City (1973); The Traditional Pottery of Guatemala (with Robert Hill) (1978); and, Shadows: A Mayan Way of Knowing (1984).

Reina married Betty Burton on September 1, 1951. The couple has three sons: Mark, Randall, and Roger. In addition to his achievements in academics, Reina is an accomplished artist, with skills in oil, watercolor, acrylic, and ink media. Several of his pieces have been shown publicly, and are included in the Reina Papers at APS.

From the guide to the Ruben E. Reina Papers, 1951-2004, (American Philosophical Society)