For her work in integrating scholarship with community engagement, Olivia Cadaval  was awarded the American Folklore Society’s 2012 Américo Paredes Prize. Cadaval is curator and chair of Cultural Research and Education at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Since joining the Center in 1988, she has produced curriculum enrichment materials, exhibitions, and Web sites; and she has curated numerous Festival programs including El Rio (2000), México (2010), and Colombia: The Nature of Culture (2011).

Américo Paredes (1915-1999), a scholar of folklore and Greater Mexico studies, taught at the University of Texas from 1957 until his retirement in 1984. His work reflects his commitment to, in the words of Olga Najera-Ramirez, "better understand, represent, and respect the rights, lives, and culture of U.S. Latinas and Latinos." The Paredes Prize recognizes his contributions to the field and to the Society, gives respect to his memory, and recognizes exemplary achievements that build upon his cross-disciplinary, socially engaged legacy.