Acknowledgements
I would like to show my appreciation and gratitude to Peter Miiller for guiding
me and supporting me through my years at Rice. I am also grateful to Kim-Anh Do,
Nebiyou Bekele and Fernando Quintana for letting me learn from them while working
on this thesis. Thank you to my committee members for contributing to make this
project what it is today. I am also grateful to Professors Raiil Rueda and Eduardo
Gutiérrez for starting me on this academic journey.
Thank you to my mother Enna, grandmothers Enna and Josefa, grandfather En-
rique, siblings Enrique, Alejandro, Oscar and Enna for all their support and love
along the way.