Category Archives: Archives

Benson Latin American Collection, Collections, Libraries, Open Access, Texas Digital Library

Latino USA Radio Program Episodes Published

February 17, 2025 Susanna Sharpe Leave a comment

The digitized episodes have been made available online by the Benson Latin American Collection

More than 160 digitized episodes of Latino USA, the newsmagazine of Latino news and culture founded at UT in 1993, have been published by the Benson Latin American Collection. Published records include metadata and transcriptions for the episodes, which are available to the public on the open-access University of Texas Libraries Collections Portal. The publication and transcription of the episodes was made possible by a grant from the Latin Americanist Research Resources Project (LARRP).

The selected episodes, which total 168, span the years 1997–2000. They are part of a larger archival collection held by the Benson—Latino USA Records, which documents the history of the radio program from early planning stages in the late 1980s through the program’s first seventeen years (1993–2010).

A newspaper page with the title On Campus features a large black-and-white photograph of people in a radio station. In the foreground, four people are in the control room—Christina Cuevas speaks on the phone, Frank Contreras holds a reel-to-reel tape, María Martin smiles and holds papers in front of a microphone on a boom stand, and Dolores García has headphones on and is smiling and looking at something. Behind the soundproof glass, a room with other people can be seen. On the wall are the words Latino USA. The people are smiling and looking into the room that is being photographed. — OnCampus feature on Latino USA’s 200th program. Latino USA Records, Benson Latin American Collection.

The newly published episodes consist of over 80 hours of material covering Latin American and Latina/o topics, including interviews with figures such as labor activist Dolores Huerta, singer Little Joe Hernandez, San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, and writers Claribel Alegria, Américo Paredes, and Sandra Cisneros. Prior to their digitization by UT Libraries, these episodes had only existed in a legacy audio cassette format known as DAT, which made them inaccessible to the public.

The published episodes are accompanied by complete transcriptions, funded with a grant from the Latin Americanist Research Resources Project (LARRP). The transcriptions meet accessibility requirements of the digital collections platform, expanding access for the hearing impaired and people with better reading than listening knowledge of English.

Transcriptions can also provide expanded searching and digital scholarship opportunities for researchers and support additional use of these recordings in instructional settings. The transcriptions were provided by UT Austin’s Captioning and Transcription Services Team.

A stack of six audio tapes in clear plastic cases sits atop dozens more such tapes. Each one is labeled "LATINO USA" along with a number and other information. — Latino USA DAT audio tapes at the Benson Latin American Collection

The Latino USA Records at the Benson include nearly 900 program episodes that aired between 1993 and 2010, in addition to correspondence, photographs, ephemera, and other records documenting the program’s history. The Benson and University of Texas Libraries have digitized and transcribed additional episodes that they hope to publish in the future. Archival footage from the Benson was included in various episodes during the program’s 30th anniversary year in 2023, including a special episode dedicated to the anniversary and an episode that focused on the Benson. Latino USA’s special episode dedicated to the memory of the program’s founder, María Martin, also included archival footage and documents from the Benson.

Black-and-white close-up photo of journalist María Martin, who has dark hair, large hoop earrings, a beaded necklace, and a dark striped shirt on. She smiles broadly as she speaks into a large, metallic radio microphone that is suspended in front of her. — The late María Martin at the Latino USA studio. Latino USA Records, Benson Latin American Collection.

Over 30 Years of History

Launched on May 5, 1993, Latino USA is an award-winning weekly English-language radio journal created to fill a Latina/o-themed void in nationally distributed radio. It was initially produced by the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) in collaboration with KUT at the University of Texas at Austin. Radio veterans María Emilia Martin and Maria Hinojosa joined the staff in the roles of producer and host, respectively, while CMAS director Gilberto Cardenas acted as the program’s first executive producer (Martin and Hinojosa would both eventually serve in this role). Latino USA moved to Futuro Media Group in 2010.

The program was established at a time when the U.S. Latina/o population was one-third of what it is today. As Maria Hinojosa notes, the show traces the history of this immense growth, as well as that population’s participation in all aspects of politics, culture, and society.

A black-and-white photo of journalist Maria Hinojosa. She has long, dark hair and is wearing a white top with a collar. She smiles fully. One hoop earring is visible on the left. — Latino USA co-founder and journalist Maria Hinojosa, undated photo. Latino USA Records, Benson Latin American Collection.

Among the staff members who worked in this project are two graduate research assistants (GRAs), Fernanda Agüero, a graduate student at the School of Information (iSchool), and Rosa de Jong, a dual-master’s student at LLILAS and the iSchool.

As LLILAS Benson Digital Initiatives GRA, Agüero worked on the project during fall 2024, giving her the opportunity to listen to a large majority of the Benson’s now-digitized collection.

“The Latino USA collection provides a distinct opportunity to observe the key events and cultural developments that defined Latin American identity through the turn of the 20th century,” Agüero said. “It covers significant moments such as the Elián González case, the Clinton-Gore campaign, and a large focus on the arts, including my favorite episode, which featured a compilation of Latin American female ballad artists. This collection serves as a historical record, allowing listeners to situate themselves within the specific timeframes in which these episodes were produced, offering insight into the political and cultural climate of the period.”

In this black-and-white photo, a row of five people of diverse ages sits at a rectangular table, each with a microphone. At the far end, journalist María Martin looks at the others, leaning her head on her chin. In the center, media scholar Federico Subervi looks down, smiling. A young woman in the foreground is speaking into her microphone. — Undated photo, Latino USA Records, Benson Latin American Collection

De Jong, a Special Collections Graduate Research Assistant, singled out her highlights in the newly transcribed episodes.

“I especially loved the episodes focused on Tejano and Chicano traditions and cultural workers. One that stands out is titled Tejano Literary Traditions, which features interviews with literary icons Sandra Cisneros and Américo Paredes. In the episode, the authors talk about how their experiences growing up and living in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands shaped their work.” The newly transcribed programs also focused on Puerto Rico, says de Jong. “I was also impressed by the depth and scope of the reporting on Puerto Rico. Covering topics such as the Independence Movement, Puerto Rican political prisoners, and the 1999 Vieques Island protests, Latino USA episodes provide varied and rich accounts of the complex and evolving socioeconomic, political, and cultural contexts both on the Island and within the diaspora. Two episodes that highlight this reporting are Latino USA Program 275, Week #39-98 and Latino USA Program 348, Week #51-99.”

Benson Latin American Collection, Digital Humanities, Digital Scholarship, Global Studies, LLILAS Benson, Uncategorized

Spanish Paleography + Digital Humanities Institute Focuses Research on Colonial Texts

February 6, 2025 Texlibris Leave a comment

Scholars and graduate students from institutions across the country gathered at the Benson Latin American Collection for the Spanish Paleography + Digital Humanities Institute. The immersive three-day program provided intensive training in reading and transcribing Spanish manuscripts from the 16th to 18th centuries while introducing participants to digital humanities tools that enhance historical research.

Funded by LLILAS’s U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI Program and the Excellence Fund for Technology and Development in Latin America, the institute sought to equip researchers with specialized skills to navigate colonial texts, visualize historical data, and foster a collaborative academic community. The event was spearheaded by LLILAS Benson Digital Scholarship Coordinator Albert A. Palacios, and brought together a cohort of graduate students and faculty members specializing in history, literature, linguistics, and related disciplines.

The institute focused on three key objectives: providing paleography training, introducing participants to digital humanities tools, and fostering a collaborative research network. Participants engaged in hands-on workshops to develop their ability to accurately read and transcribe colonial manuscripts. They also received instruction on open-source technologies for text extraction, geospatial analysis, and network visualization. The program fostered a community of scholars who will continue sharing insights and resources beyond the institute.

Participants had the opportunity to work with historical materials, including royal documents, inquisition records, religious texts, and economic transactions. Case studies were examined through paleography working groups, where scholars collaboratively deciphered difficult handwriting styles and abbreviations.

To apply their newly acquired digital humanities skills, each participant developed a pilot research project using Spanish colonial manuscripts. These projects utilized handwritten text recognition (HTR) technology, geographical text analysis, and data visualization tools to enhance historical inquiry. The final day of the institute featured a lightning round of presentations, allowing scholars to showcase their preliminary findings and discuss future applications.

This year’s participants hailed from universities across the U.S., including the University of Chicago, the University of North Texas, Columbia University, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of California-Santa Barbara, Purdue University, City College of New York, West Liberty University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of California-Merced. The interdisciplinary nature of the group enriched discussions, providing diverse perspectives on archival research and manuscript interpretation.

A highlight of the institute was the introduction and use of the handwritten text recognition (HTR) model the LLILAS Benson Digital Scholarship Office trained and recently launched on 17^th and 18^th century Spanish handwriting preserved at the Benson. This innovation is expected to significantly accelerate the study of colonial-era documents and democratize access to these historical resources.

Additionally, the program provided a comprehensive list of recommended paleography resources, including books, digital collections, and online tools to support continued scholarship in Spanish manuscript studies.

Palacios is leading an online Spanish version of the institute for participants worldwide this spring and fall. He will be leading another onsite institute June 4-6, 2025.The demand for the LLILAS Benson Spanish Paleography + Digital Humanities Institute in the Colonial Latin Americanist field underscores the growing interest in merging traditional archival research with computational methodologies. By equipping scholars with both paleographic expertise and digital tools, the institute is paving the way for innovative research on the Spanish Empire and its historical records.

Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson

Ernesto Cardenal’s Centennial

January 17, 2025 Susanna Sharpe Leave a comment

The papers of Nicaragua’s beloved poet-priest-politician reside at UT’s Benson Latin American Collection; January 20, 2025, is the centennial of his birth

Admired and controversial, Ernesto Cardenal was a towering figure in Central American culture and politics. As Nicaragua’s minister of culture under the Sandinista government, which took power in 1979, he oversaw a national program that taught poetry to Nicaraguans of all ages and all walks of life.

A black-and-white photo shows many children in the background, facing the camera under a grassy roof open-air structure. In the foreground, several men are seated on a wooden floor. A microphone is being held above them to the left. The man on the left at the front of the photo is Ernesto Cardenal, wearing a black beret, wire-rimmed glasses and a simple collarless white shirt. He has shoulder-length white hair, and a full white beard and mustache. Another man to the right of him is speaking to an interviewer whose face is not visible. — Ernesto Cardenal (left of center) as Minister of Culture in Nicaragua. Undated photo, Benson Latin American Collection.

His relationship with the Sandinista government would eventually sour. As a result, the safety of his literary archive was in peril, leading to its eventual acquisition by the Benson in 2016.

In honor of Cardenal’s centennial, we link to previously published writings by UT Austin faculty and staff that examine various aspects of his life.

Ernesto Cardenal Papers

Ernesto Cardenal, photo by Sandra Eleta

“The archive features rare editions of Cardenal’s writings, translations of his poetry, interviews, photographs, videos, newspaper clippings, documentaries about his life and work, and hundreds of letters to and from key protagonists of Nicaraguan culture and politics.”
Read more: Papers of Nicaraguan Luminary Find a Home at the Benson Latin American Collection

Ernesto Cardenal Papers on Texas Archival Resources Online

Cardenal at LLILAS Benson

Color photo of Ernesto Cardenal at age 91, reading his poetry at the Benson. He is wearing his black beret, a dark jacket, wire-rimmed glasses, and his hair is white, covering his ears. He holds a piece of paper in one hand and gestures with the other. — Cardenal reads his poetry to a packed house at the Benson. Photo: Travis Willmann.

The opening of the Ernesto Cardenal Papers is celebrated at a roundtable and bilingual poetry reading at the Benson. At the event, Cardenal reads his own poetry, which is passionately interpreted into English by poet Celeste Mendoza.
Watch video (poetry reading starts at one-hour mark): “Ernesto Cardenal in Word and Action” Reading and Roundtable

Cardenal in Hard Times

LP cover for Cardenal's libro-disco recording of Oración por Marilyn Monroe and other poems. The cover features Andy Warhol's alterations of Monroe's photo (or a copy thereof), in color, four in a square. — Warhol-inspired libro-disco cover. Caracas, 1972. Benson Latin American Collection.

“[T]he voice of Ernesto Cardenal broke with our routine of studying a limited range of literary texts, mostly focused on intimate, politically inoffensive themes,” writes Professor Luis Cárcamo-Huechante. “In the midst of times of censorship and coercion, it was Cardenal’s verses that awoke me to an unexpectedly revelatory linkage between poetry and social issues, literary writing and collective history.”
Read Cárcamo-Huechante’s essay in English or Spanish

Interview in Managua and Digital Exhibition

Ernesto Cardenal, his arms aloft and outstretched, is saying mass in this black-and-white photo. He wears a poncho. One the table in front of him is a metal wine cup. He has shoulder-length whitish hair, beard, and mustache, and dark-rimmed glasses. Behind him hangs a white sheet illustrated with drawings. — Saying mass. Ernesto Cardenal Papers, Benson Latin American Collection

In spring 2016, José Montelongo, former Benson librarian, visited Cardenal in Managua. The occasion was the Benson’s recent acquisition of Father Cardenal’s personal papers. In these excerpts from their conversation, Cardenal talks about poetry, science, and religion, about the famous poetry workshops he helped create, about the successes and failures of the Nicaraguan Revolution, and more.
Watch the video (in Spanish with English subtitles)

The digital exhibition “Remembering Ernesto Cardenal: Selections from His Archive,” organized by Latin American Archivist Dylan Joy, traces key moments in the life of the poet, priest, revolutionary, liberation theologist, sculptor, and activist.
Visit the digital exhibition

Hasta siempre . . .

Black-and-white close-up of an older Ernesto Cardenal, who is looking directly into the camera. His black beret is visible. He wears wire-rimmed glasses. His white hair is in bright relief with a black background. — Ernesto Cardenal, undated photo. Benson Latin American Collection.

“Ernesto Cardenal was a fighter: for justice, against dictatorship, for equality, for his faith, and for the power of art and beauty to shine light in a dark world. He was tireless in this lifelong struggle, striving until his final days for a better Nicaragua and true justice for all people. LLILAS Benson is proud to help to carry on his legacy.”

— Virginia Garrard, Professor Emerita of History; former director, LLILAS Benson
Read the Obituary: “Ernesto Cardenal Is Dead at 95: The Nicaraguan Poet, Priest, and Revolutionary Chose the Benson Collection for His Archive”

Acquisitions/Foreign Travel, Benson Latin American Collection, Collections

Benson Acquisition: Augusto Roa Bastos Papers

November 25, 2024 Susanna Sharpe Leave a comment

The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection is thrilled to announce the acquisition of the literary archives of César Vallejo and Augusto Roa Bastos, two giants of Latin American letters. These archives augment the Benson’s already significant collection of materials that represent the region’s writers, thinkers, and intellectual leaders, making the library, and the UT campus, an invaluable resource for students, faculty, and researchers from all corners of the globe.

By MELISSA GUY and DANIEL ARBINO

Paraguay’s most significant writer, Augusto Roa Bastos (1917–2005) is known for his contributions to the Latin American Boom and the post-dictatorship novel, particularly through his works Hijo de hombre (1960) and Yo el Supremo (1974). The latter is a historical fiction of the José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia dictatorship in the nineteenth century.

The book cover of a commemorative edition of "Yo, el Supremo" is a dark mustard-yellow and features a woodblock-print image of a black fist jutting across the page horizontally from the left. Falling from the hand is a large, bright-red drop of blood. — Cover of a commemorative edition of “Yo el Supremo,” published on the centennial of the author by the Real Academia Española.

Roa Bastos grew up in Iturbe, a provincial town where his father worked as an administrator on a sugar plantation. It was there that he was exposed to Guaraní, and developed a tremendous love for Paraguay’s most spoken Indigenous language. He later went to Asunción for his formative school years and, as a young man, served in the Chaco War as a medical auxiliary. Significant portions of his life were spent outside of Asunción, allowing the writer to have a deeper knowledge of the country at large.

Like the characters in Yo el Supremo, Roa Bastos was no stranger to the effects of dictatorship during his lifetime. In fact, he fled to Argentina in 1947 along with 500,000 other Paraguayans to escape the iron fist of President Higinio Morínigo. Roa Bastos would live over four decades in exile between Buenos Aires and Paris before returning to his homeland in 1989 after the fall of the Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship. However, his commitment to Paraguayan culture never wavered as his literary career, which produced short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays, and children’s literature, demonstrated a commitment to the South American nation through his themes: collective memory, bilingualism (Guaraní/Spanish), and Indigeneity. His style, which pulled from magical realist and neobaroque tendencies, blended different time periods (pre-colonial and contemporary) to interrogate Paraguayan society.

Two yellowing sheets of paper side by side have a handwritten list with items numbered 1 through 42. The left-hand sheet is titled Índice (Index). Each line has a short title written in cursive by the author. — Handwritten index related to “Yo el Supremo.” Augusto Roa Bastos Papers, Benson Latin American Collection.

“In acquiring the literary archives of the great Paraguayan writer Augusto Roa Bastos, the Benson Latin American Collection is today blessed with the author’s handwritten notes relating to Yo el Supremo, one of the region’s most exorbitantly ambitious, baroquely virtuosic, groundbreaking novels of the late twentieth century,” writes Professor César A. Salgado of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. “The novel was published in 1974 as part of an agreement among top Latin American Boom writers to produce ‘dictator novels’ that dissected authoritarian regimes in their respective countries. In a group that included Alejo Carpentier’s El recurso del método (1974), Gabriel García Márquez’s El otoño del patriarca (1975), and Carlos Fuentes’ Terra Nostra (1975), Yo el Supremo outdid these other immensely accomplished works by structuring its penetrating, thoroughly researched psychological portrait of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (Paraguay’s undisputed ‘enlightened despot’ from 1811 to 1840) as it were a lively philosophical debate about how dictation, writing, literacy, orality (including Guaraní traditions), absolute power, and impermanence could be both complicit and antithetical to each other. If the ludological radicality of Rayuela galvanized the Boom in 1962, Yo el Supremo brought it to a close in 1974 by showing how deep-seated mechanisms of supremacist rule, set up at the start of nation formation in Latin America, could easily resurface across its history. With Yo el Supremo, Roa Bastos thus launched a fully postmodern critical and creative agenda for the region.”

A yellowing sheet of paper, heavily creased in the middle, bears both typed notes and handwritten notes. Some of the typed lines are scribbled over with wavy lines written in pen. The elegant handwritten part looks to be written with an ink pen. — Handwritten and typed notes titled “Themes for Paraguayan Stories,” Roa Bastos Papers. Courtesy Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection.

The Augusto Roa Bastos Papers is a versatile collection that spans the author’s career. It contains poetry, speeches, essays, correspondence, and manuscript drafts. Among the jewels of the collection are letters between the author and his daughter, Mirta Roa Mascheroni, and handwritten comments regarding Yo el Supremo and his novel Madama Sui. This collection provides researchers with profound insight into the writer’s life, particularly his time during exile, and his creative process from beginning to end. It pairs well with the Miguel Ángel Asturias Papers for similar topics regarding exile and the Boom.

The Roa Bastos acquisition was made possible in part by the Drs. Fernando Macías and Adriana Pacheco Benson Centennial Endowment.

Melissa Guy is director of the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection.

Daniel Arbino is former Head of Collection Development for the Benson.

Acquisitions/Foreign Travel, Archives, Benson Latin American Collection, Collections Highlight, Poetry

Benson Acquisition: César Vallejo Papers

November 25, 2024 Susanna Sharpe Leave a comment

The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection is thrilled to announce the acquisition of the archives of César Vallejo and Augusto Roa Bastos, two giants of Latin American letters. These archives augment the Benson’s already significant collection of materials that represent the region’s writers, thinkers, and intellectual leaders, making the library, and the UT campus, an invaluable resource for students, faculty, researchers from all corners of the globe.

By ADELA PINEDA FRANCO

Peruvian poet César Vallejo (1892–1938) is considered one of the most significant figures in twentieth-century Latin American literature. Born in the Andean city of Santiago de Chuco, he moved to Lima as a young university student, producing there his first collection of poems, Los heraldos negros (1919). Seeking wider cultural and intellectual opportunities, Vallejo left Peru for Europe in 1923, spending most of his remaining fifteen years in self-imposed, impoverished exile in France, with periods in Spain and two trips to Russia. He died in Paris in 1938 at the age of 46.

Close-up black-and-white photograph of a man with dark hair, wearing a dark suit. He is resting his chin on one hand and looking into the distance. — César Vallejo, undated. Benson Latin American Collection.

Vallejo’s poetry has no precedent in the history of modern poetry. Written during a period that witnessed the crude consequences of war, imprisonment, and displacement (1919–1922), his avant-garde masterwork, Trilce (1922), challenges the reader with compelling paradoxes, abrupt syntactical turns, irregular spellings, rarefied lexicon, and verses arranged in unfamiliar visual displays.

However, this experimental register goes beyond the drive toward the new that was characteristic of the avant-garde movements. Vallejo’s poetic language is also a consequence of his search for the stark concrete expression of human affect. This is why in Trilce abstract notions of time, space, and being are conflated with raw emotions. No other poet has given shape to the silence that sustains the remembrance of things past with such precision:

Aguedita, Nativa, Miguel,
cuidado con ir por ahí, por donde
acaban de pasar
gangueando sus memorias
dobladoras penas,
hacia el silencioso corral, y por donde
las gallinas que se están acostando todavía,
se han espantado tanto.
Mejor estemos aquí no más.
Madre dijo que no demoraría.

“Poema III,” Trilce, 1922

[Find English translations of the poems cited here at https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520261730/the-complete-poetry]

César Vallejo in Fountainebleu, France, 1926. Courtesy Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection.

On the other hand, Vallejo’s poems embody the collective rather than the egotistical self. Familiar references are always a window into the vulnerability of human nature and the resilience of collective struggle, both in his homeland of Peru and in the entire world. A poem on the death of a soldier in the Spanish Civil War reads:

Pedro también solía comer
entre las criaturas de su carne, asear, pintar
la mesa y vivir dulcemente
en representación de todo el mundo.
Y esta cuchara anduvo en su chaqueta,
despierto o bien cuando dormía, siempre,
cuchara muerta viva, ella y sus símbolos.
¡Abisa a todos compañeros pronto!
¡Viban los compañeros al pie de esta cuchara para siempre!

“Solía escribir con su dedo grande en el aire,” España, aparta de mí este cáliz,1939

Vallejo’s oeuvre is thus an affective journey through the troublesome history of the twentieth century. Evidence of this is his posthumous poetry, which pertains to his last years in Europe: Poemas humanos (Human Poems), grouped under this title by his widow Georgette María Philippart Travers in 1937; and España, aparta de mí este cáliz (Spain, Take This Cup from Me,1939), his testament of the Spanish Civil War. Both collections are a centerpiece of the Benson’s recent acquisition.

A yellowed sheet of lined notebook paper, bearing three holes along the right side. The paper is filled top to bottom with Spanish words written in pencil, most of them with commas after them. — “Poemas humanos” manuscript, César Vallejo Papers. Courtesy Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection.

Beyond the recurring debate as to whether Human Poems is an appropriate title for this posthumous corpus, it is certain that these poems are an honest and critical reflection on the role of the lettered poet in a world charged with misery and human suffering:

Un albañil cae de un techo, muere y ya no almuerza
¿Innovar, luego, el tropo, la metáfora?

“Un hombre pasa con un pan al hombro,” Poemas humanos, 1937

Vallejo’s poems will always be contemporary, as they shed light on the devastating consequences of societal fragmentation, displacement, and exile. At the same time, his poems remind us of the need to keep longing for human empathy and love, even in times of war. We celebrate the arrival of Vallejo’s papers.

Al fin de la batalla,
y muerto el combatiente, vino hacia él un hombre
y le dijo: “No mueras, te amo tanto!”
Pero el cadáver ¡ay! siguió muriendo.

Se le acercaron dos y repitiéronle:
“No nos dejes! ¡Valor! ¡Vuelve a la vida!”
Pero el cadáver ¡ay! siguió muriendo.

Acudieron a él veinte, cien, mil, quinientos mil,
clamando: “Tanto amor, y no poder nada contra la muerte!”
Pero el cadáver ¡ay! siguió muriendo.

Le rodearon millones de individuos,
con un ruego común: “¡Quédate, hermano!”
Pero el cadáver ¡ay! siguió muriendo.

Entonces, todos los hombres de
la tierra le rodearon; les vio el cadáver triste, emocionado;
incorporóse lentamente,
abrazó al primer hombre; echóse a andar . . .

“Masa,” Poemas humanos, 1939

The César Vallejo Papers consist of materials dated from 1918 to 1992, and include manuscripts, drafts, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and some published copies of his written work.

This acquisition was funded in part by the Janet and Jack Roberts Peruvian Endowment.

Adela Pineda Franco is Lozano Long Endowed Professor in Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies, and director of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) at The University of Texas at Austin. Biographical research on César Vallejo was contributed by Benson Exhibitions Curator Veronica Valarino.

Benson Latin American Collection, Fine Arts Library, Outreach, Zines

Another Successful Year at Lone Star Zine Fest

November 7, 2024 tinatran Leave a comment

The UT Libraries tabled at the 8th Annual Lone Star Zine Fest on October 19th and 20th. We Librarians were able to connect with the local community of zinesters through outreach as well as purchasing new materials for the collection.

What is a zine? To put it simply, a zine is a DIY publication, traditionally made on printer paper, meant to spread awareness of a particular issue or to find certain communities that share the same interests. Historically, zines have been used to bypass the barriers of traditional publishing, making them a speedy and inexpensive way to share information utilizing print materials.

The Blue Genie Art Bazaar (the site chosen to host the fest) was filled to the brim with zines that October Weekend. With over 100 vendors, we zine librarians had our work cut out for us. Not only did we table at the fest to promote UT’s free-to-read zine collection, we also prepared for purchasing and were eager to find new titles to add to the stacks.

Tabling at the fest brought a few new challenges. Last year’s fest ran for one day, while this year it grew into two. This is due to the huge success of the previous year’s event, with over 1000 people attending the fest. We spread the word to the UT Libraries community and received interest from fellow staff and graduate research assistants in assisting us with our outreach efforts. Having volunteers as extra eyes at the event proved to be more helpful than we thought. They brought back fabulous purchase suggestions as they perused the vendors throughout the building.

With pen and paper in hand, we scoured the building looking for locally-made zines that would add oomph to our current collection, such as comic zines for the Fine Arts Library and chapbooks for the PCL Poetry Center. We also looked for zines on topics that would resonate with students and could be added to our teaching toolkit for zine workshops we hold periodically throughout the year. Two of our favorite vendors – Chan Channel and Table for Two Publications – are alumni from the College of Fine Arts who often visited the Fine Arts Library. They were excited to meet us and thrilled to have their work represented in our zine collection for future art and design students. All in all, we purchased over 100 zines at the fest for the Libraries!

Our outreach at the Lone Star Zine Fest was a major success. We talked to over 400 attendees about the collection, surprising many with the fact that the UT Libraries are open to the public. Many expressed interest in visiting campus (we look forward to seeing y’all)! This concludes our sixth year tabling at the fest and we hope to continue to do so for many years to come.

Are you interested in learning more about the UT Zine Collection? Please visit our LibGuide here.

Benson Latin American Collection, Books, Global Studies, LLILAS Benson

Primeros Libros Triennial Takes Place in Oaxaca

November 6, 2024 tex libris Leave a comment

The 2024 Primeros Libros Triennial Partner Meeting and Symposium, held at the Francisco de Burgoa Library in Oaxaca on October 10–11, brought together scholars, librarians and cultural heritage experts to celebrate and examine the legacy of early Mexican printed books and their impact on understanding the colonial period.

The Primeros Libros de las Américas project is a collaborative digital initiative to preserve and provide access to the first books printed in the Americas during the 16th century. It emphasizes the creation of a comprehensive digital corpus to promote global access and scholarship. With contributions from institutions across Europe and the Americas, the project embodies the shared heritage of colonial Mexico and serves as a vital resource for understanding the history of print, culture and language in the New World.

Day 1 of the gathering opened with a keynote lecture, “The Christian Doctrine in Mixtec by Fray Benito Hernández (1567-1568): Its Historical and Current Context,” delivered by a panel of experts, including bilingual educators, psychologists, and philologists. The presentation highlighted efforts to preserve indigenous Mixtec texts through interdisciplinary research.

Panel discussions throughout the day explored the artistry and subversion in 16^th-century Mexican prints, including analyses of the unique Franciscan Library’s “Warnings for Indian Confessors” and the survival of anti-colonial Nahuatl codices.

A virtual presentation from the Biblioteca Statale di Lucca shed light on the discovery of rare early American prints in European collections, illustrating the transatlantic reach of colonial print culture.

The second day delved deeper into the lives of early printers, such as Pedro Ocharte and the Calderón family, with a spotlight on technological advances in printmaking during the colonial era. Discussions also explored the circulation and reception of printed works across the Americas, including a case study of an indigenous sacristan in Zacatecas who risked punishment to preserve knowledge.

The symposium also included a visit to the Juan de Córdova Research Library and concluded with a book presentation on the history of engraving in Mexican print. Scholars and participants hailed the event as a critical platform for fostering collaboration and preserving the shared heritage of the Americas.

For more information about Primeros Libros and ongoing preservation initiatives, visit primeroslibros.org.

Benson Latin American Collection, Events, LLILAS Benson, Uncategorized

Former Chilean President Bachelet Champions Women’s Leadership and Equality in Public Address

November 6, 2024 tex libris Leave a comment

The Honorable Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, addressed a crowd at the Benson Latin American Collection on October 16. Part of the Mary Ann Faulkner Distinguished Lecture Series in Latin American Public Affairs and Politics, the event was hosted by the Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies (LLILAS).

Bachelet made history as the first woman to serve as President of Chile, holding office for two non-consecutive terms (2006–2010 and 2014–2018). Born in 1951 in Santiago, Chile, she grew up in a politically active family and pursued a career in medicine, specializing in pediatrics and public health. Her life took a dramatic turn during Chile’s military dictatorship when her father, a general loyal to President Salvador Allende, was arrested and died in custody, and she herself was detained and tortured. After returning from exile in the 1980s, Bachelet became a prominent advocate for democracy and human rights. She later entered politics, serving as Minister of Health and Minister of National Defense before ascending to the presidency. Following her time in office, she was appointed as the first Executive Director of UN Women and later served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022, continuing her lifelong commitment to social justice and equality.

Before the evening event, Bachelet visited the Benson’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room, where she was provided an introduction to the archive with a viewing of rare materials led by Benson Director Melissa Guy, Head of User Services AJ Johnson and Head of Special Collections Ryan Lynch.

The evening talk began with an introduction from LLILAS Director Adela Pineda Franco, who underscored Bachelet’s influence on democratic governance and human rights worldwide, then Bachelet launched into a talk focused on women’s leadership and gender equality across the Americas, set against a backdrop of rising authoritarianism and rights erosion. Reflecting on setbacks for women’s rights globally, Bachelet touched on issues such as recent limitations on reproductive rights in the U.S., elimination of Argentina’s Ministry of Women and gendered restrictions in Afghanistan. She argued that women’s rights must remain integral to discussions on democracy, noting that societal progress is hindered when women’s contributions are overlooked.

Bachelet also explored the impact of artificial intelligence on women’s employment, emphasizing the need for a human rights framework to prevent biased AI systems. She called for greater diversity in AI development, pointing to a male-dominated tech sector where gender biases could impact future job markets.

Immediately following her address, Dean JR DeShazo of the LBJ School of Public Affairs interviewed Bachelet on the challenges and progress in women’s leadership and gender equality in the Americas. Bachelet emphasized the importance of inclusive policies and the need for continuous efforts to address systemic inequalities. She highlighted her experiences in overcoming political and social barriers, underscoring the role of resilience and strategic optimism in advancing human rights and gender parity. The discussion also touched upon the impact of global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, on women’s rights, and the necessity for collaborative international approaches to safeguard and promote gender equality.

Bachelet concluded the evening by encouraging attendees to champion gender equality as a foundational element of democratic integrity. Her call to action extended to the university’s community, encouraging students, faculty and future leaders to break barriers and advocate for equitable representation.

Benson Latin American Collection, Development, Endowments

New Endowments Bolster Visiting Scholars at the Benson Collection

October 2, 2024 tex libris Leave a comment

This summer, two new endowments were established to support scholars working with the Benson Latin American Collection, strengthening research into Latin American, Latina/o, and Mexican American history.

The María Lugones Research Fund, created in memory of María Cristina Lugones—an Argentine feminist philosopher, activist, and professor—was established by her colleague, Professor Joshua Price. The fund will provide support for projects related to Latin America, Latina/os in the U.S., and the Black diaspora in the Americas. Eligible recipients include PhD students, activists, and established scholars from around the world, with priority given to those utilizing the María Lugones papers.

Additionally, the Montejano Benson Collection Research Award was created by Dr. David Montejano and Veronica Montejano to support visiting researchers focusing on Mexican American history. Dr. Montejano, reflecting on his own experiences at the Benson, said, “Over the past forty years, I have enjoyed countless days at the Benson doing research. I could not have written my trilogy on Texas history and politics without the Benson. With this modest endowment, I wish to encourage continued research into Mexican American and Latino history.”

Both endowments will receive matching funds from the Ann Hartness Benson Collection Matching Fund, further expanding their impact. These funds are expected to be accessible soon, depending on payment schedules and investment outcomes.

We eagerly anticipate the meaningful research these new funds will make possible.

To contribute to either endowment, please contact Libraries’ Development Officer Claire Burrows, claire.burrows@austin.utexas.edu.

Benson Latin American Collection, Black Diaspora Archive, Digital Scholarship

New Website Chronicles Texas’s Domestic Slave Trade

October 2, 2024 tex libris Leave a comment

The Texas Domestic Slave Trade Project (TXDST) has launched a new website, From Slavery to Freedom in Texas, exploring the often-overlooked stories of enslaved individuals in Texas. The site focuses on four counties—Brazoria, Red River, Waller, and Washington—to illuminate both individual stories and the broader legacy of slavery in the state.

The project emphasizes firsthand experiences of enslaved people and delves into the history that continues to shape Texas today. The stories include the account of Eli Terry, a free Black man who was sold into slavery in Red River County before reclaiming his freedom after over seven years. Another featured story discusses the Alta Vista plantation, where Prairie View A&M University—a historically Black college/university (HBCU)—now stands, and highlights efforts by plantation descendants to confront and preserve this history.

Educators will find a variety of resources to bring these narratives into the classroom, providing deeper insights into Texas’s complex history.

The project is a collaboration between The University of Texas at Austin and Prairie View A&M University, made possible through a Start-Up Grant for Collaborative Digital Editions from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), with support from the Mellon Foundation and the National Archives.

Libraries’ Black Diaspora Archivist Rachel E. Winston played a significant role in this effort, serving as co-Principal Investigator from 2022 to 2024. The History Department also highlights contributions from several current and former students, including Dr. Signe Peterson Fourmy (PhD 2020), Sheena Moore, and current PhD candidate Ron Davis, who is also Curator of American History at the Witte Museum in San Antonio.

For more information, visit txdstproject.org.