Tag Archives: Maggie Rivas-Rodríguez

Benson Latin American Collection, Collections Highlight, Exhibits, Libraries

Exhibition: VOCES Oral History Center at 25

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A Quarter-Century of Giving Voice to the U.S. Latino and Latina Experience

By Veronica Valarino

The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection is proud to join in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the VOCES Oral History Center, part of the School of Journalism at the Moody College of Communication, The University of Texas at Austin.

In honor of this important milestone, this Benson exhibition showcases VOCES’s extraordinary journey over the past quarter-century, and its profound impact in highlighting and recognizing the contributions of the U.S. Latino/a community in Texas and the rest of United States.

Two rows of young women nurses in white uniforms face the camera outdoors in front of a building with a row of connected windows. They are all wearing white flowered corsages pinned to their dresses and holding small white bouquets.
Graduation day. May 22, 1942, at Oak Park Methodist Church, Corpus Christi, Texas. Front row from left: Jeanie Mcpherson, Elenor Lacomb, Theresa Green, Mary Thomas, Bernice Hunter, Supervisor, Mrs. Elizabeth Moller. Back row from left: Margaret Moore, Apolinia Muñoz, Pat Bartholomeu, Betty Jorgenson, Dorothy Lewis. Voces Oral History Center Archive, Benson Latin American Collection.

Under the visionary leadership of founder and director Maggie Rivas-Rodríguez, VOCES has progressively expanded its original focus of documenting the experiences of Latino veterans and civilians in all branches of the military during World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean conflict.

Through relentless oral history documentation, VOCES has gradually broadened its scope to encompass a wide range of Latino/a experiences, including cultural contributions, political and civic participation, professional achievements, thereby establishing itself as a fundamental and invaluable institution and repository.

Five young men, all soldiers, pose outdoors in bare terrain during the Vietnam War. A forest with tall trees is visible in the background. The men pose in front of a small black apparatus equipped with guns. The machine has the words The Widow-Maker written on it with white paint, along with a skull. The two men standing on either side of the machine wear large crucifixes around their necks. They are white Latinos. Three men crouch in the foreground. Two are Black and one is white with red hair. The man to the right wears a helmet and holds a string of large bullets.
U.S. soldier Michael Treviño (top left), a soldier nicknamed “Red” (bottom left), soldier Nathan Garcia (middle), an unknown soldier, and Raymond Garcia (top right) from Army Unit G65 stand together in front of a M45 Quadmount called Widowmaker at FireBase Rifle in the Ashar Valley, Republic of South Vietnam, circa August 1969.

The VOCES Oral History Project Archive has been housed at the Benson Latin American Collection since 2005. By preserving this invaluable archive on our physical and digital shelves, we ensure that these stories endure for the future and for new generations as a unique resource for research and learning about the multifaceted narratives and cultural heritage of diverse Latino/a communities.

Join us in celebrating 25 years of the remarkable work of VOCES to elevate and honor Latina and Latino stories, as well as the significant impact of the Latinx community.

VOCES Oral History Center at 25 is on view in the Benson Latin American Collection’s second-floor gallery during library hours, through April 7, 2025.

Veronica Valarino is the Benson Exhibitions Curator.

Books, Events, Research, Technology

Editors discuss new book on Latino expericence during World War II

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texlibris_beyondthelatinoThe Center for Mexican American Studies hosts a discussion of Beyond the Latino World War II Hero: The Social and Political Legacy of a Generation (University of Texas Press, 2009) with editors Maggie Rivas-Rodríguez and Emilio Zamora today at 4 p.m. at El Mercado Uptown,  1702 Lavaca St.

Beyond the Latino World War II Hero extends on the work of the U.S. Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project which was founded by Rivas-Rodriguez. The project has interviewed more than 650 men and women of the World War II generation and has multiple components, including a photographic exhibit, a play, three books, and a website which was developed with and hosted by the University of Texas Libraries.

Maggie Rivas-Rodríguez is Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and in 1999 founded the U.S. Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project. Emilio Zamora is Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of The World of the Mexican Worker in Texas.