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Blogs Categories: Hispanic American History

Blogs Categories: Hispanic American History

“Aquí pero allá”: Telling the story of Chileans in the United States through the Library's Collections

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This is a guest post written jointly by Tatiana Cherry Santos and Melissa Flores, graduate students from the Center of Latin American Studies at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.   Tatiana “El pueblo, unido, jamás será vencido,” I chanted into the buzzing crowd around me. Even as a young child I knew these words, …

Homegrown Plus: Cambalache's Mexican American Son Jarocho from California

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Welcome back to Homegrown Plus! We're continuing the series with Cambalache, who perform son jarocho music, one of the regional Mexican styles that has become very important to the Chicano community in California. Like other blogs in the Homegrown Plus series, this one includes a concert video and a video interview with the featured performer, plus links and connections to Library of Congress collections. Cambalache, named for a Spanish word that means "exchange," is a Chicano-Jarocho group based in East Los Angeles. Founded in 2007 and led by Cesar Castro (sonero, maestro and luthier from Veracruz, Mexico), Cambalache plays and promotes traditional son jarocho through performance, music workshops, and educational demonstrations. Son jarocho comes from Veracruz, Mexico, on the gulf coast, a cultural region shaped by Indigenous, African, and Spanish culture. In the spirit of the fandango, a traditional celebration of music and dance, Cambalache engages its audience through participatory performances.

Homegrown Plus: Mamselle Ruiz's Mexican Sones from Montreal, Canada

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Welcome back to Homegrown Plus! Since it's Women's History Month, we thought we'd feature another fantastic woman musician, Mamselle Ruiz! Like other blogs in the Homegrown Plus series, this one includes a concert video and a video interview with the featured performer, plus links and connections to Library of Congress collections. Since the interview was conducted in French, this blog also features an English language translation of the interview. Mamselle Ruiz is a Mexican-born singer and guitarist living in French-speaking Montréal. She was raised on all kinds of Mexican music, and she includes traditional Mexican folksongs such as “La Bruja” and “La Llorona” in a diverse repertoire that also includes Son Huasteco classics along with Latin cover songs and her own compositions. This concert features mostly traditional Mexican songs.

Meet the Subjects of Latinitas in the Library of Congress’s Collection!

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Last year at the National Book Festival, audiences at the KidLit stage heard from Juliet Menéndez, the Guatemalan-American author, illustrator, and teacher behind Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers. Latinitas is an illustrated children’s book that celebrates the lives of over forty influential Latina heroes, ranging from singer Selena Quintanilla to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. …

An interview with Meg Medina, the Eighth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

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We thank Sasha Dowdy from Literary Initiatives for allowing us to repost this interview with the new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Thank you to Literary Initiatives intern Natalie Miller for helping transcribe the interview. Cross-posted from Minerva’s Kaleidoscope: Resources for Kids and Families Meg Medina: a former teacher, a Milk Dud aficionado, an …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Ready for Research: From Latin America and Baseball Cards to Moral Re-Armament and Historical Trademark Designs

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The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, and Aliza Leventhal, Head, Technical Services, both of the Prints & Photographs Division. Every week our department organizes, houses, describes, and selectively digitizes a wide variety of pictures. Here are the highlights from the more than 125,000 items completed in the past six months. You …