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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, …
Posted in: 4 Corners of the World
By: Stephen Winick
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.
Posted in: Folklife Today
This post was written by Katya Soto, an intern in the Center for the Book of the Library of Congress under the mentorship of Guy Lamolinara. Welcome to Lit Bits! This is the first in a new series of book-related blog posts featuring video snippets from your favorite authors, many of whom have appeared at …
Posted in: Minerva’s Kaleidoscope
By: Stephen Winick
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.
Posted in: Folklife Today
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. …
Posted in: Minerva’s Kaleidoscope
By: Danna Bell
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 …
Posted in: Teaching with the Library
By: Kristi Finefield
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 …
Posted in: Picture This
By: Rob Casper
In our first-ever U.S. Poet Laureate guest post, Ada Limón writes of her recent trip to Mexico City to participate in an event with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Dr. Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, wife of the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Posted in: From the Catbird Seat
By: Sasha Dowdy
Enjoy this interview with Meg Medina, a soon-to-be inaugurated National Ambassador for Young People's LIterature, 2023-2024.
Posted in: From the Catbird Seat
By: Sasha Dowdy
Enjoy this interview with Meg Medina, a soon-to-be inaugurated National Ambassador for Young People's LIterature, 2023-2024.
Posted in: Minerva’s Kaleidoscope