In Latin America, in Spanish-speaking communities in the U.S., and especially in Mexico, no ghost story is told as often, discussed as enthusiastically, or interpreted as widely, as the legend of La Llorona. With this introduction, AFC kicks off a short series of blogs on La Llorona stories and songs between now and Día de Muertos
“…millions this week listened to Buck Canel, a swashbuckling New Yorker, as he broadcast his 27th World Series in Spanish” –Robert H. Boyle, Sports Illustrated, October 14, 1963. “No se vayan que esto se pone bueno!” (“Don’t go away, this is getting good!”) –Buck Canel, during many, many baseball broadcasts Sportscaster Buck Canel’s voice …
Sadly, in the Library of Congress’ Moving Image and Recorded Sound sections, we are no stranger to the concept of “lost” media. Though our vast archives are a testament to all the movies, TV shows, music and other sounds that have been created and have endured to the present day, sprinkled throughout film/sound history are …
What a Wonderful World this would be, dancing Cheek to Cheek, imagining to be Just a Gigolo: Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald's songbooks, and the piano version of Leonello Casucci's memorable song, are now available as digital braille music scores for you to download from BARD. Check out this week's blog to find these and many more new titles in the NLS Music digital collection.
Just in time for the start of a new school year, the American Folklife Center has posted to its website a wonderful new collection of Occupational Folklife Project interviews documenting Teaching in Wisconsin Classrooms. This important resource features in-depth interviews with 32 dedicated, resourceful and creative elementary teachers throughout the state of Wisconsin. Given the essential role played by American teachers, it is perhaps surprising that the AFC archive previously contained so few first-person narratives by classroom teachers documenting their work lives. This collection begins to address that gap.
Summer is over, and autumn is here. That means the Homegrown 2021 concert series is also drawing to a close. We put a selection of songs from the series on the Folklife Today podcast, with commentary from me, John Fenn, series producer Thea Austen, and AFC interns Kennedi Johnson and Camille Acosta. That way, if you haven't had a chance to watch the videos, you can download and listen wherever you like to hear your podcasts. As usual, there are links to the podcast itself, plus links to relevant blog posts, videos, and audio selections in this post.
The John W. Kluge Center is pleased to announce that Camille Moreddu has been selected as the newest Jon B. Lovelace Fellow for the Study of the Alan Lomax Collection at the Library of Congress. Camille Moreddu is a French cultural historian from Paris-Nanterre University. She has researched the emergence of the concept of “American …