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Archive: September 2022 (9 Posts)

In this picture of Tlacuatzin Son Huasteco, a man holds a violin, a woman holds a large guitar, and another man holds a smaller guitar. Photo is accompanied by the Homegrown 2022 logo, which includes the words "Library of Congress American Folklife Center Homegrown 2022 Concert Series, "Homegrown at Home." Tlacuatzin Son Huasteco

Homegrown Plus Premiere: Tlacuatzin Son Huasteco from Mexico

Posted by: Stephen Winick

We're continuing the Homegrown Plus Premiere series with Tlacuatzin Son Huasteco, a trio playing one of the traditional music styles of eastern Mexico, known as son huasteco or huapango music; As is usual for the series, this blog post includes an embedded concert video, an interview video, and a set of related links to explore! Son huasteco music is built around two variants of the guitar, the jarana and the quinta huapanguera, as well as the violin and the voice. Son huasteco singing employs a distinctive falsetto style. Improvisation plays a strong role in this music, with each group adding their own lyrics and arrangements to a standard repertoire of songs. The result is acoustic string-band music that is both traditional and contemporary, with direct emotional appeal.

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

AFC’s Community Collections Grants: Foodways in Chicago with Jorge Félix

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

Below is an excerpt from a post on the Library’s Of the People blog highlighting artist, documentarian, and AFC Community Collections Grant recipient Jorge Félix and his project, Sofrito Conversations: Bridging the North and West of Chicago. Congratulations on the grant, Jorge! First, tell us a bit about you and your work. Thanks! It is …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Cecil Sharp, Nagra Decks, Tony Barrand, and Mick Moloney on the Folklife Today Podcast

Posted by: Stephen Winick

We're back with another episode of the Folklife Today podcast! In this episode, John Fenn and I talk about some of our favorite items in the archive, including a Nagra IV-S portable tape recorder, and invite Jennifer Cutting along to talk about commercial recordings of traditional folk dance tunes collected by the English folklorist Cecil Sharp. We used the opportunity to honor folklorists  Tony Barrand, who built upon Cecil Sharp's dance scholarship, and Mick Moloney, who made some great recordings on our Nagras. Barrand and Moloney both passed away in the last year. As usual, I'll present more complete recordings of the music and other related collections in this blog post, along with links to download the podcast itself.

Four people wearing wicker animal masks

Homegrown Plus Premiere: The Armagh Rhymers’ Music and Rhyme from Ireland

Posted by: Stephen Winick

We're continuing the Homegrown Plus Premiere series with The Armagh Rhymers, one of the most celebrated traditional music and theatre ensembles on the island of Ireland. As is usual for the series, this blog post includes an embedded concert video, an interview video, and a set of related links to explore!

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Crowdsourcing Information and Disinformation: The World War II Rumor Project available through By the People

Posted by: Todd Harvey

Staff from the American Folklife Center and By the People have again teamed up for a crowdsourcing campaign. We are asking volunteers to read and transcribe the Center’s World War II Rumor Project. The digital collection is online and the crowdsourcing campaign is now live. The World War II Rumor project was conceived by U.S. …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Web Archives and Cuban Songs: Interns and their Interests on the Folklife Today Podcast

Posted by: Stephen Winick

We’re back with another episode of the Folklife Today podcast! Find it at this page on the Library’s website, or on Stitcher, iTunes, or your usual podcatcher. In this episode, John Fenn and and I interview the American Folklife Center’s recent interns, Bryan Jenkins and Elisa Alfonso, about the items and collections that caught their …

Five People holding musical instruments

Homegrown Plus Premiere: Vigüela’s Traditional Song and Music from Central Spain

Posted by: Stephen Winick

We're continuing the Homegrown Plus Premiere series with Vigüela, a a traditional folk quintet with a commitment to the rural musical traditions of central Spain. As is usual for the series, this blog post includes an embedded concert video, an interview video, and a set of related links to explore! Vigüela was established in the mid-1980s, after the Franco regime, by young people who looked to folk culture for a way to channel their creative desires while staying rooted in their local communities. Grounded in this history, the band members value their tradition and perform it with accuracy and energy, as a living music, full of joy. They play traditional Spanish music, including jotas, seguidillas, fandangos, and sones, using the centuries-old singing styles, dialects, and instruments of their region. That region is Castilla-La Mancha, the southern part of the Iberian plateau, sometimes called “the heart of Spain,” or “Don Quixote country.”

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

AFC’s Community Collections Grants: Puerto Rican Coffee Traditions with Russell Oliver

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

Below is an excerpt from a post on the Library’s Of the People blog highlighting AFC Community Collections Grant recipient Russell Oliver and his project, Documenting the Stories, Agricultural Traditions, and Culture of Specialty Coffee Farmers in Puerto Rico. Congratulations on the grant, Russell! How did the idea for the project come about? Thank you …

Four people sing around a microphone

Homegrown Plus: Windborne

Posted by: Stephen Winick

We're continuing the Homegrown Plus series with Windborne, a vocal quartet from New England. BBC Traveling Folk called them "the most exciting vocal group in a generation," and they have certainly done great things with AFC archival materials. Just like other blogs in the Homegrown Plus series, this one includes a concert video, a video interview with the musicians, and connections to Library of Congress collections.