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Category: Caribbean Americans

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

New AFC Latinx and Latin American Research Guide : Navigating AFC Collections During National Hispanic Heritage Month

Posted by: Allina Migoni

The research guides from the American Folklife Center help researchers navigate the AFC collections by geographic region or by topic. One of our most recent guides, Latinx and Latin American Collections: Resources in the American Folklife Center, provides quick access to our Latinx and Latin American resources during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

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

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 …

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

Puertorriqueños de Estados Unidos: Identity, Arts, and Culture

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean. Puerto Rican migration to the mainland United States has largely been driven by economic necessity, whether of individuals’ needs to earn more to support themselves and their families, or large scale economic events such as the Great Depression and other …

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

Homegrown Plus: Grupo Rebolú’s Afro-Colombian Music

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. (Find the whole series here!) We’re continuing the series with a concert and oral history with Grupo Rebolú. Grupo Rebolú is an Afro-Colombian musical ensemble that includes some of the finest Colombian …

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

Collection Spotlight: Children’s Songs from the Virgin Islands

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

Between 1976 and 1978 Karen S. Ellis recorded the playground songs of elementary school students on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She was teaching at the Ricardo Richards School and many of the children she recorded were her students. This work culminated in a book and recording, Domino, a resource for children and teachers, published …

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

A Sampler of Luso-Hispanic American Music and Song

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

The collections of the American Folklife Center reflect a long history of ethnographic interest in Luso-Hispanic American music and song. Much of the early collecting work focused on peoples of the regions that formerly belonged to Spain. In this post I’ll provide a quick overview of the Hispanic-American music in AFC’s online collections. Spanish Songs …

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

A Sampler of Caribbean American Recordings

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

Caribbean American Heritage Month is a relatively new commemorative month, first created in June, 2006. The American Folklife Center has many collections that document aspects of Caribbean cultures and some of these are available online. This essay can only touch on a few examples, but I hope it will provide ideas on how to explore …