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Posted by: Megan Harris
Due in part to the well-known HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, which profiled the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the accomplishments and bravery of World War II paratroopers are well known. And deservedly so—I can’t imagine hurling myself out of a plane under the best of conditions, let alone while dodging enemy bullets …
Posted in: Hispanic American History, Oral History, Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
On September 15 and 16, 2015, AFC will be featuring a lecture and workshop with Juan Díes, and a and concert with Sones de México Ensemble, presenting the corrido, a type of narrative song native to the Texas-Mexico border region. In honor of these events, I thought I would introduce our readers to some of …
Posted in: Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, Hispanic American History, John Lomax, Ruby Terrill Lomax
Posted by: Stephen Winick
On this snowy January day, I’d like to wish the readers of Folklife Today a happy end to the holiday season. Many people take down their Christmas decorations immediately after the day itself, and others use New Year’s Day as the end of their holiday. But among many communities, the Christmas season culminates after Twelfth …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Folk Drama, Folk Music, Folksong, Hispanic American History, Holidays, Juan B Rael, Photographs, Sidney Robertson Cowell, Uncategorized
Posted by: Lisa Taylor
The Veterans History Project (VHP) joins the nation in recognizing September 15 through October 15 as National Hispanic Heritage Month. In so doing, VHP celebrates the heritage and culture of Hispanic- and Latino-American veterans, who number an estimated 1.4 million. A few years ago in an Experiencing War Web Feature, VHP highlighted the digitized collections …
Posted in: Hispanic American History, Oral History, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a post I wrote jointly with Trevor Owens of the Library’s Office of Strategic Initiatives, with input from many colleagues throughout the Library of Congress. Share your photos of Halloween, Día de los Muertos, and related holidays with AFC and the World! #FolklifeHalloween2014 Halloween, All Souls Day, All Saints Day, Día de …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Hispanic American History, Holidays, John Lomax, Photographs, Sidney Robertson Cowell
Posted by: Kate Stewart
On September 25th, the American Folklife Center and the Library of Congress’s Hispanic Division brought together eight scholars and activists for a day-long symposium titled Organizing Across the Boundaries: Strategies and Coalitions in the Struggle for Civil Rights and Social Justice. It was the last event for this fiscal year in our public programs series, …
Posted in: AFC Events, African Americans, Black Panther Party, Chicano/a, Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Hispanic American History, Religion, SNCC
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 …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Caribbean Americans, Easter, Folk Drama, Folk Music, Folksong, Hispanic American History, Holidays, John Lomax, Juan B Rael, Ruby Terrill Lomax, Sidney Robertson Cowell
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post authored by Russell Rodríguez and Quetzal Flores of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. Rodríguez and Flores will visit the Library with three master musicians, three apprentices, and several guest musicians, on September 11, 2014, for the concert Son Jarocho Master Musicians (video, 1 hour). During the golden era …
Posted in: AFC Events, Dance, Folk Music, Folksong, Hispanic American History