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Douglas D. Peach, Folklife Specialist (Research and Programs), American Folklife Center
Thanks to Pampa Rotolo and Ann Hoog. In 2012, Rotolo and Hoog created a finding aid to the Argentinian collections at the American Folklife Center. This research guide quotes, borrows from, and extends their work.
Created: June 21, 2024
Last Updated: June 21, 2024
The American Folklife Center stewards nine collections related to the history and culture of Argentina. Musicologists, folklorists, and documentarians collected these materials from 1907-2023. Most of the collections are musical recordings. Musical genres such as zamba, chacarera, and tango feature prominently in the collections. The collections also feature Argentine indigenous communities, with recordings from individuals who identify as Ona (or Selknam) and Yahgan (or Yamana). Recently, the American Folklife Center hosted a concert performance by accordionist Alejandro Brittes, and his quartet, who are masters of chamamé music—a genre strongly associated with the northwest of Argentine province of Corrientes. Taken together, these collections illustrate the diversity of Argentine people’s musical expression in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The American Folklife Center is just one repository for Argentine-related materials at the Library of Congress. To learn more about archival collections related to Argentina at the Library of Congress, see this research guide.
This recording project was carried out as a cultural exchange with the United States in conjunction with the South American tour of the American Ballet Company, directed by Lincoln Kirstein, in 1941 and 1942. Seamus Doyle made recordings of traditional and popular music and songs in the cities on the tour, facilitated by ethnomusicologists and radio producers. The collection features field recordings of folk music, popular music, dance music, guitar music, humorous songs, lullabies, children's songs, work songs, fishermen's songs, religious songs, and ballads, of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Peru. The collection includes Doyle's six-page "Report on the Collection of Folk Music in South America" and a detailed song list with performers, titles, genres, recording dates, and locations. It also includes correspondence from Seamus Doyle; from Charles Seeger at the Pan American Union; and with Alan Lomax and Harold Spivacke at the Library of Congress about possible publication of the recordings. In Argentina, Doyle recorded musicians in the cities of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Mendoza.
Charles Wellington Furlong recordings of Fuegian songs in PatagoniaLuiz Heitor Corrêa de Azevedo Collection on Latin American FolkloreLuis Felipe Ramón y Rivera and Isabel Aretz Recordings of Folk Music of Argentina and VenezuelaLaura Bolton Collection, Part 23: Africa, Europe, Far East, Latin America, etc.John Donald Robb collection1995 Neptune Plaza Concert Series CollectionOn September 21, 2023, the American Folklife Center welcomed the Alejandro Brittes Quartet to the Library of Congress for a concert and oral history interview. American Folklife Center staff organized Brittes’ visit as part of the Center’s Homegrown Concert Series and in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Led by Alejandro Brittes on accordion, the quartet’s other members included Carlos de Césare (bass), André Ely (guitar), and Charlise Bandeira (flute and percussion). At times, the group was also joined by Dr. José Curbelo, the group’s manager, on accordion.
On September 21, 2023, American Folklife Center staff conducted an oral history interview with Alejandro Brittes, prior to his concert performance above. In the interview, Brittes discusses his early life, his musical career, and his research about the origins of chamamé music.
