Latinx storytelling in the US

Introduction

The following resources pertain to Latinx storytelling in the US.

Digital Collections

Florida Folklife from the WPA Collections, 1937 to 1942
Florida Folklife from the WPA Collections combines sound recordings and manuscript materials from four discrete archival collections made by Work Projects Administration (WPA) workers from the Joint Committee on Folk Arts, the Federal Writers' Project, and the Federal Music Project from 1937-42. Latinx storytelling can be found under the subject heading "Cuban Americans."

Selected Collections from the American Folklife Center

Diane Wolkstein collection, 1960-2013
Call Number: AFC 2016/057
Papers and audiovisual materials comprising the professional archive of storyteller Diane Wolkstein. Includes performance events and productions, publicity materials, fieldwork interviews, publishing contracts, correspondence, fieldnotes, and story drafts. Wolkstein adapted folktales from many cultures for performance and publication, producing stories for both adults and children. It includes resources from her research in Latin America. A Finding Aid is available.
Luiz Heitor Corrêa de Azevedo collection on Latin American folklore, 1904-1986 (bulk 1940-1960)
Call Number: AFC 2005/008
Comprises a collection of publications pertaining to Latin American folklore and musical traditions from the library of Luiz Heitor Corrêa de Azevedo, Brazilian folklorist and musicologist. The collection includes includes a searchable finding aid. It includes the book Tradición de un cuento brasileño by Luis da Câmara Cascudo, Caracas, 1952, which is a study of the traditional Brazilian tale "Persuasion."

Selected Public Programming from the American Folklife Center and the Library of Congress

Since its inception in 1976, the American Folklife Center has routinely hosted public programs at the Library of Congress in the form of concerts, lectures, panels, and symposia. From 2006 on, most of these public programs have been video recorded and made available online. Below, find videos of public programming related to Latinx stories and storytelling in the US.

Juan Díes presents an illustrated lecture on the Corrido, a 150-year-old Mexican ballad tradition that narrates tragic tales based on true events and honors folk heroes.

21st Poet Laureate Consultant Juan Felipe Herrera kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month with his inaugural reading. The reading includes a corrido written by students who attended a workshop on writing corridos with Juan Díes and other members of Sones de México Ensemble. The corrido is about Sandra Bland.

This "Night of Stories" hosted by REFORMA's (the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking) family literacy initiative is one of several celebrations of storytelling funded by REFORMA and hosted in different public libraries and communities year round. The event will bring readers and story lovers together to highlight the importance of tradition of storytelling among Latino and Spanish speaking communities. The performance is in Spanish and English.

Master storyteller Carmen Agra Deedy presents stories for the entire family.

Children's book author and storyteller Carmen Agra Deedy appears at the National Book Festival telling her story "Martina Una Cucarachita Muy Linda."

This oral history followed an event, not recorded, in which Carmen Agra Deedy and Karla Campillo-Soto shared their own stories of growing up Cuban and Mexican, respectively, in small-town U.S.A.

Other Resources in the Library of Congress

Martina una Cucarachita Muy Linda by Carmen Agra Deedy; Michael Austin (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9781561454259
Published/Created: 2007-09-04
The beautiful Martina Josefina Catalina Cucaracha doesn't know coffee beans about love and marriage, so when suitors come calling, what is she to do? Luckily, she has her Cuban family to help! While some of the Cucarachas offer Martina gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her some useful advice- spill coffee on his shoes to see how he handles anger. At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela's suggestion, but when suitor after suitor fails the Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love. Carmen Agra Deedy delivers a delightfully inventive Cuban twist on the beloved Martina folktale.
Pérez and Martina, a Portorican folk tale by by Pura Belpré; illustrated by Carlos Sanchez. M
Call Number: PZ8.1.B4127 Pe FT MEADE
Published/Created: 1931
The Puerto Rican story of Martina the Cockroach and Pérez the Mouse.
The Stories I Read to the Children by Lisa Sánchez González
Call Number: GR121.P8 B44 2013 OVERFLOWJ34
ISBN: 9781878483805
Published/Created: 2013-01-01
A book on the life and stories of Pura Belpré, including published and unpublished as well as essays.
Cuentos Espanoles de Colorado y Nuevo Mexico by Juan B. Rael; Aurelio M. Espinosa (Introduction by)
Call Number: GR104 .R33 1977b
ISBN: 0890130930
Published/Created: 1977-06-01
"With his pistol in his hand," a border ballad and its hero by Paredes, Américo
Call Number: PQ7297.A1 C63
Published/Created: 1958
Folklorist Américo Paredes discusses the history of the famous corrido "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez."
Latino American Folktales by Thomas A. Green (Editor)
Call Number: GR114 .L37 2009 OVERFLOWJ34 HispRef Latinx Alcove
ISBN: 9780313362996
Published/Created: 2009-03-20
Latino Americans have a powerful voice in society and a wealth of cultural traditions. Fundamental to those traditions are numerous folktales. Some are funny, some draw upon the supernatural, some look back on ancestral ways, and some capture the experience of Latinos in the United States. The tales are grouped in topical sections on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural. Each tale is introduced by a headnote, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography of print and electronic resources suitable for student research.
The Latin American Story Finder by Sharon Barcan Elswit
Call Number: Z5984.L4 E58 2015 OVERFLOWJ34
ISBN: 9780786478958
Published/Created: 2015-10-07
One in a series of folklore reference guides, this book features summaries and sources of 470 tales told in Mexico, Central America and South America, a region underrepresented in collections of world folklore. The volume sends users to the best stories retold in English from the Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations, Spanish and Portuguese missionaries and colonists, African slave cultures, indentured servants from India, and more than 75 indigenous tribes from 21 countries. The tales are grouped into themed sections with a detailed subject index.