Hispanic Heritage Month- Highlights from UTA databases

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15^th to October 15^th each year. UTA Libraries provides numerous resources to learn more about the achievements of Hispanic Americans.  Check out our book display on the second floor of the Central Library and the highlights below from some of our online databases. These resources include unique primary documents such as newspapers, government papers, comics, and theater scripts that shed light on the many individuals who have contributed to our historical and cultural record.

Newspapers are one way for a community to develop a shared identity while spreading the news of the day. Search in Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 for the September 3, 1954 issue of the newspaper La Verdad.  Santos de la Paz, the editor and founder of this Corpus Christi English-Spanish newspaper, gives a colorful account of recent elections and shares his own strong opinions about the results.  He also mentions a libel case, one of two that would be brought against him due to his willingness to point out the bad behavior of public figures. In response to requests for comment on the case he writes “…we cannot oblige, for everything we would say would be libelous in the eyes of the sheriff in Live Oak County.  To him there is no freedom of the press; he doesn’t believe in permitting anyone to express his opinion.”  Over the decades-long print run of La Verdad De la Paz made a name for himself by criticizing the corruption and unfairness he saw in local politics.  Upon his death in 1990, his former assistant and longtime friend Joe C. Rodriguez said “It would take me forever to enumerate the many episodes in which De la Paz risked his life in his obsession to eradicate racial discrimination and corruption in all levels of government. I will only say that he was one-of-a-kind.” Read more about Santos de la Paz and La Verdad in this article from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 

In Latino Civil Rights During the Carter Administration search for the Raul R. Tapia papers: Carter administration report on women and Hispanic women in government and you will find a list of Hispanic women who held government positions at the time of the report and the names of dozens of Hispanic women and Hispanic women’s groups from around the country advocating for their communities.  In a letter dated October 30, 1977 Cecilia Preciado Burciaga, Rhea Mojica Hammer, and Carmen Delgado Votaw, commissioners for the National Commission on the Observance of International Women’s Year write “Dear Hispana sister, [we] hope that we can be united at the Houston Conference in order to have our views included in the historic Plan of Action to be adopted as a blueprint for future action…Let us demonstrate that Hispanic women are united and strong.” 

In the same database, search for the name Antonio Gayoso and read his request for a position on the UN Economic and Social Council.  In a letter dated September 28, 1979 Gayoso speaks eloquently of his earlier life in Cuba and his achievements in international relations, economic studies, and agrarian and rural policy reform.  He writes, “That experience [in Cuba] has left an indelible mark on my character and professional interest, as it forced me at an early age to face many of the most ponderous development policy dilemmas developing countries continue to face today.” He was especially concerned with how US policies affected Latin American countries. It appears that Gayoso did not get the UN appointment he was striving for, but he continued to serve the public and the international community as an economist for the US Agency for International Development, executive director at the World Council of Credit Unions, and adjunct faculty member at George Washington University. 

As a side note, Gayoso’s letter also shows that even when you are highly accomplished and applying for a job with the United Nations, it’s important to recognize that there’s always more to learn. He writes “I do not like to pretend I know it all. The ECOSOC assignment will require dedication and a willingness to learn a lot that I do not know.” I think I’ve included something similar in every cover letter I’ve ever written. 

The creative, and often award winning, accomplishments of Hispanic Americans can be found in many different UTA databases.  In Underground and Independent Comics, Comix, and Graphic Novels you can read a selection of titles by Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez.  The three brothers became famous in the 1980s alternative comics scene with their series Love and Rockets which was later picked up for wider publication by Fantagraphics Books.  The series follows a number of wildly different storylines, but all are influenced by the brothers’ Mexican-American heritage. They prominently feature modern interpretations of classic Latin American literature techniques such as magical realism and surrealism.  The database includes 49 issues of this landmark series plus other titles by Gilbert Hernandez.

In the database Latino Literature: Poetry, Drama, and Fiction check out scripts written by the comedy troupe Culture Clash.  The group was founded on May 5, 1985 in San Francisco and continues to be active today in Los Angeles.  You can visit their website here.  Founded by José Antonio Burciaga, Marga Gómez, Monica Palacios, Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Siguenza, the team uses satire and comedy to explore the Chicano and Latin experience in the United States.  They became especially interested in creating works about people from different parts of Latin American to reinforce the idea that Hispanics are not a monolithic group.  Some of their works were inspired by real life events, including an incident in 1989 where Salinas sustained near fatal injuries in a shooting outside his apartment. The work A Bowl of Beings sprang from this traumatic event, and it was later adapted for television for the Great Performances PBS series in 1992.  Read more about this specific work Click here.

Some of UTA’s databases are tools to help you discover free Open Access resources.  One of these is LACLI- Latin American, Caribbean, Latinx, and Iberian Studies.  Their easy-to-use interface can help you find resources such as Chicana Por Mi Raza which includes online exhibits, biographies, and much more. This example profiles Dr. Osa Hidalgo de la Riva, also known as Dr. Eagle Bear.  Osa is a queer Chicanx filmmaker and visual artist who credits her family legacy with her involvement in social justice, feminist discourse, and the promotion of queer creative endeavors.  One way that she incorporates her experiences with illness, injustice, and identity into her works is by using hyphens to deconstruct words.  For example, “dis-ease” and “re-volution” instead of disease and revolution. The profile includes a timeline and biographies of Osa’s ancestors and extended family members exploring the roots and fruits of her artistic achievements and activism.

If you need assistance accessing these, or any other UTA resource, reach out to a subject librarian. We are always happy to help.

The cover image for this blog article is from the UTA Libraries Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection.  The image shows Fort Worth's Polytechnic High School Ballet Folklorico performing at UTA's Semana Chicana, celebration of Hispanic Culture. Published in Fort Worth Star-Telegram morning edition March 14, 1991.  https://library.uta.edu/digitalgallery/img/20158757  Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/