I hope you have had a fruitful summer. I wanted to send you some updates about the Caribbean and Latin American Studies collection development and my activities for the past few months as your department’s liaison librarian.
I’m excited to share some recent library acquisitions that will enhance your research and teaching resources at UC Berkeley. Here are the highlights of our new collections. Besides electronic resources, I purchase print materials for current teaching and research. This year, I launched a permanent approval plan for contemporary Mexican books. I will continue to offer by appointment student research consultations regularly throughout this semester. Please have your students reach out to me through my email: Lpendse at Berkeley.edu
Digital Archives and Journals
Cine Cubano: Latin America’s Oldest Film Magazine
This invaluable resource offers over 200 issues spanning six decades of Cuban revolutionary and Latin American cinema. It provides unparalleled access to film theory, filmmaking approaches, and reviews from 1960 to 2019.
Cine Cubano, 1960-1962
Cuban Pre-Revolutionary Cinema
This collection documents the development of Cuban cinema from the Silent Era to 1959, including the complete run of Cinema magazine from 1935 to 1965
Feminism in Cuba: Nineteenth through Twentieth Century Archival Documents
Feminism in Cuba, 1898-1958
Compiled from Cuban sources, this collection illuminates Cuban feminism, women in politics, and literature by Cuban women from independence to the end of the Batista regime.
Prensa Libre Digital ArchiveAccess the digital archive of Prensa Libre, a leading Guatemalan newspaper published in Guatemala City since 1951.
Prensa Libre Digital Archive Access the digital archive of Prensa Libre, a leading Guatemalan newspaper published in Guatemala City since 1951.
E-book Collections Iberoamericana Vervuert Frontlists (2022-2024)
We’ve acquired the latest front lists from the Iberoamericana Vervuert publishing house through DeGruyter, covering publications from 2022 to 2024.
I also purchased the following rare periodicals for Berkeley.
Alfonsina Revista Mensual
Zulma Nuñez (Dir)
Published in Buenos Aires by Impresiones El Sol, 1953
In-8. #1 Oct 1953 – #3 Dic 1953 (Complete set). Wrappers in slipcase.
Collaborators: Fanny Navarro, Iris Marga, Duilio Marcio, Maciel Barbosa, Evelina Benasso, Gomez Cou, and others. Apart from literary and artistic criticism, this magazine dedicates many chapters to the life and work of Alfonsina Storni, with many illustrations of his house in Lugano, Switzerland, and stages of his life. Missing to all bibliographies
Alfonsina Revista Mensual Zulma Nuñez (Dir) Published in Buenos Aires by Impresiones El Sol, 1953
Revista Artes Graficas Organo Oficial
Publisher: Buenos Aires Graficos Platt
Publication Date: 1941
Edition: 1st Ed
In-8. #1 Sep 1941. #2 Oct 1941, #4 May 1942, #5 Jan Mar 1943. Collaborators: Pablo Paoppi, Jose Carbonell, Felix de Ugarteche, Among others. Rare graphic magazine that only cites incompletely Washington Pereyra, it came out with an irregular frequency for three years, from September 1941 until September 1943, probably 7 or 8 issues max. In all its issues, this magazine brings some extraordinary studies on the first printing presses of Argentina and Paraguay Jesuit missions. Washington Pereyra T4,p204.
Title: SOLCALMO. Revista de Dinamizacion Mental: …
Publisher: Buenos Aires S.A.G.A.
Publication Date: 1967
Binding: Sin Encuadernar
Edition: 1ª Edición.
In-8º. #1 Verano de 1967-1968 (Complete set). Collaborators : Miguel Grinberg, Manuel Ruano, Eduardo Barquin, Victor Garcia Robles, Oscar Barney Finn, Jorge Lavelli, Horacio Vaggione. This initial number of Solcalmo, publication of the orbit of Miguel Grinberg, also included the original prologue of Gombrowicz`s book Ferdydurke—Provenzano page 306.
Prada Fortul, Antonio. Benkos… Las Alas de un Cimarrón : Volumen 1. 1st ed. Bogotá: Programa Editorial Universidad Del Valle, 2024. Print.
Carabalí Díaz, Liliana. Memorias de un Orgullo de Ebano : Graciela Diaz, el trasegar de una mujer afrocolombiana / Liliana Carabali Diaz. Bogota, Colombia: Programa Editorial Universidad del Valle, 2022. Print.
These new resources significantly expand our holdings in Latin American studies, film, literature, and history. I encourage you to explore these materials for your research and teaching needs.
If you have any questions or need assistance accessing these resources, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Happy researching!
Liladhar
Library Liaison for the Caribbean and Latin American Studies
The library has started a thirty-day trial for Cine Cubano that some faculty members and students in Spanish and Portuguese may find of research interest.
Here is the link that one can use to access the trial.
More about Cine Cubano database: Cine Cubano is a journal that provides valuable insights into Cuban revolutionary cinema and Latin American cinema. It has over 200 issues from 1960 to 2019, covering six decades of film theory, techniques, and reviews. The journal has now been digitized and made available online for the first time, providing unprecedented access to film scholars and students. All 205 print issues have been scanned and included in this new online collection. The scanning was done at the ICAIC Film Institute in Havana, Cuba, where the journal originated. Overall, this is an important new digital resource for studying the history of Cuban and Latin American cinema. The online availability makes decades of film knowledge more accessible.
Each year, on 10th October, the Cubans all over the world commemorate the call for national independence. The “Grito de Yara,” is one of many important events in the complex historical trajectory of Cuba that unleashed the potential of the national consciousness through rebellions against the Spanish imperial authorities. The full text of the “Manifiesto de la Junta Revolucionaria de la Isla de Cuba” can be read by clicking on the link here.
At UC Berkeley Library, despite our West Coast location and our Pacific Rim orientation, we have a large collection of books that will enlighten our readers about what does “Grito de Yara” means. The other essential Open Access source is dLOC (Digital Library of the Caribbean) where one can browse documents related to the “Grito de Yara.“
Some subject searches like the ones below will provide additional information on the print items on the topic that we have in our collections.
Below are some titles that might of interest to the readers of this blog. Since we believe in the equitable access, I am providing some links to the full-text of these items.
Cuban Periodicals: Cultural Magazines Published by Casa de las Américas, 1960–2009 provides access to the archives of four cultural magazines published by Casa de las Américas in Havana, Cuba. It includes the highly influential journal Casa, the theater journal Conjunto, the music journal Boletín de Música, and Anales del Caribe, a journal about the rich artistic and literary production in the Caribbean.
The Library has set up a thirty-day trial of Brill’s database of Cuban Periodicals. It might be accessed after authenticating here: http://ucberk.li/cubanperiodicals
Cuban Periodicals: Cultural Magazines Published by Casa de las Américas, 1960–2009
Self-description:
This primary source collection gives access to the archives (1960–2009) of four cultural magazines published by Casa de las Américas in Havana, Cuba. It includes the highly influential journal Casa, the theater journal Conjunto, the music journal Boletín de Música, and, finally, Anales del Caribe, a journal about the rich artistic and literary production in the Caribbean.
JOSÉ MARTÍ – Serie Maestros de América Latina (Fair Academic Use Only, Source: UNIPE, Argentina)
Each nation-state has its own heroes whose actions often contribute to the narrative of mythopoetics of what it means to be a nation. Sometimes, songs are sung in their honor and monuments jut up like totems, arches, and pyramids of the antiquities. While the foundational myths and narratives often remain magical, the real actions of these enlightened individuals lead to the achievement of something larger. JoséMartí is one such shining example.
The Cuban poet, a revolutionary philosopher, and Latin American intellectual of his times JoséMartí died one hundred and twenty-five years ago during the Battle of Dos Ríos on May 19, 1895. He led fight against the Spanish. From the Library of Congress hosted narrative, one notes that he lived in New York from 1881 and 1895 and a curious statement summarizes the imperialist tendencies that this nation has existed as follows, “He wrote everything from a magazine for children (Edad de Oro) to poetry (Versos sencillos 1891), to essays on the nature of the United States which he admired for its energy and industry as well as its notable statesmen, particularly the framers of the Constitution. However, he denounced its imperialist attitude toward its southern neighbors.”
Below are some of the electronic books that one can read after authenticating using proxy or VPN.
http://oskicat.berkeley.edu/record=b20830164~S52
http://oskicat.berkeley.edu/record=b22238275~S52
http://oskicat.berkeley.edu/record=b23870807~S52
http://oskicat.berkeley.edu/record=b20830164~S52
For works by José Martí at UC Berkeley Library see here.
As the librarian for the Caribbean and Latin American Studies, and as one of the supporters of the UC-Cuba Initiative, I have continued to dedicate significant time and resources in developing our Caribbean collections. This morning, I found while reading an online post by Juventud Rebelde a post about yesterday’s passing of the Cuban poet Roberto Fernández Retamar. We have been collecting several of his poetry books over the past many years. These can be found here in Oskicat. Below is his discourse on Caliban and later as I understood as Antropofagia later on from Brazilian Studies lense.
I remembered at that moment, his poem that he dedicated to the daughters. The words as I recall were as follows,
“Hijas: muy poco les he escrito,
y hoy lo hago de prisa.
Quiero decirles
que si también este momento pasa
y puedo estar de nuevo con ustedes,
en el sillón, oyendo el radio,
cómo vamos a reírnos de estas cosas,
de estos versos y de estas botas,
y de la cara que ponían algunos,
y hasta del traje que ahora llevo.”
The words about the fragility of time resonated with me, and it reminded me that as a librarian for the collection development, I do have upon me a huge responsibility to think of long term collection development that will ensure a certain level of parity with other well-endowed Ivy League libraries. While the data-driven collection development depends on administrative use of certain facets of data to justify academic decisions, the collections that we have today were built by my predecessors who have passed on the torch. I am honored and blessed to be at UC Berkeley that has provided me an Indian-American a chance to evolve as a librarian for Latin American collections. In a large group of SALALM members, I am genuinely a minority person.
Thank you Roberto Fernández Retamar for reminding me today of the fragility of time!
The Library has acquired the second part of the “vertical archive” of Casa de las Americas. This collection of unpublished manuscripts, letters, notes, and other ephemera, offers a unique insight into the activities of more than a thousand writers and artists who visited La Casa. Famous writers from the twentieth century form the core of the collection, including Jorge Amado, Mario Benedetti, Roberto Bolaño, María Luisa Bombal, Jorge Luis Borges, Alejo Carpentier, Aimé Césaire, Julio Cortázar, Roque Dalton and Gabriel García Márquez, to name but a few. Some of the leading writers from the nineteenth century are also represented, including José Martí and the pioneer Brazilian novelist Machado de Assis. In addition to writers, the archive includes files on painters, such as Roberto Matta and David Alfaro Siqueiros, filmmakers, such as Santiago Álvarez and Glauber Rocha, and musicians, such as Chilean singer-songwriter and political activist Víctor Jara.
As the librarian for Latin American and the Caribbean collections, I find it important to also carry out some sort of retrospective collection development and contribute to the creation of a holistic collection of journals of importance from the region. One such journal is Artecubano. We have several issues of this title, but we do not have a complete run. I am glad to announce that through my contacts in Cuba, I was able to get all of the issues through 2015. I will be able post the pictures of these issues once they get here. I am so excited for having such a rewarding vocation!
The Library has acquired the second part of the “vertical archive” of Casa de las Americas. This collection of unpublished manuscripts, letters, notes, and other ephemera, offers a unique insight into the activities of more than a thousand writers and artists who visited La Casa. Famous writers from the twentieth century form the core of the collection, including Jorge Amado, Mario Benedetti, Roberto Bolaño, María Luisa Bombal, Jorge Luis Borges, Alejo Carpentier, Aimé Césaire, Julio Cortázar, Roque Dalton and Gabriel García Márquez, to name but a few. Some of the leading writers from the nineteenth century are also represented, including José Martí and the pioneer Brazilian novelist Machado de Assis. In addition to writers, the archive includes files on painters, such as Roberto Matta and David Alfaro Siqueiros, filmmakers, such as Santiago Álvarez and Glauber Rocha, and musicians, such as Chilean singer-songwriter and political activist Víctor Jara.
