Benson Latin American Collection
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The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection is part of the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
Library system in partnership with the Teresa Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies (LLILAS), located in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, and named for the historian and bibliographer, Nettie Lee Benson (1905-1993). It is one of the world's most comprehensive collections of Latin American materials.Laura Gutiérrez-Witt, "Nettie Lee Benson," ''Handbook of Texas Online'', accessed June 16, 2016. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbene The collections are housed in the Sid Richardson Hall, which also houses the Dolph Briscoe Center of American History and Barker Texas History Collections Center. This library serves LLILAS as a hub for studies pertaining to Latin American history and studies. The library includes over 970,000 books, 19,000 maps, 93,500 photographs, 4,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 11,500 broadsides, and 50,000 items in other multimedia formats. Most of the sources are about
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, but also include items are also from the other Latin American countries, particularly: Central America,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
,
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, and
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. The Collection is the home of interviews collected by the Voces Oral History Center.


History of the Collection

The Latin American holdings at the University of Texas have increased since the early twentieth century. Historian Carlos E. Castañeda wrote a history of the collection to 1940, detailing deals for some acquisitions that he observed. Latin American historian Charles W. Hackett, along with three other University of Texas professors went to the 1920 inauguration of revolutionary General
Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 19 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) was a Mexican general, inventor and politician who served as the 46th President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. Obregón was re-elected to the presidency in 1928 but was assassinated b ...
as president of Mexico. Hackett learned that the library of historian and bibliophile Genaro García was for sale following his death. Hackett arranged for an appraisal by University of Texas and the deal was negotiated. The collection was enormously rich, 25,000 printed items, newspapers, personal papers of
Vicente Guerrero Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña (; baptized 10 August 1782 – 14 February 1831) was a Mexican military officer from 1810–1821 and a statesman who became the nation's second president in 1829. He was one of the leading generals who fought ag ...
,
Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...
,
Valentín Gómez Farías Valentín Gómez Farías (; 14 February 1781 – 5 July 1858) was a Mexican physician and liberal politician who became president of Mexico twice, first from 1833 to 1834, during the period of the First Mexican Republic, and again from 1846 ...
,
Lucas Alamán Lucas Ygnacio José Joaquín Pedro de Alcántar Juan Bautista Francisco de Paula de Alamán y Escalada (Guanajuato, New Spain, 18 October 1792 – Mexico City, Mexico, 2 June 1853) was a Mexican scientist, conservative statesman, historian, and ...
,
Vicente Riva Palacio Vicente Florencio Carlos Riva Palacio Guerrero better known as Vicente Riva Palacio (16 October 1832 in Mexico City – 22 November 1896 in Madrid) was a Mexican liberal politician, novelist, journalist, intellectual, historian, and militar ...
and others were part of the collection that was transported to Austin by a special train. The expansion of University of Texas's role in Latin American studies dates to this acquisition. The university's Latin American collection was further enriched by a number of acquisitions, including a donation of volumes by the
Hispanic Society of America The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term. The term commonly appl ...
and papers of U.S. historian
Justin H. Smith Justin Harvey Smith (born January 13, 1857, Boscawen, New Hampshire; died March 21, 1930, Brooklyn, New York) was an American historian and specialist on the Mexican–American War. Smith was educated at Dartmouth College (B.A. 1877; M.A. 1881) an ...
, the collection of Chilean historian Diego Muñoz, which included many works by or about
José Toribio Medina José Toribio Medina Zavala (; October 21, 1852 - December 11, 1930) was a Chilean bibliographer, prolific writer, and historian. He is renowned for his study of colonial literature in Chile, printing in Spanish America and large bibliographies s ...
. In addition, the library acquired the private collection of Paraguayan historian Manuel Gondra. A huge addition to the library was the acquisition of virtually all the collection of Mexican historian
Joaquín García Icazbalceta Joaquín García Icazbalceta (August 21, 1824 – November 26, 1894) was a Mexican philologist and historian. He edited writings by Mexican writers who preceded him, wrote a biography of Juan de Zumárraga, and translated William H. Prescott's ...
that deal with sixteenth-century Mexico. The García Icazbalceta collection included rare and important sixteenth-century printed works, including Bishop
Juan de Zumárraga Juan de Zumárraga, OFM (1468 – June 3, 1548) was a Spanish Basque Franciscan prelate and the first Bishop of Mexico. He was also the region's first inquisitor. He wrote ''Doctrina breve'', the first book published in the Western Hemisphe ...
's 1544 ''Doctrina'', Fray
Pedro de Gante Pieter van der Moere, also known as Brother Pedro de Gante or Pedro de Mura (c. 1480 – 1572) was a Franciscan missionary in sixteenth century Mexico. Born in Geraardsbergen in present-day Belgium, he was of Flemish descent. Since Flanders, lik ...
's ''Doctrina'', writings of
Francisco Cervantes de Salazar Francisco Cervantes de Salazar (1514? – 1575) was a Spanish man of letters and rector of the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, founded in 1551. Biography He was born and raised in Toledo, Spain. He first attended Alejo Venegas’s ...
. Manuscripts include an autograph letter by
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
, a memorial by Fray
Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became ...
, the ''residencia'' of the first
viceroy of Mexico This article lists the viceroys who ruled the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1535 to 1821 in the name of the monarch of Spain. In addition to viceroys, this article lists the highest Spanish governors of the viceroyalty, before the appointment o ...
,
Antonio de Mendoza Antonio de Mendoza (1495 – 21 July 1552) was a Spanish colonial administrator who was the first viceroy of New Spain, serving from 14 November 1535 to 25 November 1550, and the second viceroy of Peru, from 23 September 1551, until his d ...
, and the manuscript of Fray
Gerónimo de Mendieta Fray Gerónimo de Mendieta (1525–1604), alternatively Jerónimo de Mendieta, was a Franciscan missionary and historian, who spent most of his life in the Spanish Empire's new possessions in Mexico and Central America. His main work is the ''His ...
's history of the Franciscans in Mexico. Nettie Lee Benson, for whom the Latin American collection is named, devoted the greatest part of her career to expanding the library's holdings by traveling to Latin America to acquire materials and she "developed an innovative acquisition methodology adapted to the conditions in the Latin-American book-publishing trade." In a taped interview, Benson discusses the collection and her role in helping build it. In 1974, the Benson started the Mexican American Library Program (MALP), responding to student demands that led to the creation of UT's Ethnic Studies programs (now Black Studies and Latino Studies) in 1969. Since then, the Benson has become a leader in building Latinx circulating and archival collections. The Benson holds the papers of prominent Latinos including
Alurista Alberto Baltazar Urista Heredia (born August 8, 1947), better known by his nom de plume Alurista, is an American poet and activist. His work was influential in the Chicano Movement and is important to the field of Chicano poetry. Early life and ...
,
Gloria E. Anzaldúa Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins ...
, Sam Coronado,
Carmen Lomas Garza Carmen Lomas Garza (born 1948) is a Chicana artist and illustrator. She is well known for her paintings, Day of the Dead, ofrendas and for her papel picado work inspired by her Mexican Americans, Mexican-American heritage. Her work is a part of ...
,
José Ángel Gutiérrez José Angel Gutiérrez, is an attorney and professor at the University of Texas at Arlington in the United States. He was a founding member of the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) in San Antonio in 1967, and a founding member and past p ...
,
Américo Paredes Américo Paredes (September 3, 1915 – May 5, 1999) was an American author born in Brownsville, Texas who authored several texts focusing on the border life that existed between the United States and Mexico, particularly around the Rio Grande r ...
, and
Carmen Tafolla Carmen Tafolla (born July 29, 1951) is an internationally acclaimedy Gibson, Eliza Rodriguez. "Tafolla, Carmen." In ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States.'' (Oxford University Press, 2005). Chicana writer from San A ...
. The Benson also has the records of organizations including
League of United Latin American Citizens The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the largest and oldest Hispanic and Latin-American civil rights organization in the United States. It was established on February 17, 1929, in Corpus Christi, Texas, largely by Hispanic and ...
and the National Latino/a Lesbian and Gay Organization.


References


External links


Nettie Lee Benson Latin American CollectionLucas Alamán: An Inventory and Catalog of His Papers at the Benson Latin American Collection
{{Authority control University of Texas System Research libraries in the United States Mesoamerican studies Special collections libraries in the United States Rare book libraries in the United States Oral history