Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage, an initiative housed at the University of Houston and dedicated to preserving and making accessible the written legacy of US Latinas and Latinos, announces the launch of the Esther Campos Collection in its Digital Collections platform. The newly available collection celebrates the life and career of Maria “Esther” (Estrada) Campos (1930–2025), a pioneering Mexican-American educator, civic leader and public servant who devoted her life to advancing educational opportunities for Houston’s youth. Born in Houston on October 6, 1930, Campos earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Houston College of Education at a time when few Latinas pursued higher education. She became one of the first bilingual instructors hired by the Houston Independent School District (HISD), later serving as counselor, assistant principal and ultimately as HISD Trustee for District VIII from 1993 to 2003. In recognition of her lifelong commitment to education, …
Launch of Updated Digital Collection Featuring Puerto Rican Poet and Activist Delis Negrón
Arte Público Press’ US Latino Digital Humanities Center (USLDH) at the University of Houston proudly announces the launch of the Delis Negrón Digital Collection, a new addition to the Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Digital Collections. This bilingual digital collection honors the life and work of Delis Negrón (1901-1956), a Puerto Rican poet, journalist, educator and civil rights advocate who lived and worked in Texas. Donated by Negrón’s family, the collection contains photographs, postcards, handwritten poetry, personal correspondence and clippings from historic Latino newspapers, such as La Prensa, El Jicote and The Laredo Times. Negrón was a prolific writer and a key editorial voice in US Latino civil rights activism, contributing to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) newsletter and participating in organizations such as the Gran Cadena Fraternal Filantrópica and Sociedad Fraternal Mexicoamericana. The project also includes family reflections, making it a model of collaborative, community-engaged scholarship. …
US Latino Digital Humanities Summer Workshop
The US Latino Digital Humanities Center (USLDH) at the University of Houston announces its annual Manos a la obra digital humanities virtual summer training course. The course will take place May 28-20, 2024 via Zoom. Participants will learn about US Latino digital humanities methods and theory, archiving, metadata creation and free, easy-to-use digital platforms (Omeka, TimelineJS and StoryMapJS). The course will be taught by Dr. Gabriela Baeza Ventura, Dr. Carolina Villarroel, Dr. Lorena Gauthereau and Mikaela Selley. No prior experience is required. Anyone with an interest in US Latina/o studies and digital studies is welcome. This workshop addresses the following topics: How to identify materials for future projects (research, copyright issues, etc.) How to create metadata How to create meaningful and respectful data following ethics of care and reparative description How to nourish communities of practice How to conceptualize and develop the scope for your project And other topics No …
Predicting College Student Loan Repayment: The Texas Hinson-Hazlewood College now available on APPDigital
The University of Houston’s US Latino Digital Humanities Center (USLDH) announces the digital publication of Predicting College Student Loan Repayment: The Texas Hinson-Hazlewood College, a dissertation submitted by Salvador Gómez for the Ph.D. degree at the University of Texas at Austin in 1978. The text analyzes the evolution of financial aid to college students in Texas and especially the relationship between student indebtedness, ethnicity and academic dropout. It also critically examines notions such as “ethnicity” and “delinquency” and the various social and administrative factors that condition this phenomenon. This is an ideal text for researchers in different areas (from administration to psychology to economics) who seek to address the phenomenon of university indebtedness or the causes of dropping out of school after high school. This digital text will soon be complimented by a digital exhibit of Salvador Gómez’s scrapbook and an oral history interview with his daughter, Rosanna Moreno. This …
2024 USLDH-Mellon Grants-in-Aid Recipients
The US Latino Digital Humanities (USLDH) Grants-in-Aid program, funded by the Mellon Foundation, is designed to provide a stipend of up to $7,500 to scholars for research and development of digital scholarship in the form of a digital publication and/or a digital project. Congratulations to the 2024 Grants-in-Aid Recipients: Marina del Sol, PhD (Howard University), Chicanx Arts Activism among Prison Poets and Writ Writers in Texas from 1848-1979 Diana Flores Ruíz, PhD (University of Washington, Seattle), Recovering Latinx Resistance Aldo Lauria Santiago, PhD (Rutgers University, New Brunswick) and Ismael García Colón, PhD (City University of New York, College of Staten Island and Graduate Center), Documenting the Narratives of Puerto Rican Migration, 1940-1980 Sarah McNamara (Texas A&M University), Nuestra Historia: A Public Art and Public History Project in Ybor City, Florida Anna Nogar (University of New Mexico), Aurora Lucero-White Lea (1893-1963), 20th-Century Pan- Americanism, and Indo-Hispano Folklore Annemarie Perez (California State …
Chicana Author to Share Testimony During Book Reading
HOUSTON, TX—Acclaimed LGBTQ+ author Emma Pérez will read from her new book, Testimony of a Shifter, at Brazos Bookstore (2421 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005) at 6:30 pm Friday, April 26, 2024. This fascinating speculative narrative delving into gender transmutation and discrimination has been lauded by Booklist as the “queer, feminist dystopian novel readers [fans of Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood] have been searching for.” Imprisoned by the totalitarian government, Dr. Benito Espinoza practices for his weekly interrogations by recounting his story to his thirteen-year-old daughter. He tells her about turning his back on his ability to shift his gender from male to female—to Alejandra—to become a scholar in the Grand Library. Most academics are Residents who inherited their seats and believe Descendants like Ben don’t have the intellectual ability to be a person of letters. Ben conforms to the laws against transmuting, so he manages to secure …
A Rare Gem in the City: Publisher Named Houston Cultural Treasure
HOUSTON, TX—Arte Público Press, the nation’s oldest and largest publisher of US Hispanic literature, has been named one of eleven Houston Cultural Treasures by the BIPOC Arts Network & Fund (BANF). The acknowledgement of the press’ importance comes with $500,000 in general operating support over a two-year period and additional funds for technical support. Dr. Nicolás Kanellos, the founder and director of Arte Público Press, said, “We are tremendously honored by this recognition. Arte Público has suffered from being one of Houston’s best-kept secrets, and we feel certain this opportunity will empower us to continue our efforts to help the community, its art and culture.” The Houston Cultural Treasures initiative invests in the arts organizations that have anchored Houston’s communities of color and shaped the city’s dynamic and diverse culture, benefiting current arts groups. It is part of a larger national project sponsored by the Ford Foundation to honor the …
Arte Público Press presentará al astronauta y proyectará su película en UH
HOUSTON, TX—El astronauta y autor de libros infantiles José M. Hernández conversará con el público que asista a la proyección de la nueva película de Amazon Studios, A Million Miles Away. La cinta se presentará en el Student Center South Theatre de la Universidad de Houston (4455 University Dr., Houston, TX 77204), el viernes 27 de octubre, de 5 a 8:15 p.m. Inspirada en la vida real del ingeniero de vuelo de la NASA, José M. Hernández, A Million Miles Away cuenta la historia de una devota familia de orgullosos trabajadores agrícolas migrantes en un viaje de décadas, desde una aldea rural en Michoacán, México, a los campos del Valle de San Joaquín, California, y de allí, a más de 200 millas de la Tierra, en la Estación Espacial Internacional. Con el apoyo incondicional de sus padres, familiares y maestros, el impulso y la determinación de José lo llevaron a …
Arte Público Press to Host Astronaut and Screen Film at UH
HOUSTON, TX—Astronaut and children’s book author José M. Hernández will speak at a screening of the new Amazon film about his life, A Million Miles Away, which will be shown at the University of Houston in the Student Center South Theater (4455 University Dr., Houston, TX 77204) on Friday, October 27, from 5-8:15 pm. Inspired by the real-life story of NASA flight engineer José M. Hernández, A Million Miles Away follows him and his devoted family of proud migrant farm workers on a decades-long journey, from a rural village in Michoacán, Mexico, to the fields of the San Joaquin Valley, to more than 200 miles above the Earth in the International Space Station. With the unwavering support of his hard-working parents, relatives and teachers, José’s unrelenting drive and determination culminates in the opportunity to achieve his seemingly impossible goal. Acclaimed writer and director Alejandra Márquez Abella has created a dazzling …
Documenting Discrimination: Alonso S. Perales Correspondence (1927-1952)
The University of Houston’s US Latino Digital Humanities Center (USLDH) announces the release of “Documenting Discrimination: Alonso S. Perales Correspondence (1927-1952).” This digital collection compiles letters written to and by Alonso S. Perales (1898-1960), a Mexican-American lawyer, diplomat, civil rights activist and co-founder of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Perales, in his mission for social justice, encouraged the Latino community to submit their experiences of discrimination at public establishments. Community members signed affidavits and wrote letters to Perales that detailed racism faced at restaurants, theaters, schools, bars, dance halls, clinics and many other places. They also wrote about the prejudice encountered while seeking employment or purchasing homes. Perales later published many of these letters and affidavits in his book, Are We Good Neighbors? (1948). Two undergraduates contributed to this collection: Cynthia Díaz, a Leadership Rice Mentorship Experience (LRME) summer intern at Rice University and Cruz E. Almonaci, …
