The Benson at 100: Recent Episodes
The Benson at 100
In this episode, Daniel Arbino and Pilar Zazueta talk to César Salgado, professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at The University of Texas at Austin, about the archive of Cuban poet Eliseo Diego. Who was Eliseo Diego, and why is his legacy so important to contemporary Latin American culture? What kind of materials can people find in his archive? Escuchar en español.
Resources
Eliseo Diego Papers at the Benson Latin American Collection: https://txarchives.org/utlac/finding_aids/00539.xml
General information about Eliseo Diego ???
Colloquium, November 2021: Nombrar las cosas: Eliseo Diego y su legado [Naming things: Eliseo Diego and his legacy] (in Spanish): https://rialta.org/coloquio-eliseo-diego/; see also https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/llilas/events/coloquio-nombrar-las-cosas-eliseo-diego-y-su-legado-2
Orígenes magazine: https://rarebooks.library.nd.edu/collections/latin_american/caribbean/origenes.shtml
José Lezama Lima: https://lithub.com/the-life-and-times-of-iconic-cuban-novelist-jose-lezama-lima/
Paradiso (novel): https://www.amazon.com/Paradiso-Jose-Lezama-Lima/dp/156478228X
Edmund White's review of Paradiso in New York Times Book Review: https://www.nytimes.com/1974/04/21/archives/paradise-by-jose-lezama-lima-translated-from-the-spanish-by-gregory.html
Documentary about Lezama Lima by Adriana Bosch, Letters to Eloisa: https://azpbs.org/2021/09/voces-on-pbs-letters-to-eloisa/
César Salgado interview with Adriana Bosch: http://bit.ly/3iscyCk
Salgado on Lezama Lima, Joyce, and Orígenes, and the Boom's connection to both Cuba and Lezama Lima: https://notevenpast.org/cesar-salgado-boom-and-bust/
José Lezama Lima Papers at the University of Miami: https://atom.library.miami.edu/chc5047;dacs?sf_culture=es
Eliseo Alberto, son of Eliseo Diego: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/260/eliseo-alberto/
La novela de mi padre, by Eliseo Alberto: https://www.casadellibro.com/libro-la-novela-de-mi-padre/9788420432564/5801160
In this episode, Daniel Arbino talks to Susan Kung and Ryan Sullivant—managers, archivists, and curators of the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America at the Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin. How did this archive originate and what are its goals? Listen to native Indigenous speakers tell stories and share the languages of their communities. Escuchar en español.
Languages in Order of Presentation
To view, transmit, or download the multimedia archives linked below, you will need to create a free AILLA account here: https://ailla.utexas.org/user/register
Sleeping Languages
Cacaopera audio from the Mesoamerican Languages Collection of Lyle Campbell
Lyle Campbell elicits vocabulary from Pascual Cortés, a “semi-speaker” of Cacaopera in El Salvador in 1973. Presuming Cortés is one of the “two men [who] knew more than a few words” mentioned in Campbell (1975), then Cortés learned the Cacaopera he knew from a grandparent who spoke the language fluently. Audio quality is poor, with abrupt changes in tape speed every time Campbell started and stopped the recording.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla%3A124470
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla%3A126888
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:147168
Yámana audio from the Chilean Languages Collection of Oscar Aguilera and José Tonko
Sisters Cristina Calderón and Úrsula Calderón provide short elicited sentences in Yámana (Yagán) to help with Óscar Aguilera’s study of their language’s grammar. The phrases that are heard are Kyat lampiá (‘the cat is black’), Kyat paf lampiá (‘the cat isn’t black), Yašála lampiá (‘the dog is black’), and Yašála paf lampiá (‘the dog isn’t black).
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:124482
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:129417
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:166958, https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:166960, https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:166986, https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:166988
Note that the majority of the Yámana-language materials are restricted. Two public resources are:
Words and Phrases https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:129416
Sentences https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:129417 (also listed above).
Cristina Calderón obituaries:
El adiós a Cristina Calderón, pobladora yagán de Tierra del Fuego. Página 12. https://www.pagina12.com.ar/415851-el-adios-a-cristina-calderon-pobladora-yagan-de-tierra-del-f
Cristina Calderón, champion of the Yaghan people and the last native speaker of their language – obituary. Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/02/22/cristina-calderon-champion-yaghan-people-last-native-speaker/
Cholon audio from the Cholon Language Collection of Luis Miguel Rojas Berscia
Greetings in the Cholón language, spoken by Martha Pérez Valderrama, using some written records.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:283752
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:283774
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:283775
Whistled Languages
Chinantec Whistling from the Sochiápam Chinantec Whistled Speech Collection of Mark Sicoli
A man whistles to another about plans to work on the coffee patch. He then repeats what he said in Spanish and Chinantec.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:242622
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:242868
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:242872
A portion of the Sochiápam Chinantec whistled speech recorded in this collection appears in Whistles in the Mist, an episode of the television program In the Americas with David Yetman.
Tepehua Whistling from the Huehuetla Tepehua Language Documentation Collection of Susan Kung
Nicolás Vigueras Patricio explains and demonstrates Tepehua whistled speech for two researchers, Susan Smythe Kung and Mark Sicoli. No other Tepehua speakers were present to participate in the demonstration.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:124437
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:127223
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:148107
Nahuatl Whistling from the Nahuatl Collection of Jane Hill and Kenneth Hill
The Hills elicit a list of common names and phrases from Rolando Zapeda Serrano in Central Nahuatl (Mexicano) and the surrogate whistled speech.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:124405
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:127622
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:156004
Tseltal Whistling form the Tzeltal Collection of Brian Stross
In this audio letter from Brian Stross to his dissertation supervisor, Brent Berlin, Stross demonstrates several Tseltal whistled phrases that he learned during his time living in Tenejapa, a Tseltal community in Mexico.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:124505
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla%3A276403
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:276405
Isthmus Zapotec Whistling from the Project for the Documentation of the Languages of MesoAmerica
In this series of five audio tracks, Marilyn Feke Manley elicits whistled nicknames and phrases used among friends in Isthmus Zapotec (or Juchitán) from Rosalino Gallegos Luis. No other Isthmus Zapotec speakers were present to participate in the demonstration.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:124491
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla%3A136793
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:230052, https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:230054, https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:230056, https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:230058, https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:230060
Indigenous-led Research Collections
K’ichee’ audio from the Oxlajuuj Keej Maya’ Ajtz’iib’ Mayan Languages Collection
Jokes and other topics. Telma Can Pixabaj (researcher and native speaker) elicits jokes from Miguel Paulino Can Yac (another native speaker) in K’iche’ as part of the OKMA project to document the Mayan languages of Guatemala.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:124456
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:130534
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:181644
Chol audio from the Chol Collection of Juan Jesús Vásquez Álvarez and Jessica Coon
The farms. Marcelina López (native speaker) and Juan Jesús Vásquez Álvarez (interviewer, recorder, native speaker). Sabanilla, Chiapas, Mexico. 2007. Beginning of a conversation between researcher Vásquez and López that will eventually focus on characteristics of farms in López’s village. This conversation took place at night, as shown by the crickets that can be heard in the background.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla%3A261383
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla%3A262039
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:262042
Video: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:262041
Annotation: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:262040
Award-Winning Collections
Chol Collection of Juan Jesús Vásquez Álvarez and Jessica Coon
See the link above in Indigenous-led Research Collections.
Guna audio from the Kuna Collection of Joel Sherzer
Agouti Story (spoken). Muristo Pérez (speaker) and Joel Sherzer (researcher). Mulatuppu, Panama. 1970. Beginning of a story of the trickster Agouti who repeatedly tricks Jaguar. Joel Sherzer introduces the story in English.
Collection: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla%3A124436
Resource: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla%3A125221
Audio: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla:140739
Article by Sherzer about the Agouti story (with transcription and translation) in English: https://ailla.utexas.org/islandora/object/ailla%3A140740
Other Links
AILLA static pages
- Conditions of Use of Archive Resources https://ailla.utexas.org/site/rights/use_conditions
- Frequently Asked Questions: https://ailla.utexas.org/faq-page
- Registration https://ailla.utexas.org/faq-page#n108
- Searching and Browsing https://ailla.utexas.org/faq-page#n109
- Access Terms https://ailla.utexas.org/faq-page#n128
- Access Levels https://ailla.utexas.org/faq-page#n117
Awards for Archiving Collections of Language Documentation
- SSILA Archiving Award https://www.ssila.org/en/archiving-award
- DELAMAN Award https://www.delaman.org/delaman-award/
References
Campbell, Lyle. 1975. Cacaopera. Anthropological Linguistics. Vol. 17, No. 4 (Apr., 1975), pp. 146-153 (8 pages) https://www.jstor.org/stable/30027563
Holmes, Bob. 2022. More than 80 cultures Still Speak in Whistles. Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/studying-whistled-languages-180978484/
Kung, Susan, Ryan Sullivant, Elena Pojman, and Alicia Niwagaba. 2020. Archiving for the Future: Simple Steps for Archiving Language Documentation Collections [OER]. https://archivingforthefuture.teachable.com/ — Spanish and Portuguese versions coming soon!
In this episode, Pilar Zazueta and Daniel Arbino discuss the national poem of Argentina, El gaucho Martín Fierro (The Gaucho Martin Fierro) and its surprising connections to Texas. José Hernández published his epic poem 150 years ago; it has been published in 100s of editions and translated into over 70 languages. What is the appeal of the poem, and why is it still popular today?
The release of this episode coincides with a new exhibition in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Room at the Benson Latin American Collection, titled Martín Fierro: From Marginal Outlaw to National Symbol, curated by Melissa Aslo de Torre and Janette Núñez in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the poem's publication. This visually engaging exhibition incorporates various editions of the book and related materials. Escuchar en español.
Resources (links visible on Benson at 100 homepage)
Matías Emiliano Casas Repository (publications)
National Education Survey (Historical Folklore Survey Argentina)
Compartir Cultura Survey
Edward Larocque Tinker Collections
Gabriela Cabezón Cámara Interview: The Adventures of China Irons (video)
In this episode, Pilar Zazueta and Daniel Arbino talk about archival materials presented in the Benson online exhibit A Hemisphere of Knowledge. How do these materials help us understand knowledge production in the Americas? The hosts also discuss the example of food (tamales! cassava! chocolate!) and its relationship to ancient and contemporary wisdom and cultural production. (Image: Corazón del cacao, by Catalina Delgado-Trunk, undated. Courtesy Benson Latin American Collection.)
Resources
A Hemisphere of Knowledge: A Benson Centennial Exhibit https://exhibits.lib.utexas.edu/spotlight/hemisphere-of-knowledge
Altieri, Miguel A. Agroecology : The Science Of Sustainable Agriculture. 2d ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2018. Print.
Lonetree, Amy. Decolonizing Museums : Representing Native America in National and Tribal Museums. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012.
Wilson, Warren M., and D. L. Dufour. “Why ‘Bitter’ Cassava? Productivity of ‘Bitter’ and ‘Sweet’ Cassava in a Tukanoan Indian Settlement in the Northwest Amazon.” Economic Botany 56.1 (2002): 49–57. Web.
In this episode of the Benson at 100 podcast, Daniel Arbino and Pilar Zazueta discuss the archive of the St. John d’el Rey Mining Company papers, held at the Benson. The British mining company ran a gold-mining operation out of Belo Horizonte, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, from 1830 until approximately 1957. Arbino and Zazueta discuss the mine and the archive in the context of broader regional history as well as slavery in Brazil, which did not end until 1888. Escuchar en español.
Eakin, Marshall C. A British Enterprise in Brazil: The St. John d'el Rey Mining Company and the Morro Velho Gold Mine, 1830–1960. Duke University Press.
St. John d'el Rey Mining Company Papers https://bit.ly/2ZVcpys
Learn about extractivism: https://bit.ly/306MyDs
John W. F. Dulles Papers Relating to Brazil, 1920–1979 (https://bit.ly/3CQHWjc, Benson Latin American Collection)
Biographical information about John W. F. Dulles: https://bit.ly/2ZUzuAX
In this episode of the Benson at 100, historian Pilar Zazueta talks to Daniel Arbino, Head of Collection Development for the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, about an item in the Arturo Taracena Flores collection: an 1824 edict written by the newly independent government of Guatemala. What is the relevance of the document and what does it tell us about the legacies of colonial domination in Central America? Escuchar en español
Resources
Arturo Taracena Flores Collection
Biography of Dr. Demetrio Cojtí
Indigenous Languages Initiative at LLILAS Benson
The Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America
Grandin, G., D. Levenson-Estrada, and E. Oglesby, eds. 2011. The Guatemala Reader : History, Culture, Politics. Duke University Press.
LLILAS Benson. 2021. "Indigenous Languages Thrive at UT Austin: Quechua, Nahuatl, and K'iche'." Portal online.
Pinto Soria, J. 1996. Nación, caudillismo y conflicto étnico en Guatemala (1821–1854). Instituto de Investigaciones Políticas y Sociales, Escuela de Ciencia Política, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.
Romero, Sergio, and Susanna Sharpe. 2021. "In Memoriam: Manuel Tahay." Portal online.
In this episode, historian Pilar Zazueta talks to Daniel Arbino, Head of Collection Development for the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, about the foundational archives purchased by the library. What is the story behind these collections, considered by many experts to be “cultural jewels” preserved by the University of Texas? Escuchar en español
Resources
Genaro García Collection, Collections Portal: Imprints and Images Broadsides and Circulars
Genaro García Collection, Texas Archival Resources Online: Personal Papers, 1896–1925
Archives and Manusript Collections, 1500s–1920
Joaquín García Icazbalceta Collection: Manuscript Collection, Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO)
Relaciones Geográficas de México y Guatemala: Collections Portal
Relaciones Geográficas, Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO): Relaciones Geográficas of Mexico and Guatemala
Gloria E. Andalzúa Collection, TARO: Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Papers
María Luisa Puga Collection, TARO: María Luisa Puga Papers
Image: Cempoala map (1580), Relaciones Geográficas of Mexico and Guatemala, Joaquín García Icazbalceta Collection, Benson Latin American Collection
In this debut episode of The Benson at 100, historian Pilar Zazueta talks to Melissa Guy, director of the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at The University of Texas at Austin, about the life and work of librarian and historian Nettie Lee Benson. What was her role in creating a world-class collection of Latin American materials at the University of Texas? (Listen to our inaugural Spanish-language episode: Entrevista con Mauricio Tenorio.)
Related Links
Benson Latin American Collection
Nettie Lee Benson biography
Benson, N. 1994. La diputación provincial y el federalismo mexicano. 2d ed. El Colegio de México.
El Colegio de México
Daniel Cosío Villegas
Social Media
Benson Facebook, Twitter, Instagram