Category: UNCATEGORIZED

The Civil War has been over for almost 150 years and still the Confederate flag ignites controversy. The latest conflagration is taking place at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Originally just Washington University, it added the Lee in 1870 after the death of Robert E. Lee, who had served as its president since 1865. Lee is buried in the school’s Lee Chapel.

Recently some of the school’s African American students demanded, among other things, the removal of Confederate battle flags in the Lee Chapel. These were not original flags from the Civil War; they were replicas placed there after the originals had been removed because they were deteriorating. The university agreed to take the replica flags down. (You can read university president Richard Ruscio’s reasoned statement about the controversy here.)

The decision led to an eruption from those who decry “political correctness” and protest that the flags…

During the month of June, LGBTI Pride festivities abound. The three Pride p’s–parades, picnics, and panel discussions–ubiquitous manifestations of queer visibility, play out across the U.S. and beyond. As floats glide down city streets and drag divas wave to adoring, celebrating throngs; as same-sex parents with children and doggies sporting rainbow scarves in tow enjoy family friendly Pride picnics; as panelists discuss coming out and homophobia–how many recall the brave moments of activism that paved the way for today’s Pride panoply?

While the Stonewall [1] riots of 1969 served as a catalyst for gay liberation, activists and activism that came in its wake waged incremental skirmishes against homophobia and discrimination. In 1978, members of San Antonio’s gay community entered into the fray, taking on Anita Bryant, beauty queen, singer, and prominent anti-homosexual spokesperson. [2] When Bryant was invited to speak at a rally in San Antonio, gay business entrepreneur Hap Veltman…

Did you ever wonder how archival collections go from someone’s garage, attic, or storage unit to being available in one of UTSA Libraries Special Collections’ reading rooms? In the months to come, we will reveal how the process of acquiring, appraising, processing, and describing a collection unfolds. Photographs of site visits and archives work spaces will offer a visual chronicle behind-the-scenes at UTSA Special Collections as we take custody of our largest collection ever–the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project/Willie C. Velasquez records.

First site visit to storage facility housing SVREP/WCVI records

On our first visit to the storage facility, the task in front of us seemed a little daunting! How do you go from a mountainous pile of boxes to record cartons neatly places on shelves? There is only one way to handle this challenge–one box at a time. Before we began the process of digging in, we needed to take a…

Antonio Gonzáles and Dr. Ricardo Romo signing the Deed.

On Friday, May 8, 2015, UTSA President Dr. Ricardo Romo and Antonio González, President of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP) and the William C. Velásquez Institute (WCVI) signed a formal agreement deeding both organizations’ records to UTSA Special Collections. I had the honor of attending the event to witness the historic signing.

The signing took place on the eve of Willie Velásquez Day at a reception preceding the annual Southwest Voter Fundraising Dinner. Four of the mayoral candidates: Tommy Adkisson, Ivy Taylor, Leticia Van de Putte, and Mike Villareal were in attendance and during the dinner, participated in a short panel discussion before being whisked away to their next event. Senator José Menéndez was the keynote speaker and Antonio González closed the event.

Dean Maloney, Dr. Romo, Antonio González, and Sen. José Menéndez mingle before the reception.

We are…

The past year has brought changes within Special Collections, as I moved from being University Archivist to being the Digital Archivist for the department.  In my new role I’ll be working closely with the other archivists in the department to come up with policies and workflows to manage the creation, maintenance, and stewardship of digital collections.  Our digital collections include born-digital (meaning created on a computer/electronically, see this post for more), digitized (including all of the scanning we’ve done to make collections available online), and hybrid collections (collections that contain both paper and electronic material).  I’m really excited about working with my team—through our efforts we’ll be ensuring the long-term preservation of our wonderful digital collections.

And in exciting news, we’ve added a new member to our team!  Kristin Law will be joining us as the new University Archivist.  She has the following to say about her new job:

Hit Tracks To Listen or Buy on iTunes!

Track List / Song List

1. New World In My View – King Britt
2. You Wish – Nightmares On Wax
3. Don’t Let Go – Pacha Massive
4. Needle On The Record – Naomi
5. Reality And Fantasy (Gilles Peterson Remix) – Raphael Gualazzi
6. Last Night – Stéphane Pompougnac
7. Jazz Music – De-Phazz
8. The Mambo Craze – De-Phazz
9. Be Africa – Populette Remix – Bibi Tanga & The Selenites
10. L’oiseau – Stephane Pompougnac
11. Gravy Train (Nicolas Jaar Remix) – Maceo Plex
12. London In The Rain – Variety Lab
13. Rolf Royce – Tosca
14. Downtown Tazacorte – De-Phazz
15. Sympathique – Pink Martini
16. Le Vent Nous Portera – Noir Désir
17. Swim (Blackjoy Remix) – DJ Cam
18. Boa Sorte/Good Luck –…

During this Women’s History Month, we show photographs of some of the local women who contributed to the field of music during the period after World War I through the 1940s.  These women shared their musical talents through various activities, from classical music performances to radio broadcasting.  Some are remembered only by the local community.  Others achieved international fame and their recordings are still commercially available.

These photographs, from our San Antonio Light Photograph Collection (MS 359), were all taken by the newspaper’s staff photographers.

Lydia Mendoza, “The Lark of the Border,” poses with her guitar at the time she was appearing at the Nacional Theater in San Antonio, January 1948. (MS 359: L-3514-A). Mendoza (1916-2007), the first star of recorded Tejano and Norteno music, began singing publicly in San Antonio in the late 1920s. By 1934, she had achieved national attention through her recordings and radio performances.  She received…

Will Kell is the new Library Assistant II in Special Collections at the John Peace Library. He is a graduate student in the history program at UTSA and his area of interest is in Latin American history, primarily Guatemala during the Ríos Montt administration. Will is working on a master’s thesis entitled “Heavenly Discourse: FUNDAPI and Guatemala’s Attempt to Change Public Perception.” His thesis examines the relationship between the non-governmental organization Fundación de Ayuda al Pueblo Indígena (FUNDAPI) and Ríos Montt. Will has conducted research at the Tulane University Roger Thayer Stone Center for Latin American Studies, the University of Texas at Austin Benson Latin America Collection, the Archivo General de Centro América, and the Biblioteca Nacional de Guatemala. Additionally, Will conducted several interviews throughout Guatemala. Aside from school and his research, he enjoys reading, writing, running, and traveling. He looks forward to working in Special Collections and assisting the…