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. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
Library system in partnership with the Teresa Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies (LLILAS), located in Austin,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, 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 (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
and
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, 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 the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. 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 (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...
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 (; baptized August 10, 1782 – February 14, 1831) was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence. He fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century, and later served as ...
,
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. usually known as Santa Ann ...
,
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 in 1833, during the period of the First Mexican Republic, and again in 1846, during the ...
,
Lucas Alamán Lucas Ignacio Alamán y Escalada ( Guanajuato, New Spain, October 18, 1792 – Mexico City, Mexico, June 2, 1853) was a Mexican scientist, conservative statesman, historian, and writer. He came from an elite Guanajuato family and was well-tr ...
,
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, and military leader. ...
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 Hispanic Society of America operates a museum and reference library for the study of the arts and cultures of Spain and Portugal and their former colonies in Latin America, the Spanish East Indies, and Portuguese India. Despite the name, i ...
and papers of U.S. historian Justin H. Smith, 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 su ...
. 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 that deal with sixteenth-century Mexico. The García Icazbalceta collection included rare and important sixteenth-century printed works, including Bishop Juan de Zumárraga's 1544 ''Doctrina'', Fray Pedro de Gante'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. He was born and raised in Toledo, Spain. He first attended Alejo Venegas’s Grammar S ...
. Manuscripts include an autograph letter by Hernán Cortés, a memorial by Fray
Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( ; ; 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman then became a Dominican friar ...
, the ''residencia'' of the first
viceroy of Mexico The following is a list of Viceroys of New Spain. In addition to viceroys, the following lists the highest Spanish governors of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, before the appointment of the first viceroy or when the office of viceroy was vacant. ...
,
Antonio de Mendoza Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco (, ; 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 third Viceroy of Peru, from 23 September 1551 ...
, and the manuscript of Fray Gerónimo de Mendieta'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 a Chicano poet and activist. Early life and education Urista was born in Mexico City and attended primary school in Morelos. He went to the Unit ...
,
Gloria E. Anzaldúa Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa (September 26, 1942 – May 15, 2004) was an American scholar of Chicana feminism, cultural theory, and queer theory. She loosely based her best-known book, '' Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza'', on her li ...
, Sam Coronado,
Carmen Lomas Garza Carmen Lomas Garza (born 1948) is an Chicana artist and illustrator. She is well known for her paintings, ofrendas and for her papel picado work inspired by her Mexican-American heritage. Her work is a part of the permanent collections of the S ...
,
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 pr ...
, Américo Paredes, and Carmen Tafolla. 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 Hispanics ...
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