Search Help

How does this work?
There are many ways to search the collections of the Freedom Archives. Below is a brief guide that will help you conduct effective searches. Note, anytime you search for anything in the Freedom Archives, the first results that appear will be our digitized items. Information for items that have yet to be scanned or yet to be digitized can still be viewed, but only by clicking on the show link that will display the hidden (non-digitized) items. If you are interested in accessing these non-digitized materials, please email info@freedomarchives.org.
Exploring the Collections without the Search Bar
Under the heading Browse By Collection, you’ll notice most of the Freedom Archives’ major collections. These collections have an image as well as a short description of what you’ll find in that collection. Click on that image to instantly explore that specific collection.
Basic Searching
You can always type what you’re looking for into the search bar. Certain searches may generate hundreds of results, so sometimes it will help to use quotation marks to help narrow down your results. For instance, searching for the phrase Black Liberation will generate all of our holdings that contain the words Black and Liberation, while searching for “Black Liberation” (in quotation marks) will only generate our records that have those two words next to each other.
Advanced Searching
The Freedom Archives search site also understands Boolean search logic. Click on this link for a brief tutorial on how to use Boolean search logic. Our search function also understands “fuzzy searches.” Fuzzy searches utilize the (*) and will find matches even when users misspell words or enter in only partial words for the search. For example, searching for liber* will produce results for liberation/liberate/liberates/etc.
Keyword Searches
You’ll notice that under the heading KEYWORDS, there are a number of words, phrases or names that describe content. Sometimes these are also called “tags.” Clicking on these words is essentially the same as conducting a basic search.

Search Results

Grito de Lares Commemoration Event Grito de Lares Commemoration Event
Date: 9/23/1989Call Number: LA 033Format: Cass A & BCollection: Puerto Rico
This event, commemorating 121 years after El Grito de Lares (the “birth” of the Puerto Rican nation), was organized by Casa Puerto Rico, el Movimiento de Liberacion Puertorriqueno, and the Free Puerto Rico Committee. In mixed Spanish and English. Gloria Alonzo and Eli Jordan are the masters of ceremony. Taped from on and off mic. Continued on LA049.
Grito de Lares Commemoration Event Grito de Lares Commemoration Event
Date: 10/1/1988Call Number: LA 052Format: Cass A & BProgram: Live EventCollection: Puerto Rico
Event Commemorating el Grito de Lares (1868, Puerto Rican Independence struggle) with Humberto Pagan Hernandez and the National Committee to Free the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War. Dedicated to Alejandrina Torres, William Guillermo Morales, and Filberto Ojeda Rios. Leslie Mulin of the Free PR Committee reads a statement of solidarity. Gloria Alonzo reads a statement from Adolfo Matos on the criminalizaiton of the Independence Movement through the judicial proceedings in Hartford, CT. Humberto Pagan talks about PR colonial history and resistance.
Interview with Adolfo Matos Interview with Adolfo Matos
Date: 1/7/2003Call Number: V 140Format: SVHSProducers: nyla rosen, hana tauber, jose ignacio fuste, marcos garofaloCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Unedited interview used to get clips for a project on the Puerto Rican former political prisoners. In Spanish. Artist, independence figher, and former political prisoner Adolfo Matos talks about the connections between Puerto Rican Independence and the release of the political prisoners, his history and current projects, his use of art as liberatory, formal and informal/social prisons, his poetry book, and reads a poem (min 47), etc. NOTE: For easier viewing, check out V 143 which has extracted, edited interviews of him and other PR Independentistas.
Desde Las Rejas: Statements by the Eleven Puerto Rican Prisoners of War In the Concentration Camp of Cook County Desde Las Rejas: Statements by the Eleven Puerto Rican Prisoners of War In the Concentration Camp of Cook County
Authors: Carmen Valentin, Elizam Escobar, Lucy Rodriguez, Dylcia Pagan, Alfredo Mendez, Alicia Rodriguez, Luis Rosa, Adolfo Matos, Ricardo Dick Jiminez, Carlos Alberto TorresPublisher: FALNDate: 4/28/1980Volume Number: April 28Format: MonographCollection: Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional (FALN)
Statements and Declarations by the FALN 11.
Towards a 1992 without Puerto Rican Prisoners of War or Political Prisoners Towards a 1992 without Puerto Rican Prisoners of War or Political Prisoners
Publisher: National Committee to Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political PrisonersFormat: PamphletCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Support pamphlet
Petition to the U.N. on P.O.W. Status Petition to the U.N. on P.O.W. Status
Publisher: National Committee to Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political PrisonersFormat: MonographCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Contents: Statement of the Case; The Puerto Rican People at War with US Colonialism; The Capture and Prosecution of the Eleven; Petitioners Claim: Under International Law, Captured Puerto Rican Freedom Fightres are Entitled to the Status of Prisoner of War and to Release from Detention and Imprisonment; Conclusion: The US Government has refused to recognize petitioners' status as prisoners of war. The United Nations and its constituent bodies are the approperiate forum for their claim; Appendix.
What you can Do What you can Do
Publisher: National Committee to Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political PrisonersFormat: FlyerCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Flyer with suggestions to support Puerto Rican political prisoners and prisoners of war.
The International Campaign for Puerto Rican Prisoners of War The International Campaign for Puerto Rican Prisoners of War
Publisher: National Committee to Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political PrisonersFormat: PamphletCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Support pamphlet
Join the vigil for the Release of Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners! Join the vigil for the Release of Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners!
Format: EphemeraCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
a Lares el 23 de Septiembre en Saludo a los Patriotas Encarcelados a Lares el 23 de Septiembre en Saludo a los Patriotas Encarcelados
Format: ArticleCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Reproduction of an article in Spanish.