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Latin America

This collection contains materials from Central and South America and the Caribbean. Primary topics include Cuba and the Cuban Revolution, the Sandanista revolution in Nicaragua, the Nicaragua-Contra War, the Chilean struggle for independence and US imperialism.

Subcollections

  • Chile
    This collection focuses primarily on the advent of the elected socialist Presidency of Salvador Allende in Chile, the 1973 fascist coup against Allende, engineered by the CIA and led by General Augusto Pinochet, and the subsequent repression of the left.
  • Cuba
    This collection primarily contains recordings focusing on various aspects of life in Cuba after their Communist Revolution.
  • El Salvador
    This collection contains materials related to the liberation struggle in El Salvador.
  • Guatemala
    This collection contains materials detailing the revolutionary struggles in Guatemala, the role of Guatemalan women during the revolution and the United States role in Guatemalan politics.
  • NACLA
    North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) is an independent non-profit organization founded in 1966 to research the political economy of the Americas and US policy towards the region.
  • Nicaragua
    These materials focus primarily on the Sandanistas and their struggle for national liberation.
  • Struggles in Latin America
    This collection contains materials from throughout Latin America. Detailed interviews, poems and accounts from the 1973 revolution in Chile, the Sandinista Contra conflict in Nicaragua, and from revolutionary forces El Salvador are all included.

Documents

Poetry reading by Ernesto Cardenal Poetry reading by Ernesto Cardenal
Call Number: LA 113BFormat: Cass BCollection: Nicaragua
Poetry reading followed by a short question and answer dialogue from Father Ernesto Cardenal of Nicaragua. Poems, including "The Big Bang", "Wall and Water Street" and other pieces, are read in Spanish with English translation. Cardenal is known as one of the greatest living Latin American poets today. He wrote during the Samoza dictatorship and the Sandanista overthrow of Samoza in 1979. Through his poems, Cardenal brings together science and poetry, science and mysticism, mysticism and revolution, and poetry and politics. He speaks out against oppression and searches to preserve the unity of creation through spiritual insight. In a short question and answer period at the end of the reading, Cardenal discusses how Nicaraguan culture and revolution are entertwined and how poetry is an expression of the revolution. Cardenal also talks about his priesthood as a lifelong commitment and of poetry as a religious practice.
Interview with Luis Godoy Interview with Luis Godoy
Call Number: LA 115Format: CassetteCollection: Nicaragua
1989 interview with Nicaraguan revolutionary musician, Luis Godoy. Godoy was born in 1945 during the Samoza dictatorship. He speaks about the responsibility of an artist to send an important message and raise the consciousness of the people. Godoy then explained that from a very young age he realized that he could express the injustices of Nicaragua through songs, "I realized that my music could be used as a social tool". Throughout the interview, Godoy discusses those who have influenced his music, his involvement with past bands, and his visions for the future in both his musical career and for his country.
Daniel Ortega’s speech to the people of the United States Daniel Ortega’s speech to the people of the United States
Call Number: LA 119BFormat: Cass BCollection: Nicaragua
Daniel Ortega, former president of Nicaragua (1985-1990), speaks to the people of the U.S. about the U.S. backed Contra war in Nicaragua. Ortega emphasizes the affects that the war has had on the people of Nicaragua, materially, spiritually, and politically. Ortega lays out specific steps the U.S. should take in order to support democracy in Nicaragua, talks about the U.S. embargo as a violation of human rights. Speech was broadcasted on WRFG radio in Atlanta, Georgia. Recordings include music by Grupo Mancotal.
Deputy Prosecutor John Keker Speaks on Iran Contra Affair Deputy Prosecutor John Keker Speaks on Iran Contra Affair
Call Number: KP 499Volume Number: N/AFormat: Cass BCollection: Nicaragua
Remarks and Q&A with John Keker after the prosecution of Oliver North, including Keker’s thoughts on US foreign policy, executive v. judicial power and especially how the Reagan administration illegally sold weapons to Iran to provide support to the Contras in Nicaragua. Future implications of this prosecution and investigation are also discussed.
Saul Landau on US Intervention in Central America Saul Landau on US Intervention in Central America
Call Number: KP 507Format: Cass A & BCollection: Struggles in Latin America
Saul Landau is the guest speaker discussing US foreign policy in Central America. Landau discusses what he calls the "national security" state, anti-communism, and the American public opinion. Landau makes connections between the Nixon and Reagan administrations, and discusses the Arias Plan. Followed by Q&A.