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Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2020655243
Finding aid written in English.
DACS was used as the primary description standard.
Collection material in Spanish
Alejandro Paz; Donation; 2020.
No further accruals are expected.
The Alejandro Paz Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico collection was processed by Maya Lerman and Jesse Hocking in 2021. Spanish language transcripts of interview recordings created by Carolina Restrepo in 2021.
Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.
The Alejandro Paz Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico collection is open for research. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact
Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Alejandro Paz Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico collection (AFC 2020/005), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Collection of 11 sound recordings and 120 still images that document Puerto Rican textile making, mask making, and cockfighting. The eight recorded interviews explore the interviewee's practices and how Hurricane Maria and the U.S. response affected their lives. Related photographs of people, hurricane damage, and rooster farms are included as well. All interviews were conducted by Alejandro Paz in Spanish. Interview descriptions are taken directly from Paz's metadata spreadsheet. Spanish language transcripts included for each interview. A file list of the still images in the collection is available for download as an attachment to this finding aid. Paz created the records in the collection between April and June 2018.
The Alejandro Paz Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico collection is organized in 2 series:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
Interview recordings documenting Puerto Rican textile making, mask making, and cockfighting. The eight recorded interviews explore interviewee's practices and how Hurricane Maria and the U.S. response affected their lives. All interviews were conducted by Alejandro Paz in Spanish. Spanish language transcripts included for each interview. Interview descriptions by Paz are taken directly from Paz's metadata spreadsheet and are in his words. From Paz: "Recorded using a 'Sony ICD-PX440' audio recorder." As mentioned in the scope and content note for AFC 2020/005: 010, "kike" is a nickname for José.
1 mp3 interview (0:38:51)
Interview location: Emilio Díaz Valcárcel Municipal Library of Trujillo Alto. Elba discusses her experiences with her family around the time of the disaster. She lists damage to her home and her future music school for cuatro guitar. She also describes the destruction she saw in her hometown of Utuado, where she traveled to after the hurricane passed. She mentions rural people like her adapted better to the post-hurricane conditions than did the rest of Puerto Rico. She discusses the importance of spirtual music in lifting people's moods after tragedy and disaster. She gives an overview of the cuatro guitar tradition and its role in Christmas songs and rural spirituality. At various points in the interview she criticizes Puerto Rican's lack of preparedness and the influence of modern culture. She wishes the public were more in tune with nature. She has harsh words for the current Puerto Rican government and its austerity policies. She discusses her work for an indigenous rights society she founded (Consejo General de Taínos Borincanos). She decries social and economic inequality in Puerto Rico and states the hurricane was a God sent event to teach Puerto Ricans to learn how to use nature's bounty and their old traditions to take care of their own selves. She speaks favorably to environmentalism and social activism. Elba names a song, "Oubao Moin" by Puerto Rican folk musician Roy Brown, that hopes and celebrates the different Puerto Rican peoples coming together and working to preserve the island’s nature and unique identity. Additional notes: Elba Lugo is a Taíno indigenous rights activist, as well as a cuatro guitar player and teacher. She lives in Trujillo Alto. In September 8, 2018 she will be in New York City at the American Indian Museum Heye Center to talk about the Taíno movement.
1 mp3 interview (0:24:12)
Interview location: Dr. Carlos Hernández Library, Carolina. Javier discusses the damage the hurricane did to his property. He recounts helping neighbors clear out debris. He describes how his active disposition helped him overcome the discomfort of not having access to water or electricity. Javier explains playing music on his guitar with the local church to lift spirits up, including traveling around his neighborhood (Santa Cruz) with the church musicians playing at people's doorsteps. Javier goes over how the disaster limited his time and ability to paint. Javier also mentions he makes wooden frames for a family business in Bayamón. He gives some thought unto how the hurricane led to him working with smaller canvasses and focusing more on birds as subjects. Additional notes: Javier Alzerreca is a painter living in Carolina. He also homeschools his three daughters and two sons along with his wife.
1 mp3 interview (0:03:48)
Interview location: Centro Communal de la Quinta Extención de Villa Carolina, Carolina. Anonymous interviewee describes damage to her home and getting electricity from a neighbor's generator. A phone call interrupts the interview. Additional notes: The anonymous interviewee is a clothes maker who specializes in Ghanan attire for women. She is also a racial activist on behalf of Puerto Rico's black community. The organization she belongs to is called "África es mi piel, África es mi ser."
Spanish transcript of interview with anonymous interviewee, part 1
1 mp3 interview (0:49:39)
Interview location: Centro Communal de la Quinta Extención de Villa Carolina, Carolina. Anonymous interviewee talks about being able to make four dresses in the style of Taíno Indians thanks to her neighbor’s generator. These dresses were a commission from a school unable to purchase the product in stores following the hurricane and needing it for an event on cultural awareness. Anonymous interviewee describes her neighborhood's struggle after the hurricane as well as leaving for the U.S. mainland. She tells how the Carolina government for months cancelled the clothes-making classes she held at the local community center. She discusses the situation in Loíza, Puerto Rico, before and after the hurricane. She compliments the work of the new Loíza mayor in promoting cultural events. She is critical of the Puerto Rican and U.S. federal government response to the disaster. She sees the response as clueless and inefficient. She also criticizes the Puerto Rican Junta, a federally created oversight board meant to fix Puerto Rico’s debt problem, for its fiscal control and austerity measures. She discusses discrimination in Puerto Rico towards black people and other marginalized groups. She tells the story of a local black girl discriminated against by her school in a bullying case. She emphasizes the importance of the Turban in black women's fashion, but laments its limited use by Puerto Ricans. She tells stories of people fetishizing or being puzzled by her and other Puerto Rican black women's dress and appearance. She also includes a story about making a dress for a young lady that goes on to win a local fashion contest. Additional notes: The anonymous interviewee is a clothes maker who specializes in Ghanan attire for women. She is also a racial activist on behalf of Puerto Rico's black community. The organization she belongs to is called "África es mi piel, África es mi ser."
Spanish transcript of interview with anonymous interviewee, part 2
1 mp3 interview (0:06:32)
Interview location: El Batey de los Hermanos Ayala, Loíza. Raúl discusses flooding and water damage in his home caused by Hurricane Maria. He describes the damage to El Batey, specifically the workshop from which he sells masks and his sister's house, which is part of El Batey. He explains how local mayors are helping rebuild the workshop. A phone call interrupts and stops the interview six minutes in. Additional notes: Raúl Ayala is a retired economist and the son of Castor Ayala, famous mask maker and musician from Loíza. Raúl still operates out of his father's workshop making masks like his father did.
1 mp3 interview (0:29:00)
Interview location: El Batey de los Hermanos Ayala, Loíza. Raúl says he is working on dozens of masks for when the workshop, from which he sells them, reopens. He discusses the scarcity of coconuts, which used to make the masks, in the island. He also talks about the current the demand for his masks, whose supply is lacking, and how that affects his work. Raúl makes some critical remarks about the inconsistent and inefficient work of FEMA. Raúl talks about the enthusiasm for the coming yearly Festival Santiago Apóstol of Loíza. He explains some of the characters people dress up as for the festival and what each represents. Heavy rain and wind forces open the doors of the rebuilt workshop, which is where the interview is taking place, interrupting it at 20:30. Raúl assures that the people of Loíza will be fine, and expresses gratefulness for all the help they have received. Additional notes: Raúl Ayala is a retired economist and the son of Castor Ayala, famous mask maker and musician from Loíza. Raúl still operates out of his father's workshop making masks like his father did.
1 mp3 interview (0:17:40)
Interview location: Carolina, Carlos' home. Carlos describes the damage to his property and the suffering from stress due to Hurricane Maria. He explains the distinction between people who participate in cockfights for a living and those who simply do it to entertain themselves. He goes over the damage the hurricane inflicted to his birdcages and breeding grounds. He explains some of the changes he has made to his pen for raising fighting roosters. Carlos briefly addresses and gives his opinion on the interactions between Puerto Ricans and FEMA. Additional notes: Carlos Rojas lives in the municipality of Carolina working as a paint salesman. He breeds and raises cockfighting roosters as a hobby.
1 mp3 interview (0:18:18)
Interview location: José's home in the neighborhood of Martorell, Yabucoa. José, also known as Toco, recounts how he and his brother started breeding and raising roosters, following in the footsteps of their father. Toco talks about the extent of his interest in the sport. He lists some of the places throughout the island where he likes to attend cockfights. He mentions having taught local kids about cockfighting and selling them young chickens and roosters for them to entertain themselves with. Toco says as long as Puerto Rico doesn't become the fifty-first state, there will always be cockfighting in Puerto Rico. Additional notes: José Román, more commonly known by his nickname Toco, works as a handyman in Yabucoa. He also breeds fighting roosters along the street he lives in.
1 mp3 interview (0:23:58)
Interview location: In the backyard of David's home in the neighborhood of Martorell, Yabucoa. Throughout the interview, one can hear David's roosters loudly crowing. David describes the destruction he witnessed in his neighborhood and people cleaning up the streets afterwards. David talks about a childhood friend he shared his cockfighting hobby with. He explains how they helped each other out during Hurricane Maria’s aftermath and how they take care of each other's birds when they are away from home. He goes over the damage to his breeding set-up, or rancho, which consists of a wire and zinc plating structure where young birds are kept and mated. He explains how he learned about cockfighting as a child by attending cockfighting arenas and assisting in the preparation that takes place before cockfights. He discusses government attempts to make cockfighting illegal in Puerto Rico. Additional notes: David Sostre Rivera lives in Yabucoa. He breeds and raises cockfighting birds in his property as a hobby.
1 mp3 interview (0:06:38)
This interview takes place while both Kike elder and the younger Kike give me a tour of their property. Most of the interview is filled with the noise of shrieking birds. They start off explaining the purpose of keeping certain birds in cages as opposed to roaming free. They give an overview of why they raise the types of birds they keep. They go over breeding, the culinary uses of guinea fowls, and "padrotes," or roosters kept alive through old age for breeding. Additional notes: José E. Santiago lives by the hills in Martorell, Yabucoa with his son, also named José (Santiago Vásquez). They go by the same nickname as well, Kike, although the elder calls the younger "Kikito." Son and father live in the same property, which consists of two small houses and whatever they can salvage from the steep surrounding land. They raise birds amongst other occupations. They make money off of breeding cockfighting birds, and occasionally gambling on fights.
Spanish transcript of José E. Santiago Vásquez and José E. Santiago interview, part 1
1 mp3 interview (0:31:37)
After a brief interruption, father and son showcase their two pigs, kept for christmas dinner. They explain young roosters are kept in cages due to their uncontrollable aggressiveness. At one point the elder kike takes a young rooster out of a cage, opens another cage containing a separate rooster, and, holding one rooster in his arms, thrusts it towards the caged rooster. Both roosters' plumage flares and they swipe at each other with their spurs and beaks. This demonstration is meant to show the turn to aggression when two young roosters come near each other. Later on, the two of them walk through where they keep their adult fighting roosters. They explain and give demonstrations of the training techniques and tools they use on roosters. They also show and explain how roosters were trained before the advent of some of these tools. The two also discuss how the metrics of cockfights, the length and frequency of fights, affects how their roosters are trained and kept. The two discuss the importance of an effective fighting rooster in breeding for superior cockfighting birds, as well as a chicken’s role in the transference of genes. Elder kike shows how they label their chickens with a tag to keep track of them. Father and son say interest and expertise in cockfighting came to them from their childhood experiences. They describe cockfighting as part of Puerto Rico's idiosyncrasies. They also discuss how both the rich and poor gamble in cockfighting at their corresponding price ranges. The interviewer recounts going to a cockfighting arena in Yabucoa. The discussion turns to the state of Puerto Rico's cockfighting venues. They discuss taxation and the cockfighting federation. Younger kike describes the destruction Hurricane Maria brought to their property. Younger kike shows and talks about their horse. He also discusses the importance of having faith when recovering from disasters like the hurricane. Additional notes: José E. Santiago lives by the hills in Martorell, Yabucoa with his son, also named José (Santiago Vásquez). They go by the same nickname as well, Kike, although the elder calls the younger "Kikito." Son and father live in the same property, which consists of two small houses and whatever they can salvage from the steep surrounding land. They raise birds amongst other occupations. They make money off of breeding cockfighting birds, and occasionally gambling on fights.
Spanish transcript of José E. Santiago Vásquez and José E. Santiago interview, part 2
121 jpg files
Item-level inventory attached in Appendix. Photographs include images of interviewees, community members' homes and work/craft making spaces, hurricane damage, as well as rooster farms and animals. From donor: "I used my cellphone (Camera on LG Android Phone (VS835). The photos were mostly of poor quality in both their resolution and how well they were taken. Nevertheless, I think they are quite usable, especially those of cockfighting 'faenas' and of the ruins of the Batey de los Hermanos Ayala."
Inventory of still images taken by Paz with file-level information, including locations, dates, and descriptions.