Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape

Recorded Authors

The Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape was begun in 1943 by then assistant chief of the Hispanic Division Francisco Aguilera (1899-1979) to record on magnetic tape original voice recordings of selections of the writings of contemporary poets and prose writers. In recent years, interviews of authors have also been videotaped. To date, about 660 authors have been recorded; among them are eight Nobel laureates. Three are from Spain: Juan Ramón Jiménez, Vicente Aleixandre, and Camilo José Cela, and five from Latin America: Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda (Chile), Miguel Angel Asturias (Guatemala), Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia), and Octavio Paz (Mexico). Other authors of note include Jorge Luis Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio Cortázar, Elena Poniatowska, Carlos Fuentes, Jorge Amado, and Nélida Piñón. The Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape: A Descriptive Guide (Washington: Library of Congress, 1974) provides information on the first 232 authors who recorded for the Archive. Writers from the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, the Caribbean and U.S. Hispanics have been recorded. To date 32 countries are represented in this diverse audiovisual collection which includes readings in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Náhuatl, Zapotec, Aymara, English and Dutch. About 50 percent of the writers were recorded overseas by curators Francisco Aguilera or Georgette Dorn, and sponsored by various gift funds. The remainder of the recordings have been taped at the Library of Congress. Researchers may listen to the recordings in the Hispanic Division Reading Room by appointment.

Georgette M. Dorn
Chief, Hispanic Division