Latino and Mexican-American students have a long history of accomplishment at UNT. It is imperative that this history be collected, preserved, and made available to the current generation of scholars, activists, and historians. We seek to actively collect, preserve, and provide access to these historical materials that document the Latino/a community in North Texas and give face to Latino/a student history, leadership, and activism at UNT.

Latino and Latina Collections at the University of North Texas document the diverse cultural history of Texas, Mexico and Latin America. This major collection initiative seeks to develop rich primary source documentation of the artistic, political, economic and cultural history of our university and our region.

The unique experiences of Latino and Latina communities in the American South and Southwest remain under-represented in archival collections. This archive fulfills a need in historical and cultural studies, supporting academic programs in Mexican-American studies, history, anthropology, and a variety of other disciplines. Our users include undergraduate students, faculty, visiting scholars, genealogists, local historians, community members, and documentary filmmakers.

Notable Collections

Cuellar Family papers, 1903-1995
Adelaida Cuellar founded a small tamale stand Kaufman, Texas that eventually grew to become El Chico restaurants. The Cuellar family papers documents this significant north Texas family as well as the evolution of “Tex-Mex” cuisine.

G. Roland Vela papers, 1962-1990
Dr. Vela was the first Latino professor to be awarded tenure at UNT and one of the first Mexican –American microbiologists in the country. His papers include research notes, professional papers and correspondence.

Lorena Parlee collection, 1969-2006
Dr. Parlee was a professor of Mexican and Chicano history as well as an award willing documentary filmmaker. Her collection includes research files and film compiled during the creation of her works including the IMAX film “Mexico” as well as the records of her business, Sol Films.

The Raza Chronicles, 2012-
The Raza Chronicles is an on-going oral history project to document the experience of Latino and Chicano students at UNT.