The Austin History Center’s Mexican American & Latine Community Archivist, serves as an educational resource for the community in various capacities. 

Sources of Information About Latines and Mexican Americans in Austin

The Latino/a/e/x Resource Guide contains valuable materials about Austin's Latine communities, although there is much that remains to be documented. The materials in the resource guide are arranged by collection unit of the Austin History Center. Within each collection unit, items are arranged in shelf-list order. To access these items, please visit the Reading Room at the Austin History Center.

Significant gaps in the Latine Communities collection remain and continued work to fill the gaps is needed. In order to assist in building the collections, the final section of the bibliography lists "Under-documented Areas of Interest." This detailed listing of topics and people about which additional material is still needed at the History Center is intended to alert the public to these specific needs in the collection as well as inspire donations of materials.

Projects & Exhibits

Austin Chicano Huelga Oral History Project

We are working with Preservation Austin to bridge the gap in historical documentation of Austin's Chicano Huelga and the broad Chicano movement in Austin during the 1970s. If you or someone you know are interested in having an oral history interview to be deposited in our archives, please contact Marina at: (512) 974-7498, or marina.islas@austintexas.gov

Tribute to La Musica Chicana Oral History Project (AR.2021.037)

Austin, Texas is considered the “Live Music Capital of the World.” The purpose of Tribute to la Musica Chicana: Community Oral History Project is to fill a gap in Austin’s music history regarding the impact of Chicana music during the 1960s and 1970s. Thanks to the Bronze Community Band Project and a Humanities Texas Major Grant for Community Projects our community researchers collected 25 oral history interviews between 2020-2022. Our community researchers were able to complete the majority of these interviews virtually. The interviews have been transcribed and are currently undergoing review to ensure the transcripts match the interviews and will be available to researchers when that process is complete. We hope to continue our work with additional oral history interviews and a celebratory event in the future. 

Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) Oral History Project

A goal of this oral history project was to document and honor many of the individuals who played a significant role in the decades-long struggle leading to the creation of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC), while also exploring the growth and obstacles experienced throughout the process. Included in this collection are the preserved oral histories of 28 stakeholders, including transcripts, audio and some video. The archival collection (AR.2015.012) also includes newspaper clippings and articles from 1970-2012 depicting the socio-political and cultural landscape of the times. Read more and hear the oral histories.