Javier García Peña Collection
Scope and Contents Note
The collection is divided in three series: 1) Checking It Out Program, 2) Sabor del Pueblo Program, and 3) Audio and Film Recordings.
Checking It Out Program includes the following topics: curandero, baseball, labor camp, music, teen pregnancy, gangs, Cuban refugees, and conversations/profiles of different people (Angela Bofill, Tommy Nuñez, Alex Valdez, Julio Iglesias, Ruben Blades). Audio formats include cassette tapes and reel-to-reel tapes.
Sabor del Pueblo Program topics include: contemporary Chicano music, corridos, curanderismo, legends and tales, mariachi music, and features on Jovita González, Lydia Mendoza, and Narciso Martinez. Audio formats include cassette tapes and reel-to-reel tapes.
Audio and Film Recordings include voice check and newscast sample tapes from García Peña, untitled audio and film recordings. Two films are about time spent in La Coruña during Christmas (based on label information). Formats include 8mm film, cassette tapes, and reel-to-reel tapes.
Dates
- Creation: 1976-circa 1982
Language of Materials
English, Spanish
Access Restrictions
The collection is stored remotely. Advance notice is required to access recordings that need to be digitized.
Use Restrictions
Standard copyright restrictions apply.
Historical Note
Radio programs, Checking It Out and Sabor del Pueblo, were produced by the Southwest Center for Educational Television (SCET), an Austin, Texas non-profit founded by Aida Barrera. Barrera and Dr. Américo Paredes hosted some of the Sabor del Pueblo episodes.
Javier García Peña was involved in production and editing radio programs for Chicago's local NPR station. The programs aired in 1981 and 1982.
Sources:
Information provided by García Peña.
Barrera vita included in PhD dissertation. Barrera, A. N. (1992). Multiculturalism before its time: the making of Carrascolendas / by Aida Nydia Barrera. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1992.
Full Extent
1 linear foot
Abstract
Javier García Peña collection includes radio programs (Checking It Out and Sabor del Pueblo), film, and newscast sample tapes. The radio programs focused on the culture of the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, from social conditions and traditions to the daily lives of Mexican Americans in the Valley.
Acquisition Information
Donation.
Accession numbers: 2024-032
Additions
No further materials are expected for this collection.
Alternative Form Available
Some radio programs have been digitized and can be accessed from the Aida Barrera Collection, part of the Voces Oral History Project Archive.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Carla O. Alvarez, 2025.
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Javier García Peña Collection
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Author
- Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection
- Date
- 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard (Dacs)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- 2025 July: Revised by Ryan Sullivant to fix validation errors prior to ingestion into ArchivesSpace.
- 2026: Edited by Carla O. Alvarez.
Repository Details
Part of the Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin Repository
2300 Red River Street
Austin Texas 78712 United States
(512) 495-4578
bensonspecialcollections@austin.utexas.edu