Migrant Border Ballads Project Records
Scope and Contents Note
Documents the music and experiences of migrant agricultural workers in the Texas border region. A 403-page manuscript (titled La Compusimos Pizcando: Texas Migrant Ballads) describes the lives and music of Mexican and Mexican American migrant workers and includes an appendix with Spanish language song lyrics and English translations; 7 cassette tapes contain interviews with informants including musical performances; 81 black-and-white photographs by Dan Dickey, María Flores, and Scott Van Osdol show musicians, researchers, and the working and living conditions of migrant workers.
Organized into three series: 1. Manuscript. 2. Audio tapes. 3. Photographs. Photographs arranged numerically according to photographer. Numerical lists of photographs and tape log available.
Dates
- Creation: 1979
Language of Materials
English
Access Restrictions
Unrestricted.
Use Restrictions
Standard copyright restrictions apply.
Historical Note
In 1979, Carla J. Hagen and four other researchers and photographers (Dan Dickey, María Flores, Félix Peña, and Scott Van Osdol) worked on a project funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant and administered through the Southwest Center for Policy Studies in Austin, Texas. They collected 60 songs from migrant workers in the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas, and photographed musicians, informants, and the environment in which migrants live and work.
Full Extent
8.5 linear inches
Abstract
Audio tapes, photographs, and a manuscript of the Migrant Border Ballads Project administered through the Southwest Center for Policy Studies in Austin, Texas.
Acquisition Information
Information of acquisition method not available.
Processing Information
Re-processing to improve access, preservation, and discoverability of the collection by Carla O. Alvarez, May 2019.
Paper copy of numerical lists for photographs and tape log created by previous Benson staff, undated.
- Title
- Migrant Border Ballads Project Records
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Author
- Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection
- Date
- 2008
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- 2019 May: Inventory added and finding aid updated by Carla O. Alvarez.
- 2021 June: Edited by Carla O. Alvarez to fix compliance check errors to prepare for the migration to new TARO website.
- 2021 November: Edited by Devon Murphy to update control access terms and formatting based on the TARO Control Access List.
- 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