LibGuides: Special Collections for Latin America, the Caribbean, Lusophone Africa, Spain and Portugal: Latin America

Libros Cartoneros

Libros Cartoneros in Spanish
A growing collection of over 135 cardboark press publications in Spanish from various countries in Latin American and in Spain. Libros cartoneros are a grassroots publishing movement that emerged in Latin America, beginning in Argentina during the early 2000s economic crisis. The movement involves creating hand-bound books using salvaged cardboard, often crafted by artists collectives, making literature affordable and accessible to a broader audience. Cartonera publishing has spread throughout the region, including countries like Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and Peru, where it fosters creativity and highlights emerging authors and marginalized voices. The movement also challenges traditional publishing norms by blending literature, social activism, and sustainability, creating a unique space for cultural and political expression across Latin America. Learn more about the cartonera publishing movement in Akademia Cartonera: A Primer of Latin American Cartonera Publishers.
Livros Cartoneros in Portuguese
A growing collection of over 170 cardboard press publications from Brazil. Here is a selective list of Brazilian independent publishers and artist collectives from whom we have acquired these publications. Read more about these publications in O que são esses livros com capas de papelão? (in Portuguese).
Rutas y Leyendas Libros Cartoneros and Poster Collection, 2015-2021
Rutas y Leyendas is a cardboard publisher in the O'Higgins region of Chile. Access the finding aid for this collection through RIAMCO.

Zines

Argentine Zine Collection, 1982-2021
A collection of 544 zines created 1982-2021 covering a wide variety of subjects including feminism, LGBTQ+ counterculture, sexuality, labor movements and literature. Access the finding aid for this collection through RIAMCO.
Kolektivo Kamina Libre: Chilean Anarchists Materials Collection
Self published in Santiago de Chile, 1996-2003. 16 vols., 2 brochures, 4 posters. Access the finding aid for this collection through RIAMCO. The Kolektivo Kamina Libre is an anarchist group and writers collective that was founded in 1995 in Cárcel de Alta Seguridad (CAS) in Santiago, Chile.

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Members of the collective were part of MAPU-Lautaro, a left-wing armed organization opposed to the repressive Pinochet government, and were arrested and convicted for perpetrating acts of political violence. While incarcerated, they developed their own anarcho-libertarian ideology and wrote texts on various topics including animal rights and liberation movements, the use of violence to achieve political change, anti-imperialism, and anti-capitalism. Their writings were smuggled out of prison and reproduced widely among Anarcho-punk groups, secret societies and animal welfare collectives promoting veganism. After a 12 year sentence in CAS, several former members continue to be questioned by the police, two of them were accused of being leaders of an illicit terrorist organization, and one was prosecuted and convicted for robbing a bank and murdering a police officer. As of 2022, their texts remain censored, criminalized and used as evidence of violent activity. Sizable quantities of original material have been lost during police raids and accessing these documents in Chile is still challenging.

Independent publishers and artist books

Canto a Matanzas: a collection of books from Ediciones Vigía, 1987-2019
Ediciones Vigia is an independent publishing house located in Matanzas, Cuba. It was founded in 1985 by Rolando Estévez Jordán (1953-2023), who was its chief designer and draftsman, and Alfredo Zaldívar, a Cuban poet. Handmade using collaged, repurposed materials, these books are created by artisans who volunteer at the press. These uniquely produced publications, often featuring dried flowers, shards of glass, fistfuls of sand and other natural materials, are produced in editions of 200. Access the finding aid for this collection through RIAMCO.
Gato Negro Independent Press Collection, 2016-2019
Publications from an independent press in Mexico City, Mexico, 2016-2019. Access the finding aid for this collection through RIAMCO.
Puerto Rico en mi corazón
A collection of 15 richly illustrated broadsides of contemporary Puerto Rican poets, in English and in Spanish. Edited by Raquel Salas Rivera, Erica Mena, Ricardo Alberto Maldonado, and Carina del Valle Schorske, published by Anomalous Press, the profit from the sales was directed to assist Puerto Rico in recovering from Hurricane Maria.
Chanccani quipu
Chanccani Quipu, by Chilean artist and poet Cecilia Vicuña, is a modern interpretation of the 5,000 year-old quipu, which recorded the literature of the Incas on knotted cords. It embodies the intention and essence of a poem by Vicuña translated into English by the poet along with Jerome Rothenberg. The concept for the project and all of the drawings are by Cecilia Vicuña. This copy is no. 12/32 signed by the author and translator.
Codex Espangliensis: from Columbus to the Border Patrol
Images from pre-Hispanic times to present day Mexico merge with traditions of Western art and contemporary American pop culture to illustrate Mexican/United States border culture on the eve of the millennium. A collaborative artists' book made up of performance texts and poems by Guillermo Gómez-Peña interwoven with collage imagery by Enrique Chagoya into book form by Felicia Rice of Moving Parts Press.
5 metros de poemas (Ugly Duckling Press)
A poem by Peruvian poet Carlos Oquendo de Amat. English and Spanish texts on opposite sides (front and back) of folded accordion sheet; four additional poems are printed on p. [2-3] of cover.
5 metros de poemas (Centro de Arte Moderno)
A poem by Peruvian poet Carlos Oquendo de Amat issued in a black wooden case with two rollers and a peep hole on front for viewing scroll. "Abra el libro como quien pela una fruta" on black label mounted at bottom of case. Facsimile reprint of 1927 edition published by Editorial Minerva, Lima, in an edition of 300 copies.

Posters and broadsides

Protest posters from Oaxaca by Estudio Gráfica de Lucha
12 silkscreen posters illustrating political protests in Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico, centering in:
Zapatista posters by Beatriz Aurora
5 posters by Chilean artist Beatriz Aurora inspired by the Mexican Zapatista struggle and movement. Aurora's "painted histories" are colorful folk art influenced paintings with images of hope, human warmth and optimism, depiciting a diverse and indigenous people living in communities of harmony.
Autonomía es la vida: la sumisión es la muerte : ni sumisxs, ni esclavxa : viva la autonomía Zapatista! : Ni nos vendemos, ni nos rendimos, aquí sequimos!
One political poster issued by Sublevarte Colectivo in celebration of the 20 years of the Zapatista's movement's resistance against the Mexican state, genocide, and global capitalism, and its spirit of solidarity for the self-determination of autonomous communities and indigenous peoples. The poster features a photographic image of woman, her mouth covered with a bandana, holding a sign with the slogan "ni sumisxs, ni esclavxs, viva la autonomía Zapatista!" Behind the woman stands a group of Zapatista women and men assembled together for a march.
Nos vemos en 2010 : en 1810, luchamos por la independencia contra el poder español : en 1910, contra el poder del terrateniente : en el 2010 lucharemos contra el poder del dinero
One political poster featuring a Superman figure printed in black against a background of red stars on a light brown colored sheet. Caption title printed at head of poster and on the bottom announces a meeting by Delegado Zero of the EZLN (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) in Magdalena de Kino, Mexico in October, 2006 in support of autonomy and self-determination for local indigenous communities.
Cuatro escudos by Nephtalí De León
Broadside, 1976. Poet Nephtalí De León pays tribute to the Puerto Rican liberation movement, the text surrounds drawings of Lolita Lebron, Andres Figueroa Cordero, Oscar Collazo, Irving Flores and Rafael Cancel Miranda, all political prisoners.

Independence, Imperialism and Colonial periods

George Earl Church Collection
George Earl Church Collection is largely composed of 18th and early 19th century monographs on Latin American politics, history, and geography, with substantial attention to contemporary anthropological studies on the natives of South America. Materials on Amerindian languages are also well represented. The collection’s most unique item is perhaps the 18th century manuscript history of Potosi, a Bolivian mining town. A number travel accounts from the Church Collection are freely accessible online through the Latin American Travelogues Digital Project.
Historia de la Villa Imperial de Potosí
The manuscript held at the John Hay Library is the primera parte of the complete work and records, as the subtitle indicates, the social and political unrest of the city, as well as its “unparalleled riches and the greatness of its magnanimous people, its civil wars and memorable cases.” Illustrations included in the manuscript portray the metallurgy work of the city, its topographical features, and historic events.
Cuban Slavery Documents collection, 1820-1892
Documents including letters, certificates, and inventories relating to the institution of slavery, slaves, and indentured servants in Cuba during the 19th century. Many of the documents refer to Chinese people brought to Cuba as indentured servants or contract laborers (colonos).
Schirmer Collection on Anti-Imperialism
This collection, assembled by Daniel Boone Schirmer, holds 964 titles dealing with the Anti-Imperialist movement of 1898 and its repercussions in United States, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Filipino history. It deals with the debate within the United States during and after the Spanish-American War over the appropriate relationship between the English-speaking and Spanish speaking Americas.
Dupee Mexicana Collection
A collection of 340 titles that document the early decades of the Mexican Republic after it achieved independence in 1821.

Pre-contact and Colonial codices from Mesoamerica

Facsimile Edition of Historia universal de las cosas de Nueva España : codice laurenziano mediceo palatino (Florentine Codex)
A 3-volume facsimile reproduction of the original codex without commentary. The "Florentine Codex" is a 16th-century ethnographic research project compiled and authored by Bernardino de Sahagún, a Spanish Franciscan friar. Working between 1545 and 1590, Sahagún collaborated closely with indigenous Nahua scholars, scribes, and artists. Together, they produced this extensive ethnographic work, written in both Spanish and Nahuatl, documenting Aztec culture, religion, history, and daily life. It is considered a collaborative effort, reflecting both Sahagún's perspectives and the invaluable contributions of his indigenous collaborators. Consisting of 12 volumes (bound in 3 volumes) with illustrations, this codex is considered one of the most important sources on pre-contact Mesoamerica, offering insights into indigenous knowledge systems and worldviews. For more context, see also in digital format The Florentine Codex: an encyclopedia of the Nahua world in sixteenth-century Mexico. In 2023, the Getty Research Institute released the Digital Florentine Codex which gives access to the complete manuscript. High-resolution scans of all volumes were added to the World Digital Library.
Codex Borgia : Biblioteca apostolica vaticana (Messicano Riserva 28)
Facsimile edition. Also known as Codex Borgianus, and Codex Yohualli Ehecatl, is a pre-contact Middle American pictorial manuscript from Central Mexico featuring calendrical and ritual content, dating from the 16th century.

Journals and magazines

Solidaridad socialista, 1982-1989
Newspaper of the Socialism Movement in Argentina. Donated by Prof. James Green. Some issues freely accessible online through CEIP León Trotsky.
Caras y caretas, 1898-1930
Weekly magazine first published in Montevideo, Uruguay, and later in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It featured political satire, humor and topical issues, visually displayed through cartoons and photographs. The issues at the John Hay Library are from the Argentina period and were the personal copy of José S. Alvarez ("Fray Mocho"), director of the magazine. The Rockefeller has in microfilm format the earlier years, 1890-1897, published in Montevideo.
Mundial magazine, 1911-1914
A cultural and literary magazine directed by Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío from Paris which featured many Modernist writers from Latin America and Spain. It was known for incorporating avant-garde illustrations and photographs.
Minerva: Revista Quincenal Dedicada a la Mujer de Color, 1888-1890/1910-1915
Minerva began a two-year publication in 1888, two years after the emancipation of slaves in Cuba and ten years before national independence. It was an extraordinary and unique journal, as it demonstrated that a middle-class strata of free black women were educated, involved in nation building, and devoted to people of color. In storage: ask at Rock Circulation desk. Microfiche.
Casa de las Américas
Early issues held at the John Hay Library, later issues at the Rockfeller Library. This journal is published by Casa de las Américas, a literary research center founded by the Cuban Government in April 1959, four months after the Cuban Revolution. Published since 1961, it began as a literary magazine but has since become a general intellectual review with an equal focus on history and international politics.

Cuban Periodicals: Cultural Magazines Published by Casa de las Americas, 1960-2009
Digital archive for Casa, Conjunto, Boletin de Musica and Anales del Caribe magazines published by Casa de las Americas in Havana, Cuba, 1960-2009.

1960-2009; this primary source collection gives access to the archives of four cultural magazines published by Casa de las Amricas in Havana, Cuba. It includes the highly influential journal Casa, the theater journal Conjunto, the music journal Boletn de Msica, and, finally, Anales del Caribe, a journal about the rich artistic and literary production in the Caribbean.

For off-campus access, please use the VPN.

Other Ephemera

Wallis's New Game of Wanderers in the Wilderness
1844, Edward Wallis, London, England. A companion game to The Game of the Star-spangled Banner, this game explores the fauna and flora of South America. It is clear that for the British, the allure and mystery of the Americas came from the way in which they were perceived as wild and untamed. This game does contain some objective historical information: Space 62 features the Peruvian city of Lima, “not yet recovered from the dreadful earthquake which in 1746 destroyed 5,000 of its inhabitants.”
Album de la revolución cubana, 1952-1959
Children's trading card album from Cuba. This 33 page album comes with 268 cards telling the story of the Cuban revolution. The technical director and administrator was Rene Jimenez.