The Benson Latin American Collection invited the UT community to view memorabilia from all eras of Mexican cinema on Wednesday, including posters, movies, books and photographs.
The collection consists of a specialized library focusing on materials from and about Latin America and materials concerning Latinos in the U.S. It includes more than 970,000 books, periodicals, pamphlets and microforms in addition to manuscripts, photographs and other media. The collection makes up approximately 10 percent of all volumes in the UT libraries system, according to the library’s Web site.
“We hope this showing would stimulate interest by letting everyone on campus know that this material is available,“ said librarian Adrian Johnson.
The event allowed people to explore the collection housed in the library and sample some of the different materials that the library offers to the community. Included in the collection is the VHS version and still photographs from the 1931 movie “Santa,” Mexico’s first motion picture with sound. Also available are posters and a set of stills from the 1981 film “El Sargento Capulina,” one of the later films represented in the collection.
Materials were shown from the collection that represent a wide variety of genres and eras in the history of Mexican cinema such as the Academy Award-nominated “Marcario” and films starring Golden Age actors Pedro Infante and María Félix.
According to Texas Archival Resources Online, there are also 103 Mexican movies donated by Mexican producer and writer Rogelio Agrasánchez, Jr. in the collection.
Interim Head Librarian Margo Gutiérrez said she believes the unique materials in the collection are a draw for UT students.
“I would like people to know that we are here with a diverse collection that would be in good use to the community,” Gutiérrez said.
Latin American cinema collection displayed at UT
Published: Thursday, November 5, 2009
Updated: Thursday, November 5, 2009
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