Texas group celebrates 25 years of preserving Latino veterans' voices
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Ramiro Cortez, who lived in San Antonio after serving in World War II, and his Air Force crew. Photos: Courtesy of Voces
The Voces Oral History Center at the University of Texas at Austin is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, giving voice to untold Latino stories, from battlefields to civil rights frontlines.
Why it matters: The milestone highlights the center's crucial role in preserving Latino history and ensuring the accessibility of often-overlooked stories that have shaped America's cultural and civil rights history.
Flashback: Voces began in 1999 to capture the stories of Latinas and Latinos who served in World War II, later expanding to cover the Korean and Vietnam wars, political and civic engagement and civil rights.
Between the lines: The archive has been an invaluable resource for journalists, textbook publishers, academics, documentary filmmakers and institutions like the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.
- Voces has conducted interviews in more than 20 states.
- It also produces themed audio series educational materials and programming for children.
Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, founder and director of the center (formerly the U.S. Latino and Latina World War II Oral History Project), points to 2007 as a pivotal year for Voces.
- The center made national headlines by challenging PBS and filmmaker Ken Burns over the exclusion of Latinos in a 14-hour documentary on World War II titled "The War."
- Defend the Honor, a coalition formed in protest, met with broadcast leaders to mobilize national support. Burns ultimately added three interviews, though they did not air in all markets, according to an article Rivas-Rodriguez wrote for the Texas State Historical Association.
- "I think that was a pretty defining moment. I think it really underscored the reason that we exist. It proved that we needed to advocate for the inclusion of Latinos," Rivas-Rodriguez tells Axios.
Zoom in: The archive includes histories from veterans and civilians impacted by wartime experiences, per Rivas-Rodriguez.
- Some stories detail the mental health challenges veterans face.
- Local stories include Kelly Field's "Kelly Katies," who defied gender roles during WWII by working in aircraft maintenance and other roles once reserved for men.
The bottom line: "If you don't see yourselves in movies and in books, then you think 'Well, where do I fit in?' and so you fit in with whatever you look most like or whatever your interests are," Rivas-Rodriguez says.
- "But if people were to become educated about what our people have done and the contributions they have made, I think it would be a very different ballgame."
What's next: Voces will mark the anniversary with a celebration at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center at UT-Austin on Nov. 16.
- Day-of registration is $175.