EXHIBITS

Summary

Cache Valley, Utah, is home to a rich Latinx population whose voices are often underrepresented in local repositories. To rectify this, in 2007 Utah State University (USU) Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives directed an effort to collect the voices of 45 Latinx community members; these interviews represent Phase One. The interviews feature people originally from Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, California, Utah, and more. The interviewees talk about family, religion, employment, social issues, and interests, as well as challenges associated with relocation and cultural identity. USU-trained bilingual fieldworkers conducted most of the Phase One interviews in Spanish. Elisaida Méndez and Randy Williams were project directors for Phase One.

Phase Two represents youth perspectives. Collected in 2012, the 8 interviews conducted were with youths, 15-18 years of age, from Mountain Crest High School in Hyrum, Utah. Most of these interviews were conducted in English. USU ethnographers Eduardo Ortiz, María Luisa Spicer-Escalante, and Randy Williams conducted the interviews for Phase Two. Randy Williams was project director for Phase Two.

The Latinx Voices Project (LVP) received a 2009 Utah Humanities Council (UHC) Human Ties Award. The project received generous support from the Utah Humanities, Utah Division of State History, Utah State Historical Records Advisory Board, and the Marriner S. Eccles Foundation. The finding aid to the Latinx Voices Project is found at Folk Collection 38.

This exhibit presents the purpose and infrastructure of the Latinx Voices Project. To explore all 54 interviews, please visit the Latinx Voices of Cache Valley Digital Collection.