The Library of Congress has just added 50 new recordings to their free, open-access collection the Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape. According to the Library of Congress, “The Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape was begun in 1943 by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress to record audio recordings of poets and prose writers from Spain, Portugal, Latin America, the Caribbean and from the Hispanic Community in the United States reading from their works.” The collection includes audio from authors from Angola, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. One highlight from the newly added recordings is indigenous literature.

[The Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape] also includes, for the very first time, recordings of works in indigenous languages, such as the recording of Mexican scholar Ángel María Garibay (1892-1967) who reads Aztec poetry in Nahuatl and Spanish; Mexican writer Andrés Henestrosa (1906-2008) who reads works in Zapotec, a pre-Columbian language from Oaxaca, Mexico; and poet Andrés Alencastre (1909-1984) who reads verses in Quechua, the language of the Inca Empire. Another linguistic gem included in this release is a reading by Spanish writer Unai Elorriaga (1973- ) in Basque or “Euskara,” a Pre-Indo-European language spoken in northern Spain.

The recordings include audio recordings from authors like Argentine writer Griselda Gambaro. (Image copyright Diario de Cultura.)

Head on over to the archive to listen to check out this wealth of almost 800 recordings from well-known authors like Pablo Neruda and Jorge Luis Borges, as well as new favorites like Griselda Gambaro, Beatriz Guido, and Denise Chávez.