THE RAICES LATIN MUSIC MUSEUM COLLECTION
 For more information about Raices,
please call (212) 427-2244 ext. 578
Raices Latin Music Museum Collection
a comprehensive, multi-media collection describing and documenting the history and evolution of Latin Music in New York City
Currently without a home, these 15,000 objects -- instruments, music, photographs, documents and more follow the growth of Latin music and underscore its roots, or raices, in Afro-Caribbean rhythms and trends.
The mission of the Raices Latin Music Museum Collection is to research, preserve and promote the rich musical legacy of popular and folkloric Afro-Caribbean musical forms in New York City.
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RAICES LATIN MUSIC COLLECTION
TOURING EXHIBITION
Raices: The Roots of Latin Music in New York City
For a brochure and information regarding hosting the Raices Exhibition, please contact
 Ramon Rodriguez, Director
Raices Latin Music Collection
One East 104th Street
New York, NewYork 10029
(212) 427-2244 ext. 572
rrodriguez@raicescollection.org.
For more information click here
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Concentrating on the contributions of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the collection acknowledges African roots and European influences.
Through its extensive collection, educational programs, exhibitions, primary source materials and documents, establishment of an archive / research center, educational activities, performances and lecture / demonstrations, Raices helps to preserve and present an essential part of the city's musical heritage, educating diverse audiences about this rich musical tradition.
With support from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, the Harbor is committed to finding a permanent home for the Raices Latin Music Museum Collection where research, exhibition and education on the subject of New York City's Latin Music Legacy can happen.
It is the Harbor's dream that this home will be located in East Harlem and include a permanent and rotating exhibition gallery, public access rooms, research library, archival and storage facilities for the collection, as well as a performance space.
The collection includes original manuscripts by major artists, rare photos, video, audio recordings, periodicals, oral histories, artifacts, instruments and a photo exhibition on the folkloric roots and history of salsa in New York City. Currently used by students and scholars, Raices served as a major research source for the feature film, "Mambo Kings," based on Oscar Hijuelosís Pulitzer Prize winning novel.
Harbor Conservatory Director, Ramon Rodriguez and Raices co-founder Louis Bauzo established Raices in 1979 with additional support from Joe Conzo. Their objective was to trace the path of music from its origins in West Africa through its transformations in the various islands of the Caribbean and New World to salsa. To this end, Mr. Bauzo and Mr. Rodriguez traveled to West Africa, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Brazil where they interviewed indigenous folk artists and mapped the changing styles of Afro-Caribbean music. A conscientious effort was also made to send out interviewers to do oral histories of the music's living legends, collecting photographs and taping concerts.
The Raices Latin Music Museum Collection is of historical significance, as it honors and preserves an art form, which is truly unique to New York City, and comprises objects and interviews that had never before been compiled in a comprehensive way.
Musicians, dancers, aficionados and collectors are invited to donate materials for preservation. The Harbor is forever grateful to the many individuals who planted the seeds of Raices by most generously sharing their knowledge, memories, stories and love of La Musica Latina en Nueva York.
Designated an official project of Save America's Treasures, Raices is one of a select group of historic resources that have been chosen to represent America's Treasures by the White House Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Save America's Treasures is a White House Millennium Council initiative created by President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton as part of the National Millennium Commemoration and established by Executive Order 13072. Raices Latin Music Museum is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
Raices Latin Music Museum Collection is a program of Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts, a division of Boys and Girls Harbor, Inc., and is made possible with support from the New York State Legislative Member Senator Olga Mendez, a special New York State Grant from the Office of Parks and Recreation and Historic Preservation, GOYA FOODS, The Reed Foundation and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, as well as the family & friends of Bill Gordon and other generous individuals.
Boys and Girls Harbor, Inc., founded by Tony Duke, is a sixty-five year old nonprofit, multi-service educational youth agency positively affecting the lives of over 6,000 children and families of East and Central Harlem each year.
Harbor Conservatory is recognized worldwide, as the leading school for the study of Latin music from Folkloric to contemporary Salsa, and is an annual recipient of the Tito Puente Scholarship Fund. Raices evolved from the educational mission of the Harbor Conservatory, fueled by the faculty's desire to teach the history of Latin style music.
RAICES LATIN MUSIC COLLECTION AWARDED RECORDING
ACADEMY ARCHIVING AND PRESERVATION GRANT
The Raices Latin Music Collection at Boys & Girls Harbor, is the proud recipient of a $40,000 Recording Academy Archiving and Preservation Grant to support the archiving, preservation and duplication of its recorded sound collection. These materials include performances, historic concerts, and oral histories on vinyl discs, audio tape and videotape by legendary Latin masters as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Frank "Machito" Grillo, Mario Bauza, Eddie Palmieri, Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colon and others.
Now in its 17th year, the Academy grant program funds projects that advance archiving and preservation of America's recorded sound/music heritage and research efforts related to music and its effect on the medical and occupational well-being of the music professional, as well as on early childhood and human development. The Academy's National Professional Education Committee determines grant recipients based on criteria such as merit, uniqueness of project and the ability to accomplish intended goals.
Until recently, Latin music scholarship and access have been hindered because of the lack of significant and well-executed conservation efforts. Without timely implementation of these efforts, generations of material will be lost. The recorded sound portion of the Raices Collection represents a true pantheon of Latin music masters; many of the recordings are rare and unique original pressings whose value is enhanced by the loss of "master" tapes from which the recordings originate. Preservation of these materials is, therefore, urgent and timely.
"We are most grateful to the Recording Academy for this much needed support," said Raices Director and Co-Founder, Ramon Rodriguez. "This grant is especially meaningful to us, because it confirms the national significance of the Raices Collection, and the overwhelming contribution that Latin Music has made to our American musical heritage."
For more information about Raices please call (212) 427-2244 ext. 578
Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts
1 East 104th Street
New York, NY 10029
(212) 427-2244 ext . 570
info@harborconservatory.org |
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Did you know?
that you can book one of the Conservatory's Latin Ensembles for your next event.
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