Description of the Collection
Started prior to 1960 in Cuba, re-started all over again in Puerto Rico in 1960, up to this date. At present the collection comprises approximately 100,000 units:
| Books and magazines | 5,000 |
| LP's | 45,000 |
| 78rpm records | 15,000 |
| 45rpm records | 1,500 |
| CD's | 1,000 |
| Photos | 3,000 |
| Videocassettes | 1,000 |
| Cassettes | 4,000 |
| Sheet music, catalogues, brochures |
5,000 |
| Folders, ("libretas", with chips), indexes, etc... |
500 |
| Copies of RCA Victor's recording session history cards |
41,000 |
| Billboards and lobby cards of Mexican movies |
150 |
This is a growing collection, therefore the above figures show the approximate size of the collection.
A Few Details About the Collection
- About 95% of it covers Latin American music. The remaining is jazz, classical, European and international pop music.
- Cassettes contain copies of hard to get 78's gathered from all over the world, radio programs of special significance, interviews with composers, singers and musicians, etc. The collection is most comprehensive in Cuban music, in addition to a very substantial one in Latin American music.
- The book collection covers many hard to get books published in different Latin countries about popular and folkloric music.
- Clips, files, etc. if counted by individual pieces number more than 100,000 all alphabetically filed.
- Videocassettes include Latin movies--mostly Mexican--with musical numbers by important singers such as Pedro Vargas, Jorge Negrete. The collection also includes special "live" programs produced in Puerto Rico, Cuba, etc., as well as movies produced in Cuba.