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Hi Friends,

Back with our weekly roundup! The past few weeks have been so transformative for me ✨ My experience in Puerto Plata this summer with the Guerrilla Archiving Program gave me a renewed sense of purpose about the work I’m doing. I feel like a fire in me has been reignited, and it feels so good to be reminded that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

I made new friends and comrades during my time in the Dominican Republic. I love making new connections through the work I do. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in this program. I am especially grateful for the incredible community support that helped make it possible for me to get to get there. Being able to return to the DR, do this work, and connect with so many people who care deeply about preserving these histories meant so much to me. I truly couldn’t have done it without your support!

We did so much great work during the program this year. We also laid the groundwork for a strong infrastructure that will allow this work to continue growing and improve access to endangered collections across the region. I’ve included some photos I took of the work we did and what I saw during my time in Puerto Plata in the “In the Frame” section of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy them!

One of the projects we worked on was creating a preliminary finding aid for the archival collections held at the Biblioteca Pública Renovación. This was the part of the project I focused on, and I had the opportunity to dig through some really fascinating materials documenting the history of Puerto Plata and the Dominican Republic more broadly. The collections included original and reproduced artwork, sheet music, correspondence, historical publications, photographs, and so much more. Some materials dated as far back as 1890!

Other members of the team focused on digitizing materials, creating metadata, performing preservation work, organizing newspapers, and conducting historical research on a set of glass plate negatives depicting puertoplateños at the end of the 19th century.

It was an incredible experience to work alongside people who share my commitment to making these histories accessible and ensuring that these materials are preserved for future generations. I can’t wait to share more news about this work in the near future!

In Community Always,

Queer Archivist

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