While looking at the Austin American Statesmen I came across the article, “Oral History Project to Target Latinos“. This really peaked my interest. I have often thought about taping my grandmother talk about her past, to gather her very interesting (and sometimes juicy) stories.

Like did you know, my grandmother went on a “date” with a guy she just met, and ran off that night to a city hundreds of miles away (his home town) to marry him! See, juicy! Oh, by the way, that man was my grandpa! Or the crazy old wives tale about how someone put the devil in a jar and the glass would shatter if you said his name…so don’t say “devil”! Ack! I said it twice in one sentence! Or perhaps the story of my grandfather dying very young and my grandmother staying true and being a single mother all of her life. All of these are stories I would like to keep and listen to every once in a while. I mention my grandmother, but I would love to record my parents and other family members as well.

The newspaper article says this sis the “first initiative targeting Hispanic Americans. Historias, which means both “stories” and “histories” in Spanish, starts Sept. 24 — a tie-in with Hispanic Heritage Month”. This story gathering will be an ongoing program by a non-profit called StoryCorps. Have you heard about StoryCorps? It’s really interesting! Check out their goal for recording oral histories:

By recording the stories of our lives with the people we care about, we experience our history, hopes, and humanity. [...] Each conversation is recorded [...] and is archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, creating a growing portrait of who we really are as Americans.

How cool is that?! You can even check out their website and listen to “historias”. Their goal is to collect the stories of about 700 Latinos all over the nation (including stories in Austin).

“By the close of its first year, StoryCorps Historias will likely stand as one of the largest collections of Latino voices ever gathered.”

Wow, talk about a big a deal! I really suggest checking out their site, but also, maybe spend some time with your parents or grand parents (heck even friends and spouses) and listen to their stories. There is so much to learn and so much interesting stuff to hear about!