MIAMI, FL– StoryCorps, a national initiative to document the unique stories of Americans, will record the stories of Miami’s Latino residents as part of its Historias Initiative January 7 – 30, 2010. Historias, which means ‘story’ in Spanish, is an ongoing initiative to capture and celebrate the diversity of Latinos culture.
The StoryCorps MobileBooth – an Airstream trailer outfitted with a recording studio – will be parked at the Wolfson Campus of Miami Dade College for four weeks. Reservations can now be made through StoryCorps’ 24-hour reservation line, 1-800-850-4406, or at StoryCorps.org. StoryCorps Historias plans to collect 120 interviews during its stay in Miami.
At the Mobile Booth, interviews are conducted between two people who know and care about each other. A trained facilitator guides the participants through the interview process and handles the technical aspects of the recording. At the end of each 40-minute session, participants walk away with a free CD copy of their interview. With their permission, a second copy becomes part of an archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generations to hear. During the first year of Historias, StoryCorps will visit cities across the nation, partnering with local radio stations, cultural institutions and community-based organizations to collect nearly 1,000 stories throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In Miami, StoryCorps is partnering with WDNA-FM 88.9 Public Radio, which will air a selection of the local stories. Selected interviews will also air on Latino USA, an English-language news program broadcast in 31 states and NPR’s Morning Edition.
StoryCorps requests a donation of $25 for each interview. If participants cannot afford to meet the suggested donation, they may participate at no cost, ensuring that StoryCorps remains a free public service. StoryCorps interviews can be conducted in any language. StoryCorps facilitators are trained to conduct interviews in either English or Spanish.
StoryCorps was created by award-winning documentary producer and MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient Dave Isay. This unprecedented project has traveled to every corner of America, instructing and inspiring individuals to record their stories in sound. StoryCorps is the largest professionally-collected archive of American voices ever gathered. Since its launch in October 2003, StoryCorps has collected interviews with more than 50,000 participants in all 50 states.
“StoryCorps reminds us of our shared humanity – by listening to our stories, we walk in the shoes of others and recognize how much we have in common,” says StoryCorps Founder and President Dave Isay. “We are proud to work with WDNA to help create a growing portrait of our nation’s fastest-growing minority group by preserving the stories of Latinos throughout the country.”
“Miami is the gateway to the Caribbean as well as Central and South America, and everyone has a story of how they arrived here, how they work, how they raise their families, and how they consider Miami their home, “ says Maggie Pelleyá, General Manager of WDNA-FM 88.9 Public Radio.
“WDNA is proud to host this opportunity to share the stories of many who consider Miami as the Magic City.” In addition to Historias, StoryCorps currently has three other initiatives: StoryCorps Griot preserves the voices, experiences, and life stories of African Americans; StoryCorps’ Memory Loss Initiative reaches out to people affected by memory loss; StoryCorps’ 9/11 Initiative honors and remembers the stories of survivors, rescue workers, and others most personally affected by September 11.
StoryCorps Historias is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Community partners involved in this national initiative include the Latino Public Radio Consortium, Latino USA and the U.S. Latino and Latina World War II Oral History Project. StoryCorps also wishes to thank Bill Lynch Associates, LLC, for their assistance with StoryCorps Historias.