Digital Archives: ¡Loíza Vive!
¡Loíza Vive! is an innovative project laying the foundation for sustainable, community-led cultural heritage conservation in Loíza, Puerto Rico.
Since 2018, LWB US has worked in the municipality of Loíza, a major center of Afro-Puerto Rican culture on the island. But the municipality faces many challenges, with a median household income of $17,000 annually and one of the highest violent crime rates on the island. It is geographically isolated, accessible only by low-lying bridges, and extremely vulnerable to flooding. Loíza was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2018, and many public services damaged by the storm have struggled to reopen. Further, nearly 30% of residents lack any type of home internet connection.
In 2022 LWB US launched ¡Loíza Vive!, a project that seeks to facilitate a movement of community archivists committed to the preservation of Loiza’s cultural heritage, and ultimately, to incorporate the narratives of its communities into the official historical records of Puerto Rico. Through initial interviews with local residents, influential cultural agents, community leaders and youth, we recognized, and feel the need to reiterate, the close correlation that exists between culture, identity, cultural preservation and survival for Loiceños and their territory. Cultural preservation work is of vital importance to change the dominant narratives about Loíza and its people, and to highlight its enormous cultural wealth to the world.
As part of this initiative, designed and operated by Loiceños, LWB began preparing community members with the skills and knowledge necessary to document cultural assets and preserve them in the face of natural disasters and forces of change that threaten Loíza.
Over this 3-year project, we aim to accomplish the following objectives:
- Create six thematic archives within which we can begin to document a wide range of cultural assets (e.g. oral histories, historical documents, photographs, artifacts, events, traditional practices, etc.)
- Train people from Loíza in the development of knowledge and skills pertinent to creative industries, media arts, digital humanities and cultural preservation. A particular focus will be maintained on the following areas:
- Use and management of digitization and audiovisual recording equipment.
- Processing, organization and editing of digital media data.
- Creation of digital databases and maps based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Methods and techniques of cultural preservation.
- Development of stories and creation of media products.
- Dissemination strategies and platforms
- Initiate a Loíza-based collaborative network between other community archive initiatives, local organizations, municipalities and academic institutions in Puerto Rico with the goal of ensuring wide access to cultural preservation efforts at the local community level, as well as the greatest dissemination of their efforts and media products to the general public.
- Establish a robust sustainability plan that allows for seamless transition of the project’s management into the hands of people from Loiza and ensures long-term continuity.
As of Spring 2024 we have documented:
- 72 oral histories
- 28 cultural events
- 8 document/artifact digitalization sessions
- 6 community outreach presentations
- 2 participatory archive events
“These community events unintentionally are having a reconciliatory effect on people. We have witnessed ‘rivals’ or people with significant differences come together to collaborate in retrieving their collective memories”
-Resident of Loiza, Puerto Rico