University of Arizona

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Papers of Vicente S. Acosta

Vicente S. Acosta, 1918-1983, taught Spanish and served as chair of the Spanish department at Santa Rita High School in Tucson, Arizona. He developed an interest in numerous elements of Southwestern folklore, such as folksongs, herbal remedies, and the way the people of the region used the Spanish language in their everyday speech and communication. Acosta received a B.A. degree from the University of Arizona. He served as a member of the University's Folklore Committee in the 1940s and 1950s, and earned an M.A. degree from the University in 1951. Acosta continued collecting folklore materials and conducting research throughout his career as a teacher, focusing most of his collecting activities and investigations on folksongs and corridos.

Collection contains professional correspondence, manuscripts and essays, research materials, and audio tapes documenting Acosta's interests in the Spanish language, folk songs and folklore and Southwestern United States and Mexican culture.

The collection includes professional correspondence between Acosta and his colleagues and informants on topics related to his interests in Spanish-language songs and song forms, Spanish personal names and nicknames, and herbal remedies. Also included are copies of Acosta's essays and presentations, as well as several drafts of his M.A. thesis, one of which includes manuscript corrections. The collection also includes audiotapes made by Acosta as he conducted his research. Some tapes include song performances discussed in his master's thesis; others contain recordings of spoken Spanish which he used in his research on the Spanish language and its spoken characteristics.

This guide was previously titled SWF 006.