Nuestro Chicago Archives, a digital archive, is preserving family photographs that document everyday Latino life across Chicago. The project, launched in October 2024, focuses on pre-2008 images, highlighting an era before the shift from physical to digital photography.
Community Effort
Residents can submit photographs through Instagram direct message or email. The archive website, launched on May 15, is collecting submissions from across the city. A VHS digitizing event was recently held at the Rudy Lozano Library in Pilsen, and another scanning event is scheduled for August 2 at the Little Village Branch Library.
The archive’s founder, Thais Beltran, sees the project as a continuation of her grandmother’s work, who spent 40 years as a school aide in Little Village, helping families who immigrated from Mexico. Beltran believes the archive helps connect stories that can often feel isolated by neighborhood boundaries, migration patterns, and different waves of immigration.
Preserving History
Elena Gonzales, curator of civic engagement and social justice at the Chicago History Museum, said the work fills a gap that runs deep. Latino communities have been left out of mainstream histories for over 150 years, and preserving their records is essential to understanding how Chicago came to be.
Everyday people often underestimate the historical value of their own materials. The archive helps to change this by collecting and preserving family photographs, videos, and stories, providing a platform for the community to share their history.
Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.
