U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, is once again asking members of the public to nominate songs and albums by Latino artists to be added to the National Recording Registry.
Considered the nation’s preeminent archive of recorded sound, the National Recording Registry was established to maintain and preserve recordings with cultural, historic or aesthetic significance.
With Latino artists making up less than 5% of the registry as of last year, Castro has worked to improve representation in the registry. His latest request for public nominations comes at the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, which began Sept. 15.
“For many Latino families and communities, music plays an important role in our everyday lives and our most important moments,” Castro said in a statement. “From weddings to street parties, genres like Latin pop and rancheras offer sounds that soothe the soul, ignite passion, and connect us to generations that came before us. Over the past four years, I am heartened to see more Latino artists inducted into the prestigious National Recording Registry. But we must continue preserving Latino music’s place in our nation’s tapestry and recognize the artists that have produced work that transcends time, place, and language.”
In addition to his call for songs and albums by Latino artists, Castro also called for nominations of significant works by Lone Star State artists regardless of their ethnicity.
“Texas is the birthplace of many iconic musicians and has fostered many genres of music enjoyed throughout the country,” the congressman said. “Texas artists represent many cultures, styles, and languages and should be recognized in our national archive for generations to come.”
To qualify for nomination to the National Recording Registry, songs and albums must be at least 10 years old.
Castro is asking participants to make their nominations by 11:50 p.m. CST on Sunday, Sept. 21. Nominations for Latino artists should be made via this online form. Submissions of Texas artists should be made separately using this one.
Since its creation by Congress in 2000, the National Recording Registry has inducted 675 titles. Earlier this year, the registry added three of Castro’s nominations: “Mambo No. 5” by Pérez Prado (1950), “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano (1970) and the album Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (1983).
Prior to that, the board inducted seven of Castro’s selections: Juan Gabriel’s “Amor Eterno” (1990), Héctor Lavoe’s “El Cantante” (1978), Irene Cara’s “Flashdance … What a Feeling” (1983), Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” (2004), Vicente Fernández’s “El Rey” (1973), Freddy Fender’s “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (1974) and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s album Hamilton (2015).
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