About The Arhoolie Foundation

The ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION was established in 1995 for the purpose of helping to document, present , and disseminate authentic traditional and regional vernacular music. By our activities we hope to help educate and enlighten the public and also support and reinforce traditional community values. The ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION was classified by the IRS as a charitable and educational organization with a 501(c) (3) status which means all your donations are fully tax deductible.

The Foundation gratefully receives gifts, donations and grants from individuals, business firms, and other foundations to help us expand our activities. We always welcome monetary contributions but also solicit donations of record collections, photographs, songbooks, broadsides, record company catalogs, artists’ letters and correspondence, posters, films and video clips, instruments, costumes and all other related memorabilia.

Who runs the ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION?

Although the Foundation shares its name with ARHOOLIE PRODUCTIONS Inc., a for-profit, it is not a successor to the Corporation. The Foundation does not control and is not controlled by the Arhoolie Corporation or any other organization.

The board of directors of the ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION consists of the following:

Chris Strachwitz - president

Tom Diamant - treasurer

Davia Nelson - secretary

John Leopold

Bill Belmont

Wayne Pope

Eugene Rodriguez

Joe Wilson

Laurie Lewis

Archie Green

Initial Goals of the Arhoolie Foundation

1. To educate the public about the history and the present state of traditional, vernacular, or regional musics by making research and publications available to the communities of origin as well as to the public at large.

2. To aid in the dissemination of such knowledge by assisting in the distribution of educational materials (audio, visual, and printed).

3. To acquire artifacts (records, photos, broadsides song books, etc.) by soliciting donations of such objects and maintaining an archive which shall be accessible to scholars and the general public.

4. To maintain, catalog, and make available to the public the Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican-American Recordings (donated by Mr. Strachwitz to the Arhoolie Foundation in 1996) consisting of over 13,000 - 78 rpm discs, roughly 14,000 - 45rpm discs, and about 3500 LP records, which are kept in the Arhoolie Records vault.

Assets of the Foundation

The primary asset owned by the ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION at this time is the CHRIS STRACHWITZ FRONTERA COLLECTION, probably the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of commercially issued phonograph records of Mexican-American and Mexican vernacular material. The Frontera Collection consists of approximately 15,000 - 78 rpm discs (dating from ca. 1906 to 1960), ca. 17,000 - 45 rpm discs (ca.1953 to 1995), and ca. 2500 - 33 rpm LP albums (1950s to 1990s). The Frontera Collection has been cataloged primarily with grants from the NEA and NARAS. Recently we have begun the digitization of the 78 rpm discs with grants from the Los Tigres Del Norte Foundation via UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center and the Fund For Folk Culture in order to preserve these fragile artifacts (many of them one-of-a-kind) and to make them accessible at this time mainly to scholars via the UCLA Library system.

	The ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION was established in 1995 for the purpose of helping to document, present , and disseminate authentic traditional and regional vernacular music. By our activities we hope to help educate and enlighten the public and also support and reinforce traditional community values. The ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION was classified by the IRS as a charitable and educational organization with a 501(c) (3) status which means all your donations are fully tax deductible. The Foundation gratefully receives gifts, donations and grants from individuals, business firms, and other foundations to help us expand our activities. We always welcome monetary contributions but also solicit donations of record collections, photographs, songbooks, broadsides, record company catalogs, artists’ letters and correspondence, posters, films and video clips, instruments, costumes and all other related memorabilia. Who runs the ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION? Although the Foundation shares its name with ARHOOLIE PRODUCTIONS Inc., a for-profit, it is not a successor to the Corporation. The Foundation does not control and is not controlled by the Arhoolie Corporation or any other organization. The board of directors of the ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION consists of the following: Chris Strachwitz - president Tom Diamant - treasurer Davia Nelson - secretary John Leopold Bill Belmont Wayne Pope Eugene Rodriguez Joe Wilson Laurie Lewis Archie Green Initial Goals of the Arhoolie Foundation 1. To educate the public about the history and the present state of traditional, vernacular, or regional musics by making research and publications available to the communities of origin as well as to the public at large. 2. To aid in the dissemination of such knowledge by assisting in the distribution of educational materials (audio, visual, and printed). 3. To acquire artifacts (records, photos, broadsides song books, etc.) by soliciting donations of such objects and maintaining an archive which shall be accessible to scholars and the general public. 4. To maintain, catalog, and make available to the public the Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican-American Recordings (donated by Mr. Strachwitz to the Arhoolie Foundation in 1996) consisting of over 13,000 - 78 rpm discs, roughly 14,000 - 45rpm discs, and about 3500 LP records, which are kept in the Arhoolie Records vault. Assets of the Foundation The primary asset owned by the ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION at this time is the CHRIS STRACHWITZ FRONTERA COLLECTION, probably the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of commercially issued phonograph records of Mexican-American and Mexican vernacular material. The Frontera Collection consists of approximately 15,000 - 78 rpm discs (dating from ca. 1906 to 1960), ca. 17,000 - 45 rpm discs (ca.1953 to 1995), and ca. 2500 - 33 rpm LP albums (1950s to 1990s). The Frontera Collection has been cataloged primarily with grants from the NEA and NARAS. Recently we have begun the digitization of the 78 rpm discs with grants from the Los Tigres Del Norte Foundation via UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center and the Fund For Folk Culture in order to preserve these fragile artifacts (many of them one-of-a-kind) and to make them accessible at this time mainly to scholars via the UCLA Library system.
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