Collection depicts Afro-Cubans, notably the Roldan and Garcia families and the family friends of teacher Atala Carranza, who lived in Havana, Cuba and New York City during the 1920s to the early 1960s, consisting of individual and group portraits, candid shots, and views of family activities, celebrations and nightclub gatherings. Depictions of Cuba precede Fidel Castro coming to power in 1959. Depictions of the Roldan and Garcia families' involvement with Club Cubano Inter-Americano are very limited.
The Atala Carranza series, ca. 1910s, consists of group portraits showing a young Carranza with two separate groups of primary school age children, one of which is all girls, when she was growing up in Cuba. Depictions of her career as a teacher and her life in Cuba and the United States are not included.
The Portraits of Atala Carranza family friends series, 1921-1956, depicts persons of African descent living in Cuba, consisting of individual portraits of a man, various women, and young children, as well as group portraits of a mother and child and two young girls. Of note are two portraits of nuns, given to Carranza by an aunt attending school at the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore, Maryland, and produced in either Baltimore or Washington, D.C.
The Roldan-Garcia Family series, 1937-1964, depicts the families of Eduardo Roldan and Teresa "Tete" Garcia, the parents of Teresa "Tessy" Roldan Aguiar, consisting of portraits and candid shots of Eduardo's siblings Angel, Carmela and Elena Roldan, Tete's sister Graciela "Grace" Garcia, and other relatives. Family members are depicted living in New York City and Havana. Grace Garcia is featured prominently in the series, notably in individual portraits; in group portraits with her sister and other family members; and with common-law husband Juan Rosario and Club Cubano Inter-Americano president Melba Alvarado.
The Eduardo and Teresa Roldan series, 1941-1952, depicts the personal lives of Eduardo and Teresa "Tete" Roldan, consisting of individual portraits of Tete and Eduardo; group portraits of the couple; and candid shots of the couple at the beach and Tete with a group of friends. Of note are Eduardo and Tete's wedding portrait (ca. 1942) and a group portrait with infant Tessy (1943).
The Teresa Roldan Aguiar series, 1944-1964, depicts the personal life of Tessy Roldan, consisting of portraits and candid shots of Roldan as a young child when she was living periodically with her grandmother in Havana between 1944 to 1954; portraits and candid shots of her as an adolescent (mid-1950s); and candid shots with her husband, family and guests at her wedding to Jose Aguiar (1961). Of note are her first Communion portrait (ca. 1949) and a view of her at her quinceañera celebration at Club Cubano Inter-Americano (1957). Also included are undated views of a Halloween party at a Staten Island Catholic boarding school that Roldan attended.
The Nightclub series, 1943-1950s, depicts social gatherings in New York City clubs consisting of group portraits that include Grace Garcia, Juan Rosario, Grace's son Rudolfo Garcia Aybar, Jr., and Grace's siblings Teresa Roldan and Ralph Garcia. Also depicted are close family friends Sara Lachatañeré and Geraldina Gutierrez; notable Afro Cuban musical performers Beny Moř, Frank "Machito" Grillo and Graciela Grillo; African American jazz singer Maxine Sullivan; and Cuban boxer Kid Gavilán. Also included is a publicity photograph of Cuban actress and diseuse Eusebia Cosme.
Content: Some photographs bear photographer's hand stamp on verso; some items bear photography studio's blind stamp on recto; some items bear photographer's signature on recto.
Content: Some items bear handwritten notations on recto or verso; some items bear inscriptions. Notations and inscriptions are either in Spanish or English.
Content: Collection contains work by Foto Franco, Rómulo Lachatañeré, Thomas Lara, Morel Photo Studio, Nieves Photo Studio, Studio Victor and Taupier & Gomez Studios, among others.
Biographical/historical: Atala Carranza Duarte, 1905-1999, was a teacher and school principal in Cuba. After graduating in 1927 from the Escuela Normal Para Maestros in Havana, she worked as a teacher for several years and later served as principal of Escuela 23 in the Diezmero neighborhood of Havana. Due to the politics of Fidel Castro, Carranza Duarte emigrated from Cuba in 1963, eventually settling in Detroit, Michigan, where she was reunited with her son, Andres C. Arteaga, who had originally immigrated to Canada in 1961, and with a number of her former students who had left Cuba. She did not resume her teaching career in the United States, due largely to the language barrier. Carranza Duarte's cousin had married Graciela Garcia. Sara Lachatañeré was the wife of ethnologist and photographer Rómulo Lachatañeré.
Teresa "Tessy" Roldan Aguiar, 1942-2014, was born in New York City to Eduardo and Teresa (née Garcia) Roldan. Her parents were both founding members of Club Cubano Inter-Americano, Inc. in 1945, which was established as a social and cultural club for Cubans and other Latinx people living in New York City. Tessy Roldan had family members from both parents' families (the Roldans and Garcias) living in New York and Havana, Cuba, and she lived intermittently with her grandmother in Havana until about age 12. She eventually settled in New York by the mid-1950s and would later marry Jose Aguiar in 1961.
Physical Description
Extent: 75 items (one box, .2 cubic ft.)
Extent: 14 photographic prints :gelatin silver, black and white ;26 x 21 cm and smaller.
Extent: 6 photographic prints :gelatin silver, black and white ;18 x 13 cm and smaller.
Extent: 41 photographic prints :gelatin silver, black and white ;14 x 9 cm and smaller.
Extent: 1 photographic print :dye coupler, color ;13 x 10 cm
Extent: 13 photographic postcards :gelatin silver, black and white ;14 x 9 cm and smaller.
