Hi, my name is Carlos Yturralde, and I’m the president and founder of the Hispanic Heritage Project (HHP). For the last 25 years, I have been negotiating with government and church leaders in Mexico to get permission to digitize their colonial records and make them freely accessible to the public.

 

These irreplaceable archives are not currently protected from ambient deterioration, floods, fire, earthquakes, etc. Today, not all Mexican church archive documents have been digitized, and only a handful of colonial municipal archives have been digitized. The custodians of these records lack the resources to preserve them. It is up to us, working together, to rescue our Mexican heritage for our children and grandchildren.

 

We have an impressive track record of digitizing, indexing, and cataloging colonial-era documents. Click here to view the Municipal archive collection for Nueva Vizcaya: https://www.rootspoint.com/fondo-colonial

 

In April, we had an unprecedented opportunity to buy ten scanners at a 52% discount. We're well on our way to raising $4,800 to acquire and send these machines to Mexico. (Our fundraising goal includes GoFundMe fees and delivery costs.) Mexican government leaders have offered to digitize their colonial municipal archives as soon as we supply the scanners. This is just the beginning of a large-scale country-wide project. I am also negotiating with Catholic clergy in Mexico to digitize ecclesiastical records not available now. I will be traveling to Mexico the first week of May to meet with them. With your continuing support, we will make it happen one step at a time. 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/et24-pro-incomparable-professional-book-scanner#

 

Dr. Clementina Campos Reyes, our HHP executive board member, who teaches at Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (Autonomous University of Baja California), will coordinate student volunteers to catalog the material. The University of Baja California is our partner as well. We are currently negotiating with local clergy to allow public access to indices of their collections.

 

Even as small as $10, your gift can significantly boost our mission. We are an accredited nonprofit, so your donations are tax-deductible. We invite you to connect with us at https://www.facebook.com/hispanic.heritage.project

to get better acquainted with our work and track our progress.

 

Your generous contribution is greatly appreciated:

$10 - I’m In

$50 - Patron Status

$100 - Historian Status

$1000 - Elite Status

If you are interested in contributing $1000, please contact us to learn about special incentives.