Scholars, archivists, librarians, linguists, critics, theorists and community members explored the recovery and preservation of texts and literature celebrating Hispanic culture during the Arte Público XV Recovery Conference Feb. 20-22. The event was hosted by the University of Houston-Downtown's Center for Latino Studies.

The theme for this year’s conference was “Histories and Cultures of Latinas: Suffrage, Activism and Women’s Rights” and featured cultural events, Arte Público press readings, a recovery workshop and presentation sessions.

Arte Público Press—founded in 1979 at the University of Houston—is the oldest and largest Hispanic publisher in the United States to further the endeavor of providing a national forum for Hispanic literature for general and educational audiences.

One of the regular attendees at the conference is UHD assistant professor of English Daniel Peña, whose novel “Bang” was published by Arte Público Press in 2017. He said this year’s conference truly emphasized the importance of the country’s Hispanic literary heritage.

“So many of these works have been forgotten over time,” Peña said. “The Recovery Conference was able to provide an opportunity to rediscover the treasures of Mexican-American literature and take us back to their roots.”

Several UHD faculty members were in attendance, sharing their expertise during panel discussions. In addition, UHD’s Mariachi Los Caimanes performed for conference guests.

This conference is part of the Recovering (Recovery) The U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project, which is a comprehensive University of Houston program to reconstitute the literary and historical legacy of Hispanics in the United States from colonial times to 1960. More details on this initiative are available on the Arte Público website.