The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings

The Strachwitz Frontera Collection is the largest repository of commercially produced Mexican and Mexican American vernacular recordings in existence. It contains more than 130,000 individual recordings. Many are rare, and some are one of a kind. Although border music is the focus of the collection, it also includes notable recordings of other Latin forms, including salsa, mambo, sones, and rancheras. The recordings are available online through a partnership of the Arhoolie Foundation, the Chicano Studies Research Center, and the University of California's Digital Library Program. 

Digitization of the Strachwitz Frontera Collection began on October 15, 2001, at the Arhoolie Foundation's facilities in El Cerrito, California. The digitization of the first section of the collection was sponsored by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center through a grant from its Los Tigres del Norte Fund.

Relaunched in 2016, the Frontera Collection website features the recordings, a blog with regular posts that explore the collection, and an interactive component for listeners to share comments and historical information. Visit http://frontera.library.ucla.edu/.