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Collection Overview

Title:
Pedro Consuegra Papers
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/w6634638j
Dates:
1959-2007
Size:
3 boxes
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes B-000789 to B-000790, P-000058
Language:
and

Abstract

The Pedro Consuegra papers include postcard correspondence with Néstor Almendros, German Puig Paredes, Severo Sarduy, and others. The papers also include original issues of SIE, a handwritten underground tabloid, or zine, Consuegra edited for and about gay Latin American expatriates living in France.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Includes postcard correspondence and printed materials from Consuegra's underground tabloid zine, SIE. Consuegra received postcards from various male friends who signed off with female pseudonyms and referred to themselves and Consuegra in the female pronoun. This close knit circle of friends were mostly homosexual men of Latin American origins living and working as artists, writers, and filmmakers in Europe and the United States.

According to Ramón Alejandro, who was known as La Tetona, each member of the group had a female nickname. Consuegra was known as Papayi Taloka and signed his editorial work on SIE as so. Néstor Almendros signed much of his correspondence with Consuegra as Adua la Pedagoga, a name that later became the title to Alejandro's 2012 book. Severo Sarduy was known as La Chelo or Chelo Alonso, the real life name of the Cuban-Mexican actress famous for playing femme fatales in Italian cinema in the 1960s. Many nicknames found in the correspondence allude to old-Hollywood and international starlets like Dolores del Río, Concha Piquer, Fanny Schiller, and Renée Adorée. Other nicknames were tongue-in-cheek, sexual innuendos like La Warrah, La Incalculable, and the aforementioned La Tetona.

The papers also include zine matter and magazine clippings for SIE. Consuegra edited and compiled SIE, a multilingual (mostly Spanish-German with occasional English) handwritten magazine in the 1960s. Consuegra most likely circulated SIE to his circle of friends who may or may not have been living openly as gay men. The zine took the form of a fake tabloid scandal; its topics ranged from nonsensical to humorous and tongue and cheek, implying gender based and sexual innuendos. Included in these materials are transfer lettering alphabets, outlines, and the Diccionario enciculopedico, a list of slang gay sex vocabulary.

Arrangement

Organized into the following series: Series 1: Correspondence, Series 2: Zine Matter and Other Printed Materials.

Collection Creator Biography:

Consuegra, Pedro

Pedro Consuegra is a Cuban born French choreographer. He was born in Camajuaní, a municipality and town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba in 1938. He settled in France permanently in his youth.

He studied ballet at Sociedad Pro Arte Musical de La Habana (SPAMH), and is a member of the National Ballet of Cuba. He is affiliated with different ballet companies in Europe, where he has worked as a dancer, choreographer, and maître. He worked with the Ballet National de Marseille and has held the post of Inspector General of Dance of the municipality of Marseille. In 1998, Consuegra choreographed "Cinderella" with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in New York City which marked the company's return to New York for first time in 19 years.

He has received numerous awards including the Medal of the City in Marseille. In 1996, he received the Distinction for National Culture granted by Cuba's Ministry of Culture.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Purchase, 2016 (AM 2017-17).

This collection was purchased (in part) with funds provided by the Program in Latin American Studies (PLAS).

Appraisal

Nothing was removed from the 2016 processing.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez in September 2016. Finding aid written by Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez in September 2016.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Pedro Consuegra Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/w6634638j
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes B-000789 to B-000790, P-000058

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