The collection consists of personal and working papers of Rafael Fuentes. Included are his diplomatic correspondence and writings, as well as clippings and printed material. There is also some correspondence, mostly from the years 1941 and 1966, which document activities of the Fuentes family, including Carlos Fuentes.

Included are diplomatic reports and memoranda by Rafael Fuentes written in the mid-1930s and mid-1950s, covering political conflicts such as the Peru-Ecuador conflict of 1941 and the rising tensions in Panama over the Panama Canal which were addressed by the treaty signed between the U.S. and Panama in 1955. In addition, there are letters (1934-1937) by Mexican diplomat and writer Alfonso Reyes to Rafael Fuentes, and correspondence from the periods Fuentes served as ambassador of Mexico to Italy (1941) and as ambassador to Portugal (1966). Representative correspondents include Mexican career diplomats Manuel Tello, Jose Gallastegui, and Luis G. Zorrilla, as well as diplomats known for their contributions to Mexican literature such as Jaime Torres Bodet, Rodolfo Isigli, and Agustin Yanez. There are also two notebooks documenting the films Fuentes watched from 1934 until 1970.