Finding Aid for the Hector Tobar Papers 1970-2014

Processed by Fanny Garcia.
UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
144 Haines Hall
Box 951544
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1544
Phone: (310) 206-6052
Fax: (310) 206-1784
URL: http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/
©2016
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: Hector Tobar Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1970-2014
Collection number: 152
Creator: Tobar, Hector 1963 -
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: Writer and journalist Héctor Tobar's archive includes original newspapers and clippings from 1989-2010 from The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Book Review, LA Weekly, The Guardian, Twanas Press (The Third World and Native American Press Collective at University of California, Santa Cruz), and the bilingual San Francisco newspaper El Tecolote, where Tobar served as editor in the mid-1980s. The archive includes notebooks, substantial correspondence, professional records, financial records, periodicals containing his stories, and book manuscripts, many heavily annotated. This collection includes original copies of The Los Angeles Times special report on the 1992 race riots, "Understanding the Riots: The Path to Fury" for which Tobar and his team won the Pulitzer Prize.
Physical location: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library for paging information.
Language of Material: Collection materials in English, Spanish, German, Polish, French

Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library for paging information.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. All requests for permission to publish must be submitted in writing to the Chicano Studies Research Center Library and Archive. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Hector Tobar Papers, 152, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated by Hector Tobar in April 2014. deed on file at the UCLA / CSRC archive office.

Processing History

Processed by Fanny Garcia, 4/01/2014-12/31/14
The collection was archived over nine months at the UCLA Chicano Studies Resource Center.

Historical Note

Héctor Tobar is a Los-Angeles born writer and journalist, whose career dissects various American inequalities, specifically miscellaneous class and ethnic conflicts. Tobar is a best-selling author and New York Times contributing op-ed writer, who has worked for The New Yorker, LA Weekly, and The Los Angeles Times, where he served as the national Latino affairs correspondent and its bureau chief in Mexico City and Buenos Aires. His books include both fiction and non-fiction works: The Tattooed Soldier, The Barbarian Nurseries, and his most recent nonfiction work, Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle that Set Them Free. He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of California, Irvine MFA program in creative writing/fiction. Tobar currently teaches journalism at the University of Oregon.

Scope and Content

The Hector Tobar Papers contain early manuscripts of three of his published books, newspaper articles, clippings and printouts of Los Angeles Times stories written by Tobar during his time as a beat reporter, Metro columnist, national correspondent, and bureau chief in Mexico and Argentina. Tobar's collection also includes the tools and trade of a reporter including over 200 cassette tapes with interviews conducted as a reporter and research he did for his books. These tapes may also include taped interviews for his book "Translation Nation." Included here are also personal family photographs of Tobar and his family.
Héctor Tobar's collection at UCLA's Chicano Studies Research Center is a vital addition to center's holdings on Latino Los Angeles. Tobar's parent's migration to Los Angeles in the late 1960s precipitated waves of migration from Central America to Los Angeles by Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans in the 1970s and 1980s that continue until today. Tobar grew up in East Hollywood and later went to college at UCSC. Yet, his identity as an Angeleno is evident throughout his work at UCSC where he majored in Latin American studies and was part of student political actions against the U.S. interventions in Central America. He studied under literature professor Roberto Crespi and took courses from biology to McArthyism. Researchers with access to this collection will be able to trace the emergence of Tobar's political consciousness regarding U.S. imperialism and the erasure of Central American cultural production in the United States. In fact, Tobar wrote many papers on the violent turmoil in Guatemala and other Central American countries during this time and wrote a senior thesis on Trotskyism.



After graduation, Tobar became a junior reporter for a local Spanish and English publication called El Tecolote, which is still in existence today and serves the Latino community in the Mission District of San Francisco. This experience provided a platform where Tobar could document the emergence of "Latino cities" within major metropolitan urban spaces like San Francisco and Los Angeles. One can trace the theme of Latino urban cities or dwellings throughout his later work including the novels The Tattooed Soldier, The Barbarian Nurseries, and Translation Nation.



Furthermore, El Tecolote provided the necessary training needed for his acceptance into the Los Angeles Times Minority Editorial Training Program (METPRO) designed to train minorities in journalism at a time when the Los Angeles Times had few minority writers but which saw a sharp increase in Latino migration into the city, primarily Central Americans fleeing the proxy wars in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Tobar's tenure at the Times was essential in visibilizing and mapping Central American migration to Los Angeles. His articles focused on immigration, refugees, the trauma of war, displacement, the emergence of Central American enclaves, the fight for citizenship rights, and political activism and organizing in the Westlake Pico-Union neighborhood.



As a result of his work in documenting Latino Los Angeles, Tobar provided important insight into the complex socio-economic and race relations simmering in the city during the Rodney King trial and the subsequent eruption of violence and revolution during the 1992 Los Angeles Uprisings. Because he had built a relationship with impoverished and underserved Latino, Black, and Asian neighborhoods of Los Angeles, he was able access in depth interviews and analysis about what was at the core of tensions in the city at this time. For his contributions to the coverage of the uprisings, Tobar won a Pulitzer Prize. His time as part of the Minority Editorial program was not without struggles, Tobar describes feeling like the "token Latino" during this time and notes that after his hiring, the newspaper did little if anything to hire more Latinos or people of color. A letter of resignation in the mid-1990 reflects this with Tobar pointing out that his departure meant only one other Latino reporter would be on staff at the newspaper in a city that is predominately Latino.



In 1996, Tobar returned to the times after the paper launched the Latino Initiative and hired Tobar as a Latino national affairs correspondence and he was able to cover news from across the U.S., eventually becoming the Los Angeles Times Bureau Chief in Mexico City and later Argentina. During this time, Tobar covered internal culture and politics in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and other countries in South America. Furthermore, he wrote about the effects of U.S. foreign policies in these countries.



In 2003, Tobar was sent to Baghdad where he covered the early stages of the U.S. / Iraq War and conducted much acclaimed coverage of undocumented immigrants serving in the U.S. armed forces.



In the mid 2000s and most recently, Tobar has focused more on his literary career and has published four books. The collection contains several copies of his books, which have been translated into French, Spanish, and Polish. Furthermore, including in his papers is correspondence about the publishing process. One particular point of interest is the role that small presses play in publishing Latino works. The Tattooed Soldier for example, was first published by Delphinium Books and later purchased by Penguin Books, a much larger publishing house. The collection holds several letters and emails detailing the process and negotiations surrounding publications.



One final but important aspect of the collection lies in the Tobar's personal correspondence with friends and family regarding episodes of depression he experienced in youth and as an adult. Sadness and melancholia (mentioned in notes and letters) is often referenced in the context of migration, and Central America.



The collection is organized into the following series:
  • Series 1. Hector Tobar Collection

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Héctor Tobar
Los Angeles Times
Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle that Set Them Free
Guatemalan-American
Pulitzer Prize
The Tattooed Soldier
Understanding the Riots: The Path to Fury


Box 1, Folder 1

Field notes on research for "Translation Nation: Defining A New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States" 2000

Physical Description: Spiral Steno Notebooks

Scope and Content Note

Notebooks titled by City/State: West Palm Beach, Montana, Tallahassee, Sugarland, Texas.
Box 1, Folder 2

Field Notes for "Translation Nation: Defining A New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States" 12/18/2000

Physical Description: Spiral Steno Notebooks

Scope and Content Note

Three notebooks titled by City/State: Birmingham, Iowa Caucus, Tallahassee, Fla., GOP New Mexico
Box 1, Folder 3

Field Notes for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States" 2000

Physical Description: Spiral Steno Notebooks

Scope and Content Note

Three notebooks titled by City/State: Detroit, Daytona, Ohio
Box 1, Folder 4

Field Notes for "Translation Nation: Defining A New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States" 2000

Physical Description: Spiral Steno Notebooks

Scope and Content Note

Four notebooks titled "New Mexico", "Heroin, New Mex., "New Mexico 2," AMIA.
Box 1, Folder 5

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Handwritten notes, maps, printed articles, cassette tape

Scope and Content Note

Field notes, research articles, cassette tape interview with "Aaron Lopez."
Box 1, Folder 6

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Printed documents

Scope and Content Note

Death certificates, autopsy reports, research articles on addiction, newspaper articles about heroin epidemic in New Mexico
Box 1, Folder 7

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Spiral Steno Notebooks, Loose leaf notes and documents

Scope and Content Note

Notes on "Oaxaquenos" Puerto Rico, newspaper articles as well as event flyers of the binational Oaxacan community in the U.S. and Mexico. Transcribed interview with Joel Magallan of the Asociacion Tepeyac. Article and documents about the Motor City Blight Busters, an organization in Detroit working to stop the spread of blight in the city and help stablize the city's long forgotten neighborhoods (12/30/1992).
Box 1, Folder 8

Calendar schedule for research done on "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States" 1/99 - 1/2004

Physical Description: Printed Microsoft Word Calendar
Box 1, Folder 9

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Scope and Content Note

Notes and research articles on San Antonio

Note

Notes on loose leaf legal paper, printed newspaper articles, map of San Antonio.
Box 1, Folder 10

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Dream in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Spiral steno notebook,

Scope and Content Note

Notebook titled "Salt Lake City", printed newspaper articles on Salt Lake City and Phoenix, Arizona
Box 1, Folder 11

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Scope and Content Note

Printed, scanned and copied articles about the Latino community in Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley. Specifically the Ft. Moore Hill, the site of the city's first non-Catholic graveyard. 2002 Latino Election Handbook published by NALEO which collected voter turnout data in the 2002 Election.
Box 2, Folder 1

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Newspaper articles and notes

Scope and Content Note

McAllen, Texas
Box 2, Folder 2

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Spiral Steno Notebooks

Scope and Content Note

Two notebooks titled "Tucson, Arizona" A copy of "The Invisible Minority: Report of the NEA-Tucson Survey on the Teaching of Spanish to the Spanish Speaking" published by Department of Rural Education National Education Association.
Box 2, Folder 3

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Spiral Steno Notebooks

Scope and Content Note

Three notebooks titled on the "Texas Border Colonias"
Box 2, Folder 4

Newspaper articles written by Hector Tobar for the Los Angeles Times

Physical Description: Printed newspapers articles
Box 2, Folder 5

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Printed newspaper articles, steno notebooks, loose leaf notes

Scope and Content Note

Tulia, Texas and "Brothers"
Box 2, Folder 6

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Spiral Steno Notebooks, floppy disk, printed newspaper articles, loose leaf notes

Scope and Content Note

Research on Miami and the Latino community residing there.
Box 2, Folder 7

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Spiral steno notebook, statistics, printed newspaper articles

Scope and Content Note

Research on Latinos in the deep South.
Box 2, Folder 8

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Spiral notebooks, research

Scope and Content Note

Research and notes on Immokalee, FLA and the Latino community in this area.
Box 2, Folder 9

Newspaper articles written by Hector Tobar for the Los Angeles Times and L.A. Weekly

Physical Description: Printed articles

Scope and Content Note

Printed articles written by Hector Tobar
Box 3

Draft of "Translation Nation" Part 1

Physical Description: Early of Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Manuscript
Box 3, Folder 1

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Spiral steno notebooks, newspaper clippings

Scope and Content Note

Research on Tulia, Texas and the drug war in that town.
Box 3, Folder 2

Latinos in the Iraq War

Physical Description: Research articles
Box 3, Folder 3

Early Draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 3

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Tobar originally titled this work "The Succulent Garden." This folder contains Book Three of this work.
Box 3, Folder 3

Research for Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Loose leaf notes, printed newspaper articles, maps

Scope and Content Note

Research on the Texas Border colonias and political activism in this part of the U.S.
Box 3, Folder 4

Research for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Scope and Content Note

Texas Border colonias continued.
Box 3, Folder 5

Book reviews for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Printed book reviews, magazines

Scope and Content Note

Book reviews from the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Latina Magazine, Austin American Statesman, Washington Post, Booklist, Book Forum, The Plain Dealer, Global Factiva.
Box 3, Folder 6

Events attended for release of "Translation Nation"

Physical Description: Event programs, loose leaf notes, event itineraries

Scope and Content Note

Book tour events and Festival of Books scheduled events, among others.
Box 3, Folder 7

Manuscript for "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States" 2/8/05

Scope and Content Note

Manuscript Part 1 of 2, Title page to page 148
Box 3, Folder 8

Manuscript of "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States" 2/08/05

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Manuscript of "Translation Nation" Part 2, pages 149 to 308
Box 3, Folder 9

Draft of "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States." Part 1

Physical Description: Draft of Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the manuscript
Box 3, Folder 10

Manuscript of "Translation Nation" Part 2

Physical Description: Early Draft of Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Manuscript with written notes and revisions from Hector Tobar
Box 3, Folder 12

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" manuscript

Physical Description: Early Draft of Manuscript
Box 4

Early Manuscript of "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States"

Scope and Content Note

This draft of the manuscript is titled "Americanismo: On the Trail of a New National Identity"
Box 4, Folder 1

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 1

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Tobar originally titled this work "The Succulent Garden"
Box 4, Folder 2

Early Draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 2

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Tobar originally titled this work, "The Succulent Garden"
Box 4, Folder 4

Correspondence with editors

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence from editors on notes/edits for the manuscript.
Box 4, Folder 5

Draft of "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States" Part 1

Physical Description: Manuscript

Note

Early draft of "Translation Nation"
Box 4, Folder 6

Articles written by Hector Tobar and others regarding Latino veterans

Physical Description: Printed articles

Scope and Content Note

Research articles about Latino U.S. veterans, undocumented, Central American.
Box 4, Folder 7

Early manuscript of "Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States"

Physical Description: Bound manuscript

Scope and Content Note

This early manuscript was originally titled, "Translation Nation: Dispatches from the Spanish-Speaking Republic of the United States"
Box 4, Folder 9

Early Draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 1.

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

This draft is titled, "The Barbarian Nursery". Pages 22 - 62 plus miscellaneous pages and edits submitted via email from editor.
Box 4, Folder 10

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 2. Page 63-151 plus pages not numbered

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of manuscript.
Box 4, Folder 11

Portion of Manuscript from "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 3

Physical Description: Manuscript and loose leaf notes

Scope and Content Note

This folder contains part of the manuscript of "The Barbarian Nurseries." It also contains loose leaf notes from Tobar on edits and outlines for the novel.
Box 4, Folder 12

Bound manuscript "The Barbarian Nursery" 10/2009

Physical Description: Bound manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Bound manuscript with edits in the documents from Tobar.
Box 5, Folder 1

Manuscript excerpt of "The Barbarian Nurseries" draft. 7/9/2011

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries"
Box 5, Folder 2

Manuscript draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 1

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Manuscript has hand written edits and corrections.
Box 5, Folder 3

Draft of manuscript of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 2, pages 248 - 422

Physical Description: Manuscript
Box 5, Folder 4

Draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 1, pages 1-422

Physical Description: Manuscript
Box 5, Folder 5

Manuscript draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 2, pages 250 - 422 3/7/2011

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the novel.
Box 5, Folder 6

Manuscript draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" part 1, title pages and p. 3-262 3/18/2011

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the novel.
Box 5, Folder 7

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 2, pages 263-557

Physical Description: 3/17/11

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the novel.
Box 5, Folder 9

Manuscript Draft of " The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 2, pages 203 - 384

Physical Description: Manuscript
Box 5, Folder 10

Draft of "The Barabarian Nurseries" Part 3, pages 385-557

Physical Description: Manuscript
Box 5, Folder 11

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 1. Title pages and 4-230 5/26/2011

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Manuscript with last corrections.
Box 5, Folder 12

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 2, pages 231 - 422

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the novel.
Box 5, Folder 13

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 1, pages 3-221

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of novel.
Box 5, Folder 14

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 2, pages 222 - 422 5/4/2011

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of novel.
Box 6

Cartridges of photos, floppy disks, and CDs

Physical Description: Cartridges of photos, floppy disks, and CDs

Scope and Content Note

Content of photo cartridges: Unknown Content of Floppy Disks: Drafts of articles written for the Los Angeles times and early drafts of "The Tattooed Soldier" Content of CDs: Hector's Super 8 Footage Telecinied
Box 6, Folder 1

Business Cards

Scope and Content Note

Business cards from the time Hector Tobar was working in Latin America as the U.S. Bureau Chief in Mexico and Argentina
Box 6, Folder 1

1970's negatives of family pictures

Physical Description: Family pictures
Box 7, Folder 1-6

Folders 1 - 6 are family photographs with negatives. The box also includes cassette recorded interviews, and six spiral notebooks with notes and journal entries

Physical Description: Photographs and negatives, cassette tapes, spiral notebooks
Box 8

Published books and novels written by Hector Tobar in various languages

Physical Description: Books

Scope and Content Note

1. Pritemps Barbare, Paperback (France) 2. The Barbarian Nurseries, Paperback (U.S.) 3. The Tattooed Soldier, Paperback (U.K.) 4. The Barbarian Nurseries, Paperback (U.K). 5. Wrazliwosc Barbarzyncy (Poland) 6. The Tattooed Soldier, Paperback (U.S.) 7. L' Estate dei Barbari, Paperback (Italy) 8. Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish Speaking United States, Hardcover (U.S.) 9. Pritemps Barbare, Paperback (France) 10. The Barbarian Nurseries, Paperback (U.K.) 11. The Tattooed Soldier, Hardcover (U.S.) 12. The Barbarian Nurseries, Paperback (U.S.) 13. Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States, Paperback. (U.S.) 14. In den Hausern der Barbaren, Hardcover. (Germany)
Box 9

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 1

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the novel.
Box 9, Folder 1

Manuscript of "The Barbarian Nurseries"

Physical Description: Bound manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the novel. Pages 3-220.
Box 9, Folder 2

Early draft of manuscript for "The Barbarian Nurseries"

Physical Description: Bound manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the novel.
Box 9, Folder 4

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" Part 2

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the novel.
Box 9, Folder 5

Early manuscript of "The Barbarian Nurseries"

Physical Description: Manuscript

Scope and Content Note

Early draft of the novel.
Box 9, Folder 6

Reviews/Coverage in Latino magazines

Physical Description: Magazines

Scope and Content Note

Latina and Hispanic articles on the release of "The Tattooed Soldier"
Box 9, Folder 7

Event Flyers/Programs

Physical Description: 2/27/2007, 7/17/2010 and 11/3/?

Scope and Content Note

Events, flyers and programs attended by Hector Tobar
Box 9, Folder 8

Reviews and articles of Hector Tobar's work

Physical Description: Magazines

Scope and Content Note

Book review in People Magazine and a story written by Hector Tobar in The New Yorker.
Box 10

Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly Newspaper articles written by Hector Tobar 1988-1992

Box 11

El Tecolote, San Jose Mercury News, The Tenderloin Times, The Guardian, Twanas International Viewpoint, Socialist Action, and City on a Hill Newspaper and magazine Articles written by Hector Tobar 1986-1988

Box 12

Copies of Los Angeles Times Newspaper Articles written by Hector Tobar 2003-2006

Box 13

Los Angeles Times Newspaper Articles written by Hector Tobar 2010-2011

Box 14

Los Angeles Times Newspaper articles written by Hector Tobar 2002-2005

Box 15

Taped Interviews and notebooks with notes

Physical Description: Cassette tapes and various spiral notebooks

Scope and Content Note

Interviews conducted during Hector Tobar's time as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times.
Box 16

Tobar's Personal Correspondence

Box 16, Folder 1

Information on METPRO the Minority Editorial Training Program at the Los Angeles Times through which Tobar was hired at the newspaper.

Box 16, Folder 2

McCarter Theater playwriting workshop information and pamphlets. Tobar's play "Mini-Mail Heroes" was produced through their workshop.

Box 16, Folder 3

Tobar's Family Tree

Box 16, Folder 4

Personal Correspondence

Box 16, Folder 5

Tobar's best friend, Gus Gregory was killed in Peru, allegedly by the Shining Path. The folder includes the two men's last correspondence before Gregory was killed.

Box 16, Folder 5

Tobar's best friend, Gus Gregory was killed in Peru, allegedly by the Shining Path. The folder includes the two men's last correspondence before Gregory was killed.

Box 16, Folder 6

Photographs of Tobar's time as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Including photos of celebration after Pulitzer Prize win.

Box 16, Folder 7

Theatre feature/review for "Death and the Maiden" at the Mark Taper Forum starring Jimmy Smits in January 1994.

Box 16, Folder 8

Early creative writing pieces

Box 16, Folder 9

Story written by Tobar called "Rigoberta Menchu and the "New Dawn" of the Maya"

Box 16, Folder 10

Piece on the Los Angeles uprisings in 1992.

Box 16, Folder 11

Notes on playwriting, and his play "Mini-Mail Heroes"

Box 16, Folder 12

Jacket cover for first publication of "The Tattooed Soldier"

Box 16, Folder 13

Drafts of "The Tattooed Soldier" and writing research in 1993

Box 16, Folder 14

Correspondence re: "The Tattooed Soldier" including the contract with Delphinium Books when he sold the manuscript.

Box 16, Folder 15

Course reader for class Tobar taught at UC Santa Cruz circa 1985 called "Latin American Studies: Contemporary Revolutionary Movements"

Box 16, Folder 16

Tobar's Journal

Box 16, Folder 17

Copy of L.A. Weekly article written by Charles Rappleye called "Palace Coup: How Corporate Managers Wrested Control of the Times from Otis Chandler" in September 1993

Box 16, Folder 18

Copies of El Tecolote Newspaper where Tobar began his career as a journalist.

Box 16, Folder 19

Copies of Los Angeles Times Magazine featuring Tobar's story "Gloria and the Politics of Anger"

Box 17

Various daily planners, agendas, and notebooks.

Box 17, Folder 1

Personal Correspondence

Box 17, Folder 2

Journal entries in loose leaf paper

Box 17, Folder 3

Photographs of family and friends

Box 18

Baseball signed by teammates in Little League

Box 18, Folder 1

Copy of "Guatemala: And so victory is born even in the bitterest hours, North American Congress on Latin America."

Box 18, Folder 2

Copy of "Lectura: La Tierra del Quetzal"

Box 18, Folder 3

High School Diploma holder, scholarship membership certificate, high school commencement program.

Box 18, Folder 4

Precalculus textbook

Box 18, Folder 5

Copy of "The National Experience: A History of the United States" textbook.

Box 18, Folder 6

Photo album of sports heroes including autographs.

Box 18, Folder 7

First short story Tobar wrote

Box 18, Folder 8

Personal correspondence, L.A. Weekly business cards, El Tecolote business cards, and other ephemera.

Box 18, Folder 9

Family photos, friends, and trip to Guatemala

Box 18, Folder 10

Cassette Tape: Reflections on Los Angeles. Floppy Disks titled: Farewell, California. Nov. 6, 1996" and "Working California Files Jan. '95" and "11/30/94 Completed First Draft"

Box 18, Folder 11

Family photos, trip to Guatemala

Box 18, Folder 12

Tobar's Photography

Box 18, Folder 13

Copy of "El Salvador: Work of Thirty Photographers"

Box 19, Folder 1-9

Drafts of "The Tattooed Soldier"

Box 20, Folder 1

Newspaper clippings of Tobar articles for the Los Angeles Times from 1988-1991

Box 20, Folder 2

Research Tobar conducted for his novel "The Tattooed Soldier"

Box 20, Folder 3

Early manuscript of Tobar's "The Tattooed Soldier"

Box 20, Folder 4

Research and another copy of an early manuscript for "The Tattooed Soldier"

Box 20, Folder 5

Manuscript of "The Tattooed Soldier" 1994

Box 20, Folder 6

Copies of Los Angeles Times article clippings written by Tobar and a performance evaluation dated 1985

Box 20, Folder 7

Transcript of an interview

Box 20, Folder 8

Draft of a play titled "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Borders"

Box 20, Folder 9

Creative writing piece titled "Why Do The Machos Roam"

Box 20, Folder 10

Documents for The Barrio Improvement Project started with Maria Cabildo

Box 20, Folder 11

Resumes and correspondence re: Center Theater Group's "Twilight" by Anna Deveare Smith for which Tobar served as consultant.

Box 20, Folder 12

Articles for the Los Angeles Times written by Tobar n.d. [1991]

Box 20, Folder 13

Printed copies and clippings and newspaper articles 1989-1992

Box 20, Folder 14

Early draft of "The Barbarian Nurseries" originally titled "Farewell, California"

Box 20, Folder 15

Early creative writing pieces titled "The Star Chief" and "One Small Step."

Box 20, Folder 16

Flyers for political action events Tobar was a part of during the mid 1980s 1985-1986

Box 20, Folder 17

Notes on a seminal investigative journalism piece Tobar wrote in 1991 on mental health care in the Los Angeles Central Men's jail. 1991

Box 20, Folder 18

Notes from Tobar's time as Beat reporter in 1991.

Box 20, Folder 19

Notes and correspondence n.d. [1990]

Box 20, Folder 20

Printed proofs of articles written by Tobar. Newspaper clippings, notes. 1991-1992

Box 20, Folder 21

Personal correspondence n.d. [1992]

Box 20, Folder 22

Resumes n.d. [1995]

Box 20, Folder 23

Two photographs titled "Gualan 1958"

Box 20, Folder 24

Notes titled "King Notes" dated 1993. 7/28/1993

Box 20, Folder 25

Document titled "Technical Assistance to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Mental Health Operations Evaluation."

Box 20, Folder 26

Copies of newspaper clippings of Tobar articles in which he covered the initial reports of the Rodney King beating and the ensuing controversy that lead up to the Los Angeles uprisings in 1992. Copies of newspaper articles Tobar wrote covering mental health care in the Los Angeles jail system. 1991-1993

Box 20, Folder 27

Notes for article on mental health care in the Los Angeles county jails.

Box 20, Folder 28

Notes for article on mental health care in L.A. county jails.

Box 21, Folder 1

Personal correspondence 1989-1992

Box 21, Folder 2

Creative writing drafts 1992-1993

Box 21, Folder 3

Application and research to Hispanic Film Project

Box 21, Folder 4

Photographs

Box 21, Folder 5

Creative writing pieces - Immigration Odes

Box 21, Folder 6

In 1995, Tobar left the Los Angeles Times to attend UC Irvine's MFA program in creative writing. Included in this folder are manuscripts from his work in the program, and correspondence.

Box 21, Folder 7

8 1/2 x 11 Spiral Notebook n. d. [1995]

Box 21, Folder 8

Watsonville Cannery Strike n.d.

Box 21, Folder 9

UCSC Undergraduate essays and assignments

Box 21, Folder 10

UCSC Financial Aid and Regents Scholarship Award

Box 21, Folder 11

Gus Gregory Death Case Files - Tobar met Gregory as a student at UCSC. Gregory was killed by the Shining Path in Peru in July 1988

Physical Description: 1988
Box 21, Folder 12

Tobar 1991 income taxes and a map of Fayetteville, North Carolina

Box 21, Folder 13

Michael Brewer Case File

Box 21, Folder 14

Mental restraints court files.

Box 21, Folder 15

Los Angeles Times articles written by Tobar 1990s

Box 21, Folder 16

Draft, photos, and research on Tobar's novel "The Tattooed Soldier"

Box 21, Folder 17

Play program, review and other ephemera about "Beyond The Ashes" a play about the Los Angeles uprisings in 1992

Box 21, Folder 18

Tobar's 1994 calendar, daily planner 1994

Box 21, Folder 19

Tobar's resignation letter from The Los Angeles Times 5/28/1993

Box 21, Folder 20

1994 World Cup Program and ticket stubs 1994

Box 21, Folder 21

Copy of a play written by Tobar called "Mini-Mall Heroes" 6/1993

Box 21, Folder 22

Photographs

Box 22, Folder 1

Correspondence regarding articles published 1996, 2005, and 2006 1996, 2005, and 2006

Box 22, Folder 2

Maps of Los Angeles, Guatemala, and El Salvador

Box 22, Folder 3

Los Angeles Times Employee credentials and correspondence 1988

Box 22, Folder 4

Fiction and creative writing pieces n.d.

Box 22, Folder 5

Early Draft of "The Tattooed Soldier"

Box 22, Folder 6

Book reviews and correspondence regarding "The Tattooed Soldier"

Box 22, Folder 7

Newspaper clippings of Tobar articles from the Los Angeles Times 1993

Box 22, Folder 8

Newspaper article clipping about Gus Gregory's death in Peru

Box 22, Folder 9

Family income tax returns 1995 1995

Box 23

Box contains copies of Tobar's masters thesis while an MFA student at UC Irvine. This manuscript was eventually published as "The Tattooed Soldier." Tobar's first novel. The box also contains correspondence, and ephemera from Tobar's undergraduate years at UC Santa Cruz.

Physical Description: 1980-1995
Box 24, Folder 1-7

Folders 1-7 contain drafts of "Farewell California." The original title for Tobar's novel which was eventually published as "The Barbarian Nurseries." The box also contains five spiral notebooks filled with notes and journal entries. Three bound journals and a copy of a pamphlet for a rally in honor of Nelson Mandela titled "A Tribute to Nelson Mandela: Rally for a Free South Africa" at the Los Angeles Coliseum on June 29, 1990

Box 25

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 2003-2007

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times
Box 26, Folder 1

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 2006

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times
Box 26, Folder 2

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 2008

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times
Box 26, Folder 3

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 2009

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times
Box 26, Folder 4

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 2010

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times
Box 26, Folder 5

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 2011

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times
Box 26, Folder 6

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 2012

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times
Box 26, Folder 7

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 2013

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times
Box 26, Folder 8

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 2014

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times
Box 27, Folder 1

Newspaper clippings of articles written by Tobar for the Los Angeles Times 1989-2000

Physical Description: Newspapers

Scope and Content Note

Los Angeles Times