Copyright and Other Restrictions
The Library of Congress is not aware of any U.S. copyright protection (see Title 17, U.S.C.) or any other restrictions on the material in The Juan B. Rael Collection, except as noted below. Users should keep in mind that the Library of Congress is providing access to these materials strictly for educational and research purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other rights holders (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these copy photographs or interviews should contact the American Folklife Center for assistance.
Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. See American Memory, Copyright, and Other Restrictions and Privacy and Publicity Rights for additional information.
The special character of collections that result from ethnographic field research is outlined in What is an Ethnographic Field Collection? The American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.
An account of this collecting project is described in the essay Nuevo Mexicanos of the Upper Rio Grande: Culture, History, and Society. The Library of Congress has carefully researched the content of this collection to ascertain any possible legal rights embodied in the materials it contains.
As is often the case with materials collected in the course of ethnographic field research, however, it is difficult or impossible to sufficiently identify specific songs sung by participants which precludes performing a comprehensive assessment of the copyright status of underlying musical rights in lyrics or compositions. The identification of specific speakers or singers included in sound recordings is also often difficult or sometimes impossible. It is our understanding that the folk music that Juan B. Rael collected in the summer of 1940 is within the public domain. Some of the alabado hymns in this collection are centuries old. The instrumental music dates to the mid-nineteenth century and some melodies are probably older. A few of the songs are twentieth century compositions but were created in traditional genres by anonymous authors and are part of the oral tradition as is the entire Collection.
The staff of the American Folklife Center is eager to learn more about the musical compositions included in the Collection and encourages the public to contact them with any information at:
EMAIL: folklife@loc.gov
OR
Library of Congress
American Folklife Center
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20540-4610
Credit Line: Hispano Music and Culture of the Northern Rio Grande: The Juan B. Rael Collection. Library of Congress, American Folklife Center
The following items are included in The Juan B. Rael Collection with the permission as noted:
Introduction to The New Mexican Alabado, map, and selected alabado transcriptions (excerpted from Juan B. Rael's book The New Mexican Alabado). Reproduced with permission from Stanford University Press, Permissions Manager, 521 Lomita Mall, Stanford, California, 94305-2235
"New Mexican Spanish Feasts," California Folklore Quarterly, Vol. I, No. 1. Reproduced with the permission of The California Folklore Society, Business Manager, Western Folklore, Department of Anthropology, California State University-Chico, Chico, California 95929-0400
"New Mexican Wedding Songs," Southern Folklore Quarterly, Vol. IV, No. 2. Reproduced with the permission of the University Press of Kentucky, Assistant Director, 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40508-1873