Rita Indiana and Noelia Quintero Herencia papers, 1978-2024
Collection context
- Creator:
- Hernández, Rita Indiana, 1977- and Quintero Herencia, Noelia
- Abstract:
- Rita Indiana Hernández Sánchez (1977–) is a Dominican writer and singer-songwriter currently residing in New York City, where she serves as the Director of the MFA in Creative Writing in Spanish at NYU. She is a Latin GRAMMY-nominated solo artist and achieved acclaim as part of the band Rita Indiana y Los Misterios. Noelia Quintero Herencia (1969–) is a Puerto Rican filmmaker and multimedia artist working primarily as a documentarian of Caribbean art, history, and culture, having created, directed, and produced the Suncoast Emmy-winning series entitled Prohibido Olvidar. Quintero Herencia and Indiana are spouses and frequent creative collaborators. The papers contain notebooks (brainstorming, sketches, and research for creative projects), poems, short stories, newspaper and magazine clippings, storyboards and shooting schedules for films and music videos, sheet music, concept maps, personal writings, photographs, and digital material (personal photographs, full music videos, and multimedia performance materials).
- Extent:
- 5 Linear Feet (7 manuscript boxes, 2 tube boxes, and 1 oversized flat box.)
- Language:
- English, Spanish; Castilian
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains a considerable number of notebooks attributable to both Indiana and Quintero Herencia. These notebooks contain research for creative projects of varying genres, including Indiana's novels, Quintero Herencia's filmmaking, and multimedia collaborations. Materials in the collection related to Indiana's novel-writing pertain to the projects La estrategia de Chochueca (2003), Papi (2005), Nombres y animales (2013), La mucama de Omicunlé (2015), Hecho en Saturno (2018), Los trajes (2021), and Asmodeo (2018).
The collection contains Indiana's hand- and type-written poems and short stories, some of which were written during her teenage years. Materials related to music include full music videos, a concert clip, sheet music, and stills from music videos. The film Papi (2020), directed by Quintero Herencia and adapted from Indiana's novel, features in the collection in the form of hand-drawn storyboards, shooting schedules, and a "lookbook" for the film (including a director's statement).
The collection also contains materials related to Indiana and Quintero Herencia's collaborative multimedia performance entitled Tu Nombre Verdadero (2023), including newspaper clippings, a concept map, a poster, digital promotional photographs, and a background video used during the performance. Other creative materials include scripts of plays written by Indiana (espejito espejito, Puentes, Intervencion), handicrafts, and sketches.
Some of the notebooks in the collection contain personal writings/notes and agendas, as well as notes related to Indiana's writing workshops at NYU. The collection contains both physical and digital photographs of family and friends, some personal correspondence, and miscellaneous items not directly related to the creators.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Rita Indiana Hernández Sánchez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in June 1977. A key figure in contemporary Caribbean literature, her publications include but are not limited to: La estrategia de Chochueca (Editorial Isla Negra, 2003); Papi (Ediciones Vértigo, 2005), whose translation into English was included in World Literature Today's list of 75 Notable Translations in 2016; Nombres y animales (Editorial Periférica, 2013); La mucama de Omicunlé (Editorial Periférica, 2015); Cuentos y poemas, 1998-2003 (Editora Bùho, Cielo Naranja, 2017); Hecho en Saturno (Editorial Periférica, 2018); Los trajes (Cielo Naranja, 2021); and Asmodeo (Editorial Periférica, 2024). La mucama de Omicunlé (translated into English as Tentacle) was named as a finalist for the Premio Bienal Mario Vargas Llosa in 2016 and was the first Spanish-language novel to win the Grand Prize of the Association of Caribbean Writers in 2017. Her novels have been translated into at least ten languages.
Indiana's career as a singer-songwriter took off quickly with the band Rita Indiana y Los Misterios, best known for their album El Juidero (2010). Ten years later, Indiana released Mandinga Times (2020) as a solo artist, for which she was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. She currently serves as the Global Distinguished Professor in the MFA in Creative Writing at NYU, where she is the Director of the MFA in Creative Writing in Spanish.
Noelia Quintero Herencia was born in Puerto Rico in 1969. She is credited as the creator, director, and producer of Prohibido Olvidar, a documentary series on Puerto Rican cultural history broadcast on public television. The series has earned three Suncoast Emmy awards and one New York Emmy award. Quintero Herencia served as Director of the City of San Juan's Art Department between 2013 and 2017. In 2020, she wrote and directed a feature film adaptation of her spouse Rita Indiana's novel Papi, which received the Dominican Premio Soberano and Best Feature Film award at the Festival Internacional de Cine de Santiago. Indiana and Quintero Herencia's collaborations also include their 2023 multimedia performance entitled Tu Nombre Verdadero. Other credits include directing work on the Emmy-winning Tito Matos: ¡Ahora Sí! (2022) and video installations at an exhibition at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art entitled Indecencia. As of 2025, she works as a Research Associate at the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute, was named the Artist-in-Residence at CENTRO (Center for Puerto Rican Studies in New York), and premiered her open video installation about Latino communities in New York City entitled No es extraño este sitio para la danza.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Reading room photography is restricted. Digital materials must be accessed on-site.
This collection is located on-site.
- Terms of access:
-
The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
- Location of this collection:
- Before you visit:
- Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
- Contact:
- rbml@library.columbia.edu