LAHSO Oral History Project

The amazing contributions of the Latin American community have impacted the landscape of Cleveland since the late 19th century. Our culture, music, food, dance, colors, and language have made Cleveland a more international, multilingual, and vibrant city.

Unfortunately, the significant contributions of Latin Americans in Cleveland have been largely ignored. Latin American history has not been recorded, documented, or archived in any consistent manner. Thus, LAHSO was created to capture those experiences of our families so they are never forgotten and are finally included in our collective history.

LAHSO’s mission is to ensure that the experiences as well as the significant contributions of the Latin American Community to Cleveland are recorded, documented, archived and woven into the historical narrative of Cleveland.

Driven by urgency and reverence, LAHSO is collecting oral histories from Latin Americans across Cleveland. The project reveals how pioneers left their homelands, adapted to Cleveland, built community institutions, faced and resisted racial injustice, and wove themselves into the fabric of Northeast Ohio.

Process & Timeline (March 2025 – May 2026)

  • Phase 1: Interviewer training, narrator selection, theme exploration
  • Phase 2: Transcription, indexing, accuracy review, second interviews
  • Phase 3: Archiving and digital preservation
  • Phase 4: Public presentations, community dissemination

Up to 20 narrators will be selected from a pool of 30 candidates through pre-screening, with the goal of preserving at least 15 rich and complete oral histories in a curated digital archive.

To learn more, please email the LAHSO Cleveland Stakeholders Team.