Archives in Transit: Todosomos and the Venezuelan Migration Crisis

This guide provides background information and context for the "Todosomos" archive in Cornell's Rare Manuscripts and Collections. Todosomos is a U.S.-based NGO registered in Colombia. The archive is a collection of handwritten testimonies by Venezuelan migrants, collected by Todosomos in Colombia between October of 2018 and May of 2022. The testimonies are preserved in the pages of 29 separate blank volumes of libros de actas (minute books) wherein refugees wrote 'the story of their migration;' writing with the understanding their words would be shared with the community at large.

This collection is a living archive that chronicles the memory and experience of Venezuelan migrants who have been forced to leave their home country in a time of political unrest. Rather than rely on statistics or second-hand accounts, the testimonies in the archive allow these histories to be told by those who directly experienced them. 

This study guide provides historical and sociopolitical context for the Todosomos archive. Use the tabs on the lefthand side to access information on the Todosomos organization and archive project, Venezuelan political history and migration, and information and further reading on living archives and archival research methodologies.