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(Albuquerque, New Mexico) – The National Hispanic Cultural Center Library and Archives has received a generous donation of 238 books and a collection of papers from the personal library of Dr. Estela Cifre de Loubriel. Considered the “First Lady of Puerto Rican Genealogy,” Estela Cifre de Loubriel’s books and collection includes research on Puerto Rican emigration, immigration, and genealogy.  Many of the books were written and published in Puerto Rico.  Other books include a selection of children’s primers for the classroom, storybooks, and an outstanding collection of volumes containing fairy tales, fables, folk tales and more. The books and papers will become part of the NHCC’s library, archive, and special collections.

Dr. Cifre de Loubriel’s is the grandmother of former National Hispanic Cultural Center director Rebecca Avitia, who donated the collection to the NHCC.  Born in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, Estela Cifre de Loubriel was daughter of Antonio Cifre Albertie (Mallorca, Spain) and Amanda Amill Negroni (Yauco, Puerto Rico).

Dr. Cifre de Loubriel received a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico in 1944, a master’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in History from Columbia University in 1950, and a doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Madrid in 1958. She was a professor of history at the University of Puerto Rico and wrote several formative books on the genealogy of the people that immigrated to Puerto Rico from Spain.

The donated books include the following written by Dr. Cifre de Loubriel:

• La Formación del Pueblo Puertorriqueño: la contribución de los Gallegos, Asturianos y Santanderinos


• La Formación del Pueblo Puertorriqueño: la contribución de los Isleño-Canarios


• La Formación del Pueblo Puertorriqueño: la contribución de los Catalanes, Balearicos y Valencianos


• La Formación del Pueblo Puertorriqueño. La contribución de los Vascongados, Navarros y Aragoneses


• Catálogo de extranjeros residents en Puerto Ricon en el Siglo XIX

About the National Hispanic Cultural Center:  The National Hispanic Cultural Center is dedicated to the preservation, promotion and advancement of Hispanic culture, arts and humanities, and is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. 

The National Hispanic Cultural Center is located at 1701 Fourth Street SW in Albuquerque, New Mexico. General admission tickets can be purchased in advance from the National Hispanic Center box office, 505-724-4771 or the NHCC website, www.nhccnm.org. Click here for directions.