Introduction
The National Sound Archive (Fonoteca Nacional) issues an urgent call to society and institutions facing the imminent loss of recorded sound memory stored on magnetic audio and video tapes. This warning stems from a collaboration between the UNESCO and the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA), highlighting the rapid obsolescence of magnetic tape formats.
The UNESCO Ultimatum
According to the UNESCO’s Magnetic Tape Alert project, 2025 marks the beginning of massive content loss from unstabilized and non-digitalized magnetic tapes. Margarita Sosa Suárez, Director of Conservation and Sound Documentation at the National Sound Archive, explains that factors like physical degradation and scarcity of professional equipment for reproduction and digitalization pose significant challenges.
The Silent Deterioration: Fungi and Vinegar Syndrome
Sosa Suárez elaborates on the invisible agents that threaten physical supports, particularly magnetic tapes. These threats include fungi consuming the tape material and vinegar syndrome, a chemical process where acetate decomposes, releasing acetic acid (smell of vinegar) that damages the tape and contaminates other materials.
The Fonoteca Nacional’s Priorities
The National Sound Archive’s mission is to rescue, preserve, and disseminate the country’s sound memory. The UNESCO warning, along with Mexico’s Archives Law requirements, has reoriented the Fonoteca’s priorities. Cassettes with open reels and casettes are now the most vulnerable, prioritized for ingestion.
Additionally, digital native files are considered more fragile than analog ones and require safeguarding. Historical rare supports, like wax cylinders (19th-century audio formats), direct cut discs, and magnetic tapes used during WWII, are also protected due to their historical value.
A Testimony at Risk: The Apache Case
Beyond its role as a physical guardian, the National Sound Archive ensures Mexico’s auditory identity doesn’t vanish. Its vaults safeguard thousands of hours of sound heritage, testifying to historical events, technological evolution, indigenous cultures’ rich musicality, and the country’s 68 languages and 364 variants.
By preserving these cassettes, the Fonoteca ensures future generations can access historical figures’ voices, daily soundscapes, and experimental artistic expressions. The archive’s sound collection is not merely a supplement to written history but an invaluable scientific and cultural resource shaping the nation’s collective imagination.
Visiting the National Sound Archive
- Casa Alvarado, Coyoacán, Mexico City
- Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Saturday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Audioteca Octavio Paz
- Salvador Novo Library
- Monday to Friday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM / 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
