Welcome!

Introduction to the website

Esencial is a community story archive that collects and displays stories by and about agricultural workers in Colorado. This archive strives to be accessible to both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking audiences. You can always click the button at the top left of your screen to switch between English and Spanish. While the majority of this website is fully translated, there are some sections where you may see Spanish and English side by side -- this is our solution to certain technical challenges in website translation.  

How to use this archive

Stories are highly diverse. There are many ways to explore and experience the stories within! You can explore stories by type of story (ex. a personal narrative, interviews, or ethnographies) or by where in Colorado the story takes place (ex. region or county). You may also use the search bar at the top of your screen or the advanced search page to look for key words (ex.COVID, racism) or specific file types (ex. audio, written).