First Job

Interview Description Rosa Rodriguez (49) talks with son Alfredo Alexis Rodriguez (30) about their family and her life. Facilitator Subject Log 01:58 Rose was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. She talks about leaving when she was six-months old. 02:45 Rosa talks about going back to Guadalajara in 2004 to see her father for the first time in 42 years. 12:40 Rosa talks about her grandparents and the store they owned named "El Pirri. "Her...

Interview Description Edward H Ruiz (73) talks with facilitator Jorge Rios (24) about his life in Los Angeles, Ca. Facilitator Subject Log 01:00 Edward reads a story he wrote about his life. He talks about moving from Arizona to Van Nuys, Ca and some of his first jobs. 03:00 Edward talks about being a shoe-shiner when he was 7. He also talks about finding a treasure chest when houses were being vacated at Bunker Hill. 10:30 Edward talks...

Interview Description Berta "Bertie "Saavedra and Pauline Cázares interview their father, Zeferino Saavedra about work and growing up in Mexico and the US. Facilitator Subject Log 00:50 Zeferino remembers coming to the US from Nuevo León Guanajuato, Mexico. He earned money picking up bottles and scraps on the way home from school. 10:15 The building of City Hall at La Placita. Zeferino was one of the first to climb to the top of the building....

Interview Description Nicole Di Rocca asks her parents about their recent family trip to Cuba and her parents' immigration from Cuba over 40 years ago. Facilitator Subject Log 01:22 Thais reads a poem she wrote called "49 years "about the recent family trip back to Cuba. 10:08 Thais and Javier talk about their parents' exodus from Cuba following Castro's revoution. 15:30 Thais expected to have her Quinceañera in Cuba but couldn't go...

Interview Description Wilbert E. Sanchez (71) talks with wife Luisa Sanchez (68) about living in San Luis, CO and their marriage. Facilitator Subject Log 01:13 Luisa describes how she met Wilbert in a San Luis, CO variety store. She was the clerk and he was there to buy tissue. They chatted briefly and then went on to date. 04:40 Wilbert talks about being raised on a farm in San Luis, CO. The farm was purchased by his family and he remembers there was...

Interview Description Felix Sepúlveda (77) is interviewed by his son, Carl Sepúlveda about coming to the United States from Perú to do his medical residency in Florida. Facilitator Subject Log 1:25 Felix landed in Miami as a medical student working as a intern in the emergency room 12:16 moving to Houston from Florida; loved Florida because it was similar to Perú; finished residency in pediatrics 19:34 Felix's mother encouraged him to stay...

Interview Description Thelma Perales Shelton (59) talks with daughter Vanessa Reyes Vara (38) & granddaughter Valencia Vara (12) about her childhood. Facilitator Subject Log 01:10 Thelma talks about her family's ancestral roots in Guanajuato, Mexico. She has also traced her family's history back to Spain and the Moorish Empire. 09:00 Thelma talks about her mother working for a cigar company when she was 9-years-old. There weren't child labor laws...

Interview Description Coulette Takach (62) talks with coworker Crystal Velez (21) about being a librarian. Facilitator Subject Log 00:50 Coulette talks about working Crystal's mother at her previous library. She has been a librarian for over 30 years. 10:55 Coulette talks about what brought her to Texas from Iowa. She talks about the first library she worked at. She was there for over 20 years. 15:00 Crystal talks about how she ended up at...

Interview Description Candy Maria Torres (56) talks with Whitney Henry-Lester about her Puerto Rican ancestry. Facilitator Subject Log 00:45 Candy's parents grew up in Puerto Rico, but both moved to Harlem and lived there during the Great Depression. 09:30 Candy talks about how her mother and father met. She also recalls how her mother got into fights when she was younger and how her father really loved the feistiness in her mother. 15:35...

Interview Description Emma Torres y su compañera de trabajo Maria Chavoya platican sobre la vida laboral de Emma, su papel dentro del sindicato de trabajadores campesinos (UFW, por sus siglas en Ingles), el declive del sindicato y sus logros y aspiraciones educativas. [Emma Torres and her coworker Maria Chavoya talk about Emma's work life, her role in the United Farm Workers union (UFW), the union's decline, and Emma's educational achievements and aspirations.] ...