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Oral history interview with Virginia Maestas, 2013
Oral history interview with Virginia Maestas, 2013
Call Number
OH1923
Date
2013
Description
Virginia Maestas was born in Colorado and grew up in Longmont, Boulder and the San Luis Valley. Both of her parents were born in New Mexico and worked as migrant farm workers. Later her father worked in the Great Western Sugar plant and Green Mountain Cemetery. Her mother did domestic work. Virginia describes her childhood, including the challenges of the living conditions, schooling without accommodation for her lack of knowledge of English (which led to her dropping out in Junior HIgh School), prejudicial treatment of Latinos, and the small size of the Latino community in Boulder County when she was growing up. She also tells about her return to school to obtain a GED at age 26, a college degree at age 46, and her subsequent career as a teacher. She discusses changes in the Boulder County Latino community and changes in attitudes toward Latinos over time.
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2
Oral history interview with Deisy DeLuna, 2013
Oral history interview with Deisy DeLuna, 2013
Call Number
OH1871-V
Date
2013
Description
Deisy DeLuna was born in Mexico and lived there until she was eleven years old. Her grandparents had come to work in this country through the Braceros Program, and later, her father worked in the United States as well, visiting the family back in Mexico every three years. When she was 11, her immediate family moved to Longmont to join her father. She describes her schooling in Longmont schools, which included a 1-year bilingual newcomers program, after which her schooling was entirely in English, with mostly white students. She reflects on the positive schooling experiences that she had. Her teachers even raised money to pay for part of her first year at college. She discusses the ASSET law, which will lower her cost for continuing to go to college. She talks about the importance of education, the ways in which she sees being bilingual as being an asset for her, and her dreams for the future.
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