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Dolores Silva is a long-time resident of Lafayette, Colorado. She was born at home in Denver in 1929 with the assistance of a midwife. Her mother was from Taos, New Mexico; she was part American Indian, and when orphaned as a child was raised by the Taos Indians. She came to Denver and met Dolores' father, a professional baseball player. When they divorced, their other children were sent to an orphanage, but Dolores was a baby and stayed with her mother and stepfather. Her father and her husband worked as coal miners in the winters and did construction in the summers. She discusses safety issues in the mines. Joe Jaramillo, who was killed in the Monarch Mine explosion, was a relative. Dolores went to school in Denver and did well but did not graduate because she had to go to work. She and her husband, Manuel, have been married and lived in Lafayette for 68 years. Manuel mentions working for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) around the time of the Depression. Dolores worked for Walmart and then NeoData. She describes good relations between Mexicans and Italians in Lafayette, her son's service in Vietnam, and the importance of the VFW post as a social center.

Maria Velasco is a program director at Intercambio de Communidades, a program that offers volunteer-taught English classes for adult immigrants, classes and workshops on life skills and citizenship, and cultural trainings and events for all community members. Maria is responsible for organizing Boulder English classes, coordinating resource workshops, and planning intercultural events in Boulder and Lafayette. She was born and raised in Salamanca, Spain, and has a BA in business administration from the University of Salamanca. Before working for Intercambio, she managed the Language and Cultural Services Department at a hospital in Washington state, where she spoke to patients about healthcare and was an interpreter. She has also lived in Mexico and in the Dominican Republic. She talks about ethnic identity and the challenges involved in adapting to a new country's culture as an immigrant. She discusses how people often are judged based on their accent, yet notes that for obtaining a job in the United States these days, being able to speak Spanish is considered an important job skill. She offers her thoughts about immigration reform and the positive impact it could have for Latinos.