1125 Pine Street
Boulder, CO 80302
303-441-3110
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1
Call Number
OH1866-V
Date
2013
Description
Ana Gonzalez-Dorta was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1994. She moved to Boulder three-and-a-half years prior to the time of the interview, with her parents and brothers, because they disliked the Venezuelan government of that time and the level of violence. Her father had a successful business in Caracas, and her mother worked for the American Embassy, and they had previously come to Colorado each year to ski. In Caracas Ana, attended a strict Catholic school, whereas in Boulder she went to Fairview High School, which was much more flexible. She is now studying film and television at the Univesity of Colorado in Denver. She has not experienced discrimination herself but describes several incidents involving other people. She wants to work in the film world in California and to promote understanding of Latinos and people suffering from depression.
2
Call Number
OH1887-V
Date
2013
Description
Elena Aranda runs the Compańeras program at El Centro AMISTAD in Boulder, which helps to empower immigrant women. She describes the activities of her program, including nutriti0onal, health, and English classes, and the history of AMISTAD's founding. She was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was the first person in her family to come to the U.S. She describes the challenges of adjusting to life in the United States. In addition to volunteering with AMISTAD, she works as a therapist with the Mental Health Center, having earned a masters degree in Mexico. She talks about maintaining her cultural identity as a Mexican and a Latina, the challenges she and her children have faced in Boulder due to discrimination, the emphasis she put on education in her family, and her pride in her children's work.
3
Call Number
OH1899-V
Date
2013
Description
Dr.Albert Ramirez is a social psychologist and has served as chair of the ethnic studies department at the University of Colorado as well as the associate dean of its graduate school and the associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. He also has thought deeply and published about Chicano identity. In this interview he explores his own background and that of his late wife, Vera Ramirez, and describes his experiences in the above jobs as well as his involvement with many other non-profits as a volunteer and board member. He reflects on immigration, ethnic discrimination, the Chicano movement of the 1970s, and social justice efforts.
4
Call Number
OH1870-V
Date
2013
Description
Ana Karina Casas was born in a small town in Zacatecas, Mexico. She came to the United States when she was 11 with her younger brothers and mother, who was escaping from an abusive marraige. She describes vividly the difficulty of crossing the border illegally, walking across a desert. Her family settled in Boulder, and she went to Casey Middle School and Boulder High School before starting college. Her progress through college is slow because of the need to work and save moeny to pay out-of-state tuition. She talks about the challenges of going to school initially as a non-English speaker, the assumption that Mexicans are less intelligent than whites, and the struggle for undocumented students who want to attend college because they cannot get scholarships or loans even if they do well in school. As an adult she wants to help people, especially kids who are in trouble with the law.
5
Call Number
OH1901-V
Date
2013
Description
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.