Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Interview No. 1704, Kristine Levy Taylor

Combined Interviews

Taylor Levy used to be an immigration attorney and she is now a private attorney. She says that when she first graduated she had no interest on being an attorney but when she realized that being an attorney had its benefits she did not think twice and became one. Some of the benefits they had were that the donations would increase; for example they received food, clothes, wheelchairs, event surgeries that were donated from other people that were willing to help. She says that having to hire an attorney can be expensive and she sees the necessity of immigrant people …

Interview No. 1702, Larisa Veloz

Combined Interviews

Dr. Larisa Veloz explains the bi-national Bracero Program which took place from 1942-1964 which invited temporary workers from Mexico. Most of the workers contributed to the agricultural fields but a few worked at factories. The Bracero Program began as a way to alleviate labor loss during the World War II but continued for over twenty years after congress renewed the contracts.

Over 4 million contracts were granted but only to young Mexican men aged from 18-45 years old who had agricultural experience. Individuals went to contracting centers across Mexico and underwent an interview process including physical exams. Once completed, individuals …

Interview No. 1701, Juven Villegas

Combined Interviews

Juven Villegas was born on November 23rd, 1953 in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua on block away from the Rio Grande. His parents, Alejandra and Juven, were both born in Mexico. His father was a part of the Bracero program and came to the border area in the 1940s. By the time Juven was born, his father was no longer a Bracero. During his childhood, Villegas grew up in the Segundo Barrio off of South Oregon and Fifth Street. While living there, he was active in his community as he was on the board of Mexican American Youth Association which was started …

Interview No. 1714, Cecilia Marquez

Combined Interviews

Cecilia Flores Marquez was born on April 11, 1945, and she grew up in Smelter Town. Her father worked in Asarco for 44 years and her mother worked in JCPenny for 11 years. Everyone in Smelter Town lived a happy life and everyone knew everyone. Back in the day, the houses weren’t in condition like they are now. Cecilia also mentioned that her family and she went to a church named Cristo Rey Church one thing that she remembers was that almost everyone in Smelter Town went to church with their kids.

Cecilia went to an elementary and middle school …

Interview No. 1713, Ismael Holguin

Combined Interviews

Ismael Holguin was born in Smelter Town (a community of people who lived near Asarco) on June 17, 1933, and he had 8 brothers and sisters. He grew up in Buena Vista. At the age of 14, his mother moved to Buena Vista so he went there with him. He worked at the El Paso Independent School district and in Asarco.

Ismael had a pretty calm life in Smelter town. He went to school and to the YMCA to play with his friends. He had the same routine once he moved to Buena Vista. He enrolled in the Navy when …

Interview No. 1718, Alicia Sarmiento Ramirez

Combined Interviews

Alicia Sarmiento Ramirez was born in El Paso Texas, on May 11, 1946, and she recently applied for the renewal of her passport and her birth certificate said that she was born in Smelter Town, Texas because at that time it used to be separate from El Paso it was like a separate county. Her father used to be a supervisor on an American Melter called ASARCO, and her mother was a housekeeper and she had 3 sisters and her mom took care of them. Her dad worked since 1945 at ASARCO as a supervisor, he got the position because …

Interview No. 1720, Ismael Ortega

Combined Interviews

His name is Ismael Ortega he was born on July 7, 1946, and raised in El Paso where he attended school, he went to El Paso High for High School. His mother was a servant for George Dickenson and lived at his house where she worked. He started working in ASARCO when he was 25 years old in the year 1974 on the month of July. He worked at the plant because he wanted to have a good future for his family, and they had good benefits, so he decided to work there. His first job at ASARCO was at …

Interview No. 1716, Anastacio Zavala

Combined Interviews

Anastacio Zavala was born in El Paso Texas, he used to live in an area called Francis. His father was a liver and he used to have a horse and they used to ride it. He started working at ASARCO on June 30, 1965, at the age of mid-30s, he started working because of the death of his neighbor, and they called him and he needed to have a high school diploma and he was able to work there. His first job was in the department and he was going to be transferred but someone had an accident and he …

Interview No. 1712, Jaime Archuleta

Combined Interviews

Jaime Archuleta was born in the lower valley in El Paso (Ysleta), but he grew up in Sunland Park, New Mexico. His mom used to stay home and take care of them, while his dad worked as a carpenter all over the southwest.

Jaime started working at Asarco in 1993 when he was about 38 years old. He wanted to work in Asarco because he left a job in Arizona where he worked on a copper smelter so his experiences helped him to get into Asarco. When he first started there he worked as a maintenance mechanic. He worked there …

Interview No. 1715, Frank Gallardo

Combined Interviews

Frank Gallardo was born and raised in El Paso, he started working at ASARCO because he had 3 uncles that used to work in there, he started working at ASARCO on August 26, 1972. His first shift on ASARCO began at 3 o'clock in the evening, he would go every Monday to see if there were any open positions for a job but for 3 years he didn’t get the chance, so one Wednesday he received a call from the industry to tell him that he was hired. He needed to meet some expectations such as the weight, that for …

Interview No. 1719, Gilbert Limon

Combined Interviews

His Name is Gilbert Limon “Wally” he was born in El Paso, Texas on August 29, 1957, he grew up in Canutillo that used to be a small town at the exit of El Paso, he graduated from high school in 1976 and then he started working at ASARCO when he was 19 years old from 1977-1999. He was amazed when he first started working there because there were a lot of people working there and, they will work like 40-60 hours a week. He first started as a minimum wage employee with 7 dollars an hour and then they …

Interview No. 1700, Joshua Rubin

Combined Interviews

Joshua Rubin describes his observations of the Tornillo Detention Centers while he was there for three months. Thousands of children from Florida, Houston, and Central American were transported to Tornillo on charter buses. Rubin was first introduced to the situation when the immigration stories were broadcasted on television. Rubin decided to drive down to Tornillo and began holding up a sign, outside the center, that stated “Free them”. Rubin was arrested by authorities but continued raising the sign to oncoming traffic for hours at a time.

Afterward, while attending an activist discussion, Rubin was inspired to take direct action and …

From Buffalo Soldiers To Redlined Communities: African American Community Building In El Paso's Lincoln Park Neighborhood, Miguel Juárez

Departmental Papers (History)

No abstract provided.