Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Interview No. 1659, Anonymous

Combined Interviews

He was born in the El Paso settlement called Smeltertown. His father had begun work at the ASARCO plant after arriving in the early 1900’s. He was raised by his mother and grandmother. growing up in Smeltertown, he remembers being very poor and rummaging through trash for goods. He recalls being discriminated against for being Mexican once he began working at ASARCO. Everything was segregated and higher paying jobs were only given to whites. He remembers a large sense of community among Mexican workers, from cooking to bars and stores. ASARCO had a company store which sold items at high …