R-0713 -- Sánchez, Juan, pseud.
Juan Sanchez (pseudonym) migrated to the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico about seventeen years ago, and now works in construction in Carrboro, North Carolina. Juan explains how he stays connected and involved with his family, including his wife and five children, who still live in Mexico. Throughout the upbringing of his children, Juan emphasized the importance of education, and immigrated to the United States to give his children the opportunity to continue their learning. Education is particularly important to Juan, because at age twelve he could no longer attend school in order to work and support his family. He communicates with his children every night, asking them about their grades and congratulating them if they get good marks. He also talks about the advice he gives them, and how he believes the economic stability that remittances provide his family has helped to keep his children out of gangs and out of trouble. Finally, Juan discusses how much suffering is involved in the process of migration: in the journey to the United States, in the difficulties and fears that arise from being undocumented, and in the loneliness of complete separation from his family and community.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/20979">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
13 Apr 2014
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0713_Audio.mp3
R-0706 -- Maldonado de Patiño, María de los Ángeles.
María de los Angeles Maldonado de Patiño provides a personal account of how she deals with having half of her family in the United States and half of her family in Mexico. She touched on issues such as mobility for people who are documented versus undocumented and the ways immigrants maintain contact with family members in Mexico. She also discusses religion as one way of coping with family separation, the effect that money sent back to family in Mexico has on their daily lives, the strange duality of some family members getting visas while others do not, and the health problems and negative psychological aspects of being an immigrant in the United States. Finally she explores differences in the cultures, particularly the lack of a sense of community in the United States.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/20973">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
05 April 2014
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0706_Audio.mp3
R-0627 -- García Pérez, José Antonio.
The interview was organized around Jose Antonio Garcia Perez’s reasons for immigrating to the United States from Mexico and his goals for his future. He describes how in the beginning he only knew one person in the United States, his brother-in-law, who gathered the money to make his journey here possible. Currently holding two jobs in Carrboro, N.C., Perez states that though the work is hard, he makes far more in North Carolina than in Mexico and can work fewer hours. Perez described the rampant exploitation of workers that occurs in Mexico. He discussed how he finds that most people here have been friendly to him, though he notes that there is a problem with discrimination against Latinos. Perez tends to stay out of politics, but when asked about the situation in Mexico, he laments the unnecessary violence and shares that he does not see it changing anytime soon. Similarly, he views the anti-immigration atmosphere in the United States as slow to change, and wishes that people would realize how much the United States relies on immigrant and Hispanic labor. Perez shared how the wages he earns here go to support his wife and son, and he strives to make sure all opportunities are open to his son. He discussed how regardless of the increasing violence in his hometown, he hopes to one day return to Mexico and open his own business, perhaps a restaurant.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/16974">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
April 7 2012
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0627_Audio.mp3
R-0457 -- Camacho Cárdenas, Teresa.
Teresa Camacho Cardenas is a Mexican immigrant who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She grew up in Guanajuanto, Mexico in a family of twelve. Her father abandoned the family so Cardenas had to begin working at a young age to support the family. She moved to Texas with her aunt to find a better job and worked there for fours years. Cardenas decided to stay in the United States to work but returned to Mexico for a brief time to discuss her decision with her family. She moved to North Carolina to be close to her sister and soon found work at a hospital. Cardenas married and had four children born in the United States. In the interview Cardenas compares her life in Mexico to her life in North Carolina and discusses the expectations she had as a Mexican immigrant coming to the United States. She talks about the financial difficulties her family faced in while growing up in Mexico. Cardenas closes with remarks about her relationship with her children and the role of language in their household.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/6286">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
26 March 2011
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0457_Audio.mp3
R-0458 -- Castillo, Guillermina.
Guillermina Castillo is an immigrant from Veracruz, Mexico. Castillo's father died when she was very young so she, her sisters and her mother worked a variety of jobs to sustain the family. In Mexico, Castillo worked as a butcher, saleswoman and a farmer. She came to the United States upon the suggestion of her nephew when her mother was sick. Her mother had dental problems and the family could not afford the treatment she needed so Castillo moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She worked at a factory until it closed and she relocated to the Triangle area where she worked at a restaurant and met her husband Gerardo. In the interview, Castillo discusses the need for her to work in order to support the family, her regret for not being able to go to school past la secundaria and the cultural celebrations of her family in Mexico. Castillo talks about the difficulty in raising her own daughters with an understanding of the traditions and practices of life in Mexico but that they will never fully understand what it was like when their parents lived there. Castillo closes with a discussion on the significant cultural differences she notices between North Americans and Mexicans.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
<a href="http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/6236">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.</a>
8 April 2011
No restrictions. Open to research.
R0458_Audio.mp3