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[Last name, First name], Oral history interview conducted by [Interviewer’s First name Last name], [Month DD, YYYY], [Title of Collection], [Call #]; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Jorge Lopez
Oral history interview conducted by Marcelo Herman
April 09, 1989
Call number: 1989.004.28
0:22 - Introducciones, razones para irse de Guatemala, empleo en Guatemala - Introductions, reasons for leaving Guatemala and moving to NY, employment in Guatemala
4:19 - Comunidades guatemaltecas en NY, participación en la parada latina - Guatemalan communities around NY, participation in Hispanic Day Parade
11:42 - Celebración del día de la independencia, ligas de fútbol - Independence day celebrations, soccer league
14:50 - Empleo, etnicidad de los trabajadores - Employment, ethnicity of workers
21:03 - Trabajo en los muelles de Brooklyn, mudanza de compañías de transporte marítimo a New Jersey - Work as a dock worker in Brooklyn, maritime transport companies move to NJ
26:10 - Presencia latina en Sunset Park, disponibilidad de productos latinos, etnicidad de dueños de mercados - Latino presence in Sunset Park, availability of groceries, ethnicity of shop owners
35:46 - Traer a familiares a NY, empleo de sus hijos - Bringing family members to the US, children's employment
45:48 - Participación en la iglesia, etnicidad de personas de Livingston - Involvement in church, ethnicity of Livingston people
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Jose Lopez
Jorge Lopez is from Livingston, on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala. He emigrated in 1970, and came to live in Brooklyn, where he had some relatives. Lopez worked in customs in his port city of Livingston. After arriving in the States, he first found work as a garage mechanic in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, and then went to work on the borough's docks. He was also an active member of St. Michael's Church.
In the interview, Jorge Lopez discusses the Guatemalan colonies in Brooklyn, Jamaica, Queens, and New Jersey where there are large Guatemalan communities. He describes a Guatemalan club that prepares for the Hispanidad Parade in Manhattan every year, and speaks of the numerous Guatemalan soccer leagues; who play other soccer leagues of the Latino Brooklyn community. He describes his work at the docks on Brooklyn's waterfront, and talks of the growth of the Guatemalan community in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. According to Lopez, this growth was aided by the arrival of Mexican produce since Guatemalan cuisine resembles Mexican cooking. Interview in Spanish conducted by Marcelo Herman.
Brooklyn Historical Society initiated the Hispanic Communities Documentation Project in 1988. Over fifty interviews were conducted to document the experiences of Brooklyn residents who arrived from Puerto Rico, Panama, Ecuador, and several other Central and South American nations in the latter half of the twentieth century. This collection includes recordings and transcripts of interviews conducted between 1988 and 1989. The oral histories often contain descriptions of immigration, living arrangements, neighborhood demographics, discrimination, employment, community development, and political leadership. Also included are photographs and printed ephemera.
Citation
Lopez, Jorge, Oral history interview conducted by Marcelo Herman, April 09, 1989, Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories, 1989.004.28; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Lopez, Jorge
Topics
- Chinese Americans
- Emigration and immigration
- Ethnic identity
- Guatemalan Americans
- Hispanic Americans
- Immigrants
- International cooking
- Puerto Ricans
- Shipping
- Sports
Places
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Guatemala
- Sunset Park (New York, N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories