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Oral histories are intimate conversations between and among people who have generously agreed to share these recordings with BHS’s archives and researchers. Please listen in the spirit with which these were shared. BHS abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.
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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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Cecilio Rivera
Oral history interview conducted by Monte Rivera
June 20, 1974
Call number: 1976.001.053
0:06 - Biographical details and work history in Puerto Rico and Brooklyn
3:37 - Ethnicities: In neighborhood and clientele; His wages and his wife's work
6:09 - Raising children and their education; Tenement & apartment living
8:29 - Political activity: For him, for Puerto Ricans typically, and formation of clubs
12:05 - Community advocates: in general, Carlos Tapia, and in groups
14:53 - Friction between ethnic groups; Puerto Rican identity; discrimination
17:54 - Reasons for migrating; Employers of Puerto Ricans; his business ownership
20:55 - Brooklyn: leaving for Long Island, schools, home owning
23:56 - Short-term wartime work with Pfizer, opting out or in to unions
27:55 - Job opportunities, mass media, and contact with island for Puerto Ricans
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Cecilio Rivera
Cecilio Rivera was born in Puerto Rico in 1903. He arrived in Brooklyn in 1929 and resided in the Williamsburg neighborhood up until 1949 - at which time he and his family moved to Brentwood, New York. As a retired businessman, Rivera had first worked in numerous grocery stores before eventually purchasing his own bodega. The personal connections he made while working in local shops and delivering groceries throughout Brooklyn served him well, as he went on to found and/or participate in several civic and social organizations revolving around the Puerto Rican community. These include the Baldorioty Democratic Club, the Puerto Rican Civic Association, the Puerto Rican Merchants Association - in which Rivera served as the first president - and the Pan American Civic Association, which he founded after relocating to Eastern Long Island.
In the first of two interviews, Cecilio Rivera offers personal details and touches on his experience as a small business owner and activist in Brooklyn's Puerto Rican community. Rivera discusses in brief, the formation, function, and participation within political clubs and organizations. In addition, he speaks on Carlos Tapia, the general job prospects of the Puerto Rican community, and Puerto Rican identity in America. Rivera closes with some reflection on his own business opportunities, his insight into his brief time at Pfizer, and leaving Brooklyn for New York suburbia. Interview conducted by Monte Rivera.
This collection includes recordings and transcripts of oral histories narrated by those in the Puerto Rican community of Brooklyn who arrived between 1917 and 1940. The Long Island Historical Society initiated the Puerto Rican Oral History Project in 1973, conducting over eighty interviews between 1973 and 1975. The oral histories often contain descriptions of immigration, living arrangements, neighborhood ethnicities, discrimination, employment, community development and political leadership. Also included are newspaper clippings, brochures, booklets about Brooklyn's Puerto Rican community, and administrative information on how the project was developed, carried out, and evaluated.
Citation
Rivera, Cecilio, Oral history interview conducted by Monte Rivera, June 20, 1974, Puerto Rican Oral History Project records, 1976.001.053; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Pfizer Inc.
- Rivera, Cecilio
- Tapia, Carlos
Topics
- Bodegas
- Business enterprises
- Emigration and immigration
- Employment
- Ethnic identity
- Ethnic neighborhoods
- Political clubs
- Puerto Ricans
Places
- Brentwood (N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Puerto Rico
Finding Aid
Puerto Rican Oral History Project records