Interview with Carmen and Jesus Malavé
InterviewerInterviewed by
Ruth Glasser
(American)
InterviewerInterviewed by
Amanda Rivera-López
Date2000 May 10
Mediumdigitized audio cassette tape
DimensionsDuration (tape 1, side 1): 46 Minutes, 56 Seconds
Duration (tape 1, side 2): 46 Minutes, 57 Seconds
Duration (tape 2): 38 Minutes, 2 Seconds
Duration (total runtime): 2 Hours, 11 Minutes, 56 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineGift of the CHS Exhibitions Department
Object number2013.27.3.1-.2
DescriptionTwo audio cassette tapes of an interview with Carmen and Jesus Malavé. Interviewed by Ruth Glasser and Amanda Rivera-López on May 10, 2000. The interview was conducted in English.
Carmen (Rodriguez) Malavé came to the United States in June 1956 with her parents. Her father worked on the tobacco farms when he first arrived in the U.S., then starting working at Bradley International Airport cleaning airplanes. After losing his job at the airport, her father began working at the City of Hartford Sanitation Department driving trucks. Her parents returned to Puerto Rico in 1975/6.
Jesus Malavé is the son of Francisco and Julia Malavé. His father was from Cayey, Puerto Rico. His mother was from Humacao, Puerto Rico. His mother traveled to Washington, DC before her husband and with her youngest daughter, and lived with her sisters. Jesus and other sister stayed in Puerto Rico with their father. Jesus came to the United States when he was 9 years old. He was enrolled at Arsenal School and took English classes at Barnard Brown Elementary School in Hartford, Connecticut. He then attended New Park Ave. School and Hartford High School. He studied computer programming and went to work at Pratt and Whitney after high school. He later worked at the post office and became Hartford's first Puerto Rican mail carrier.
He married Carmen in July 1968. They have two sons. They discuss Sacred Heart Church in Hartford. In 1970, Jesus became president of the Hartford Chapter of the Puerto Rican Parade. He discusses the Spanish American Club on Park Street, Hartford.
Carmen's family was from San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. She discusses how no one in her family had a job when they arrived in Hartford and the struggles they faced. They needed to be on welfare. Carmen struggled in school and had wanted to attend nursing school after graduation.
Jesus discusses the Hartford Police Department's interactions with the Puerto Rican community. He also assisted in bringing Puerto Rican bands and musicians to the U.S. for performances. The Puerto Rican community held demonstrations in the late 1960s and 1970s at Hartford City Hall to fight for housing, discrimination, and job opportunities. Carmen's family was not involved with the local Puerto Rican groups. Carmen became involved with the Puerto Rican Parade at age 17.
They then discuss prominent people in the Hartford Puerto Rican community, expectations Puerto Rican immigrants had, and how they conducted themselves. Carmen and Jesus discuss how they raised their children and the differences in growing up in Connecticut versus Puerto Rico. They discuss the changes in Hartford and the decline of some of the Puerto Rican clubs.
2013.27.3.1a-d: two digital files, J-card, and cassette tape
2013.27.3.2a-c: one digital file, J-card, and cassette tape
Carmen (Rodriguez) Malavé came to the United States in June 1956 with her parents. Her father worked on the tobacco farms when he first arrived in the U.S., then starting working at Bradley International Airport cleaning airplanes. After losing his job at the airport, her father began working at the City of Hartford Sanitation Department driving trucks. Her parents returned to Puerto Rico in 1975/6.
Jesus Malavé is the son of Francisco and Julia Malavé. His father was from Cayey, Puerto Rico. His mother was from Humacao, Puerto Rico. His mother traveled to Washington, DC before her husband and with her youngest daughter, and lived with her sisters. Jesus and other sister stayed in Puerto Rico with their father. Jesus came to the United States when he was 9 years old. He was enrolled at Arsenal School and took English classes at Barnard Brown Elementary School in Hartford, Connecticut. He then attended New Park Ave. School and Hartford High School. He studied computer programming and went to work at Pratt and Whitney after high school. He later worked at the post office and became Hartford's first Puerto Rican mail carrier.
He married Carmen in July 1968. They have two sons. They discuss Sacred Heart Church in Hartford. In 1970, Jesus became president of the Hartford Chapter of the Puerto Rican Parade. He discusses the Spanish American Club on Park Street, Hartford.
Carmen's family was from San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. She discusses how no one in her family had a job when they arrived in Hartford and the struggles they faced. They needed to be on welfare. Carmen struggled in school and had wanted to attend nursing school after graduation.
Jesus discusses the Hartford Police Department's interactions with the Puerto Rican community. He also assisted in bringing Puerto Rican bands and musicians to the U.S. for performances. The Puerto Rican community held demonstrations in the late 1960s and 1970s at Hartford City Hall to fight for housing, discrimination, and job opportunities. Carmen's family was not involved with the local Puerto Rican groups. Carmen became involved with the Puerto Rican Parade at age 17.
They then discuss prominent people in the Hartford Puerto Rican community, expectations Puerto Rican immigrants had, and how they conducted themselves. Carmen and Jesus discuss how they raised their children and the differences in growing up in Connecticut versus Puerto Rico. They discuss the changes in Hartford and the decline of some of the Puerto Rican clubs.
2013.27.3.1a-d: two digital files, J-card, and cassette tape
2013.27.3.2a-c: one digital file, J-card, and cassette tape
Label TextListen to interview at http://hdl.handle.net/11134/40002:19645786
NotesSubject Note: Through the Nuestras Historias - Our Stories project, the Connecticut Historical Society collected oral histories and photographs from a few of those who helped establish the Puerto Rican community in Hartford. It was an online exhibition presenting the story through the words and images of the pioneers themselves.Nuestras Historias was funded by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the State of Connecticut, Department of Economic and Community Development, and the Connecticut Historical Society.
Status
Not on view2000 May 11
Glaisma Pérez Silva
July 1999
