A Centenarian Reflects on Her Life as a Proud American
The StoryCorps mobile recording booths have been traveling the country for 20 years. In 2010 during a stop in Los Angeles, 85-year-old Stella Beltrán sat down with her son and granddaughter to remember moving to the United States from Mexico as a small child.
In the 1940s Stella Beltrán performed with her brother Ramon Cruz, pictured on the right, as part of the Don Ramon Orchestra. Photo courtesy of Steven Beltrán
Stella and her son Steven at her citizenship ceremony at the Los Angeles convention center. Photo courtesy of Steven Beltrán
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired July 4, 2025 on NPR’s Morning Edition.