Hector Vega and his wife Leopoldina
Hector Vega and his wife, Leopoldina, remember the day Hector returned home from war.
Ileana Smith and Gustavo Mestas
Gustavo Mestas talk with his daughter Ileana Smith about the decision he made to escape from Cuba with his family in 1963. A doctor in Cuba, Gustavo arrived in Florida not knowing if he would be able to practice medicine in the United States, but after working jobs picking tomatoes and cleaning motels while attending medical school in the evenings, he was eventually able to begin a practice.
Originally aired August 15, 2008, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Ray Martinez
Ray Martinez remembers growing up in an orphanage until he was adopted at 5 years old. In the orphanage nothing belonged to him—not a toy nor a coat—but his new parents gave him a blue stocking cap and a little toy stuffed dog and after they passed away he discovered they always held on to those first things he ever owned.
Originally aired June 20, 2008, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Rudolph Tenes y Lilia Tenes
Rudolph y Lilia Tenes recuerdan juntos su luna de miel. También recuerdan el problema al que se enfrentaron durante el viaje, y el encuentro afortunado que les trajo la solución.
Ramón “Chunky” Sanchez
Ramón “Chunky” Sanchez was raised in a small farming community in southern California in the 1950s. As was common practice at that time, teachers at his local elementary school Anglicized the Mexican American students’ names.
Ramón came to StoryCorps to remember a classmate who proved to be the exception to the rule.
Click here to watch “Facundo the Great,” the StoryCorps animation of Ramón’s story.
Originally aired June 6, 2008, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Julio Diaz
Julio Diaz is a social worker from the Bronx.
Every night, he ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early just so he can eat at his favorite diner.
But one night, as Julio stepped off the train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn when he was robbed by a teenage boy.
At StoryCorps, Julio recalls what happened next.
Originally aired March 28, 2008, on NPR’s Latino USA.
Hector Vega y Leopoldina Vega
El Sargento Hector Vega y su esposa Leopoldina recuerdan el día en que Hector volvió de Irak.
Miriam Cruz-Colon and Oscar Colon
Miriam Cruz-Colon and her husband Oscar Colon remember meeting as acting students in 1959.
Monique Ferrer
Monique Ferrer (pictured above) and Michael Trinidad (pictured left) were divorced, but they remained powerfully bonded to each other by their two children.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Michael, at work, called Monique from inside the World Trade Center to say goodbye.
She came to StoryCorps to record her memories of him so that her children would always remember their father.
Click here to watch the Peabody-award winning StoryCorps animated short about Monique Ferrer and Michael Trinidad, “Always a Family.”
Originally aired September 8, 2006 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Photo courtesy of Monique Ferrer.
Gloria Mengual and Charles Gregory
Gloria Mengual tells her partner, Charles Gregory, about growing up with epilepsy and her family’s strong reactions to her episodes. “My mother would often be praying over me or putting holy water on my forehead. She was determined to find me the best in terms of medicine.”
Originally aired July 20, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.