For a Father’s Last Meal, the Main Ingredient Is Love
Juan Reyes grew up in a small town in Mexico and immigrated to the United States in the 1940s. He eventually settled in Texas, where he raised his two daughters, Estela and Candi Reyes.
In Juan’s later years, his struggle with diabetes intensified, and he became more sick. At StoryCorps in El Paso, Estela and Candi remembered caring for him in his final days.
Top Photo: Candi and Estela Reyes at their StoryCorps interview in El Paso, Texas in 2012. By Anaid Reyes for StoryCorps.
Bottom Photo: Juan Reyes in the early 1970s. Courtesy of the Reyes family.
Originally aired June 14th, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
In the US 50 Years, a Man Reflects on His Arrival from Honduras
A half-century ago, Roy Daley was 23 years old and living in the capital of Honduras when a friend offered him a job in the United States. So he immigrated with little more than two shirts and a change of pants.
Roy came to StoryCorps with his wife, Ana, and his daughter, Lucy, to talk about his early days in America.
Top photo: Roy Daley with his wife, Ana Smith-Daley (L) and his daughter Lucy Figueroa (R) at the StoryCorps MobileBooth in Austin, TX. By Savannah Winchester for StoryCorps.
Originally aired November 23rd, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
DACA Recipient on the Pressure of Living Life Undocumented
Irakere Picon was just two years old when his parents brought him to the United States from Mexico on a tourist visa. They never left.
He was aware something was different about his childhood, but it wasn’t until he applied to get a driver’s license that he realized his immigration status might get in the way of his dreams.
In 2012, Irakere received protections from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and was able to attend law school.
It was around that time that he met Arianna Hermosillo on a bus and later asked her on a date to Millennium Park in Chicago. When they were together, Irakere told Arianna he was undocumented.
Irakere and Arianna were married earlier this year, but it remains unclear whether Irakere will be approved for a green card for permanent residency.
Top photo: Arianna Hermosillo and Irakere Picon pose at their StoryCorps interview in Chicago on February 3, 2018. Photo by Laura Saenz for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Irakere Picon and Arianna Hermosillo on their wedding day in Oak Park Conservatory in Chicago. Courtesy Arianna Hermosillo and Irakere Picon.
Originally aired October 19, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Son Remembers his Father, a Lucha Libre Wrestler
John Torres Sr. grew up in the Bronx and fell in love with Lucha Libre, the freestyle wrestling popular in Mexico.
He found fellow enthusiasts at the Bronx Wrestling Federation, where a motley crew of men — plumbers, lawyers and police officers — moonlit as Lucha Libre showmen.
John joined their ranks and quickly became a star in the city. But his biggest fan was his son: John Torres Jr.
John Torres Jr. came to StoryCorps with his dad’s best friend and fellow wrestler, Abraham Guzman, to remember John Sr., who died in 2011.
Top photo: Abraham Guzman (L) putting John Torres Jr. in a friendly chokehold at the StoryCorps booth in New York City. Photo by Liyna Anwar.
Bottom photo: John Torres Sr., who wrestled as The Falcon, is pictured at a wrestling match in 2010. Courtesy of John Torres Jr.
Originally aired October 05, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Couple on the Loss and Pain They Suffered at the Hands of a California Wildfire
Monique and Cody Walker chose Santa Rosa, California as the place to raise their five children. Then, in October 2017, the Tubbs wildfire swept across Sonoma County. The Walkers got their kids and dogs in the car, and fled for safety.
The fire destroyed their home, along with over 5,000 other structures. At the time, it was considered the most destructive wildfire in California’s history.
Monique and Cody sat down at StoryCorps two months after losing their home.
Top photo: Monique and Cody Walker at their December 2017 StoryCorps interview in Santa Rosa, California. Photo by Yosmay Delmazo for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: The plot of land on which the Walkers’ home used to sit. Photo courtesy of Monique Walker.
Bottom Photo: Cody Walker had cradle baskets made for each of his children, in keeping with his Chukchansi culture. They were lost in the wildfire that destroyed the family’s home. Photo courtesy of Cody and Monique Walker.
Originally aired September 21, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Memories of a Sister and Daughter Murdered in a Transgender Hate Crime
On July 17, 2008, Angie Zapata — a transgender woman — was killed in northern Colorado. Angie was murdered by a man she was dating.
Angie’s killer was sentenced to life in prison plus 60 years. This was one of the first U.S. cases ever to result in a conviction of a hate crime against a transgender person.
Ten years after Angie’s death, her mother, Maria Zapata, and Angie’s brother, Gonzalo Zapata, sat down to remember her at StoryCorps.
Top photo: Maria Zapata and Gonzalo Zapata at their StoryCorps interview in Brighton, CO. Credit: Liyna Anwar for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Angie Zapata. Courtesy Maria Zapata.
An Online Search for a Father Turns Up a Sister
When Courtney McKinney was 16 years old, she learned that she’d been conceived through anonymous sperm donation. As an adult, Courtney discovered she had a half-sister: Alexandra Sanchez.
Theirs is one of the many families that have expanded as a result of online DNA testing.
At StoryCorps, Courtney told Alex how she’d set out looking for her father, and about the moment she found a sister instead.
Top photo: Alexandra Sanchez (left) and Courtney McKinney at their StoryCorps interview in Dallas on April 29, 2018. By Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Sisters Courtney and Alex on the first day they met each other in person. Courtesy of Alexandra Sanchez.
Originally aired June 15, 2018 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
An Eyewitness Details the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
On June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy won California’s Democratic primary in his bid to become President of the United States. That night, after his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Kennedy was shot in the head and neck in what turned out to be a successful assassination attempt. He died the following day.
In a famous photograph taken seconds after he was shot, Kennedy lies on the floor. A teenaged hotel busboy kneels beside him, cradling the Senator’s head. That busboy was Juan Romero, who came to the United States from Mexico as a child.
At StoryCorps, Romero remembered the night of the assassination — and how he met Senator Kennedy the day before, when Romero helped deliver his room service.
![Juan Romero;Robert F. Jr. Kennedy;Robert F. Kennedy [Death]](https://storycorpsorg-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/GettyImages-50314536_594_screen.jpg)
Top photo: Juan Romero at home in California holding a photo of himself and Senator Robert F. Kennedy that was taken the night Kennedy was assassinated. The photo he holds was taken by Boris Yaro of the Los Angeles Times.
Bottom photo: Hotel busboy Juan Romero cradling Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s head after Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California on June 5, 1968. Photo by Bill Eppridge/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.
Originally aired June 1, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Jessi Silva and Maggie Marquez
Maggie Marquez and Jessi Silva grew up in the desert town of Marfa, Texas in the 1950s. At the time, segregation of Latino and white students was not legal. However, Marfa’s school system — like many others in the Southwest — practiced de facto segregation, in which Latino and white children attended different schools.
In Marfa, Latino children attended the Blackwell School. Many of the students spoke Spanish as their first language.
Both Maggie and Jessi were students at Blackwell. They came to StoryCorps to remember the day their school banned students from speaking Spanish in a ceremony called the “burial of Mr. Spanish.”
In 2007, a group of Blackwell alumni, including Maggie and Jessi, returned to the school grounds, where they buried a Spanish dictionary and dug it up in a symbolic ceremony to “unearth Mr. Spanish.”
In recent years, a local organization, the Blackwell School Alliance — in partnership with Marfa Public Radio — is collecting oral histories featuring the voices of former students. Listen to more of their stories.
Top photo: Jessi Silva and Maggie Marquez on the grounds of the Blackwell School. By Sarah Vasquez for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: A group of students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance on the grounds of the original Blackwell School. Courtesy of the Marfa and Presidio County Museum.
Originally aired October 20, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Darrow Brown and Juan Calvo
Now, a conversation that reminds us how being a father can be about much more than biology.
In 2007, after volunteering to care for infants born to drug-addicted mothers in Baltimore, Juan Calvo knew he wanted to do more. So he and his husband, Darrow Brown, became foster dads. At StoryCorps, they remember the moment they met their first child and talk about the heartbreak and joy of being foster parents.
Two years later, they adopted their, son, Lucas, who is now 7 years old. They continue to open their home to foster children.
Originally aired June 16, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.