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.

Blanca Alvarez and Connie Alvarez

Blanca Alvarez immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 1972. She crossed the border with her husband and son while she was pregnant with her daughter, Connie. When they arrived in the U.S., she and her husband worked hard to support their family.

Connie, now 33, came to StoryCorps with her mother to ask her about those early years.

Watch “The Icing on the Cake,” our animated short of Blanca’s story.

Originally aired March 3, 2006, on NPR’s Morning Edition.