Historias Archives - Page 8 of 13 - StoryCorps

Gilbert Zermeño and Pat Powers-Zermeño

Gilbert Zermeño came from a family without much money. They lived on the plains of West Texas and got by on the $100 a week that Gilbert’s father made working the cotton fields, so when Gilbert wanted to join the school band and play the saxophone, it wasn’t as easy for his mother as just going out and buying a sax.

At StoryCorps, Gilbert explains to his wife, Pat Powers- Zermeño, how, with the help of the Virgin of Guadalupe, he ended up playing not the saxophone, but the trombone.

Originally aired June 21, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Alexis Martinez and Lesley Martinez Etherly

Growing up in the 1960s in a housing project on the South Side of Chicago, Alexis Martinez (left) knew that she had to hide from others that she is transgender.

At StoryCorps, she told her daughter, Lesley Martinez Etherly (right), about growing up, parenthood, and now living as a woman.

Originally aired May 5, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Bill Luna and Ruben Aguilar

Ruben Aguilar, 85, was born in the United States but forcibly deported to Mexico when he was 6 years old in 1933 as part of a largely forgotten Mexican repatriation program run by the American government. An American citizen born in Chicago, he was deported along with his parents who were undocumented.

Ruben could speak fluent English but not Spanish at the time, and he did not return to the U.S. until he was 18 years old after receiving a card in the mail telling him that he had been drafted into the U.S. Army.

At StoryCorps, Ruben tells his friend Bill Luna about being forcibly removed from his country of birth and about the country he returned to.

Originally aired April 5, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Linda Hernandez

Growing up in the 1960s in one of the few Latino families in Lincoln, Nebraska, Linda Hernandez and her sister were not treated well by the other students or staff at their school.

At StoryCorps, she recalls the family support that helped her and her sister overcome their difficult childhood experiences.

Originally aired March 1, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Juana Rincón Espitia y Jessica Rubio

Juana Rincó Espitia habla con su hija, Jessica Rubio, sobre la deportació de su hermano Josué.

Marilyn Gonzalez and Jessica Pedraza

Both Sergeant Marilyn Gonzalez and her daughter, Specialist Jessica Pedraza, serve in the Massachusetts Army National Guard.

In 2010, Marilyn received orders to deploy to Iraq, but her daughter Jessica did not. When Jessica found out that her mother was about to be deployed, she changed her job so she would go to war with her mom.

MarilynJessica_Kuweit_EDIT MarilynJessica_CampSpeicherIraq_EDIT

Originally aired December 8, 2012 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.

Photos on left: Marilyn and Jessica at their base in Kuwait in 2010.
Photo on right: The mother-daughter duo on one of the trucks they drove in Iraq in Camp Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq.
Courtesy of Jessica Pedraza

Lorena Larios-Magaña y Felicitas Larios

Felicitas Larios (D) habla con su hija Lorena Larios-Magaña (I) sobre cómo era crecer en el campo en Sonora, México y sobre su vida trabajando en los campos en los Estados Unidos.

Frank Barela, C.J. Maestas, and Frank Maestas

C.J. Maestas (center) has been training as a gymnast since he was a toddler, and his grandfathers, Frank Barela (left) and Frank Maestas (right), have been at his side since the beginning.

They watched him make the U.S. Men’s National Gymnastics Team in 2007 and supported him when he almost made the 2012 U.S. Men’s Olympic Team in July 2012.

The three sat down together at StoryCorps to talk about C.J.’s gymnastics career and the impact it has had on the whole family.

C.J. plans to keep competing and hopes to make the Olympic team in 2016.

Originally aired August 3, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Bishop Ricardo Ramirez

On a fall day in 1981, Ricardo Ramirez accepted an offer to become a bishop in San Antonio, Texas.

At StoryCorps, he remembered the dozens of phone calls he made that day. One of the first was to his grandmother Panchita Espitia, a woman who didn’t let being 90 slow her down.

Originally aired June 29, 2012 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

José Rodriguez and Charles Zelinsky

mbx007242_g2When he was a teenager, José Rodriguez was kicked out of public school.

He was diagnosed with a learning disability and sent to a school for students with special needs.

This qualified him to participate in the New Jersey Special Olympics – any child or adult with an intellectual disability can take part.

At StoryCorps, José told his former coach, Charles Zelinsky, what his life was like before he found the games.

José is now a Special Olympics basketball coach–and will be coaching during the 2012 New Jersey Summer Games.

Originally aired June 8, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.