The interview with Gerardo Herrera Garcia explores the topic of baseball and education when he moved from CulÃacan, Sinaloa, Mexico to Medford, Oregon. Gerardo accredits his accomplishment to learning English in eight months to the fact that he joined the baseball team at North Medford High School, and he was forced to learn at a quick rate. He now resides in Eugene, Oregon and has a baseball scholarship to Lane Community College.
Jill Torres is the subject of this Latino Roots project. She is a kindergarten teacher, MEChA leader, Spanish radio show host, and activist in Eugene's Latino community. Her life has been a question of identity, as her mother is a mix of white European ancestry while her father has a mixed Croatian and Mexican background. In high school, her teacher Armando Morales inspired her to join MEChA and be proud of her Chicana identity. Since then, a dialogue has opened between her and her father, allowing her to dig deeper into her family's history and learn more about what it means to be Latino.
Testimony of Elizabeth Dalton's interview with Emilio Hernandez on February 22nd and March 4th, 2011 for ANTH/J-410/510 Latino Roots class, Spring 2011.