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Vasquez, Catalina (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - Joan Hotchkis, who conducted this interview, grew up in San Marino and her maternal grandparents lived nearby at Rancho Los Alamitos in Long Beach. When she was growing up, she visited there often with her parents and siblings. In 1979, she decided to interview some of the people shoe remembered living and working at the ranch when she visited. She was studying her own family history and planning to write about it. Eventually this led her to write and perform a one woman show that she presented across the United States and in Europe. TOPICS - Topics on this side of tape include, being born and growing up at Rancho Los AlamitosTopics on this side of tape include, diet on ranch, father's work at Rancho Los Alamitos, bussed to school, discrimination at school, learned English from friend, segregation at school and domestic work at Rancho Los AlamitosTopics on this side of tape include, domestic work at Rancho Los Alamitos, work in Long Beach, how bussing affected her social life, description of house where she grew up and playing on Rancho Los AlamitosTopics on this side of tape include, Vasquez's boyfriend Ira talking about the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, growing up in Long Beach and visiting Rancho Los Alamitos 5/18/1979
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- 2022-10-21
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- *** File: mjhcvasquez1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-4:02)... Vasquez works in cost accounting and has a background in bookkeeping. She likes her job and says that she likes working with men rather than women. In fact, she does not like working with women. (4:02-10:53)... Vasquez was born at Rancho Los Alalmitos and lived there as a child She has several brothers and sisters including (in birth order) Marguertia, Socorra, Ramon, Maura, Jose, and Salvador. Growing up Vasquez was not close to her father although she was taught to respect and obey him; she believes she was brought up in an old fashion way. Now things are changing and she has become closer to him. Her mother always gave in to her father and he was in charge although her mother was the one who disciplined the children and her father had no part in that. Vasquez' mother had a very strong character and what she said was the law. (10:53-16:08)... Vasquez's mother was born in Mexico and had very little formal education Her father and mother knew each other as children. Her father's family was wealtier than her mother's family and the families didn't talk to each other. Vasquez only vaguely remembers her grandparents but knew that they had to sneak into the US. They believed that the Mexican government was so corrupt they moved to America to seek a better life. Vasquez' her mother was the person that held the family together and now that she is dead, her family members do not keep in touch very often. (16:08-18:01)... Vasquez changed her first name to Catalina from Catherine. Her parents had changed it to Cathy when they moved to the US. She is trying to regain her Mexican heritage. (18:01-21:38)... Vasquez's father worked at Rancho Los Alamitos for 43 years until he retired in 1970. Vasquez moved away from the ranch in 1960 and because the life was so sheltered there. Her family lived in several houses on the ranch and ended up in the top house on the hill. (21:38-23:12)... Vasquez was brought up as a Catholic and her mother taught her not to hate anyone because of that person's color. At the time of the interview, Vasquez was dating a Jewish man now and believes they have a good relationship. (23:12-25:29)... Vasquez grew up at Rancho Los Alamitos in a four room house; she shared a bedroom with her sisters. Vasquez' family lived in several houses on the ranch. The first one was at the bottom of the hill. Each time they moved, they got closer to the top of the hill and lived in a bigger house. (25:29-27:39)... When the 1933 earthquake struck, Vasquez was five years old and she thought the end of the world was coming. After the quake, her family slept outdoors fearing that their house might collapse as they slept. (27:39-31:03)... The first house that Vasquez remembers living in at Rancho Los Alamitos had a living room and dining room with a big table, but hey didn't have an indoor bathroom. There were community bathrooms outside, one for women and the other for men. For heat and cooking, they had a wood stove and the children shared in wood chopping. End of tape *** File: mjhcvasquez2.mp3 (0:00-10:36)... In the first house Vasquez remembers living in at Rancho Los Alamitos, her family heated water for washing, and for bathing, filled a galvanized tub. The family ate eggs, tortillas, which her mother made by hand, and beans; they at so much protein that she has had great teeth ever since. They had their own chickens and got milk from the ranch. Vasquez never liked that milk as a child because it was warm. They also ate chili but her mother really never cooked spicy foods. Everything on the ranch was simple and practical. Her father came home for lunch and her family always ate at the same time. The whole family sat down for dinner at 5 o'clock for dinner. Meat was a luxury for the family but every Sunday they had chicken. Vasquez's father did favors for the Japanese and Filipino farmers on the ranch in exchange for vegetables. (10:36-15:38)... Vasquez's mother and father made their own beer but they had no refrigeration. Vasquez's father was a jack of all trades and if he did not know how to do something, he would learn how. At Rancho Los Alamitos, he fed the horses and cattle, and planted corn and alfalfa. He also did electricial and plumbing work. Her father worked every day and they did not go on any vacations. (15:38-25:27)... Vasquez started riding a bus to school, along with children from other farms, when she was five years old. Even in Kindergarten, she was discriminated again even though she had learned to speak English from a girl who lived near her; Vasquez also taught her neighbor Spanish. The Mexican children were segregated from English speaking children. The Mexican children were kept in the segregated class no matter how well they spoke English until the third grade. In addition, Vasquez attended summer school on the ranch. (25:27-27:40)... There were times that Vasquez felt ashamed that she was poor. At school, she ate her lunch out of a brown bag because she was embarrased about what she was eating. Sometimes her family could not afford to go to the market because money was scarce, but no one in her family ever went hungry because they had beans and milk. (27:40-30:18)... As a child, Vasquez always wished for more pairs of shoes because she only had one pair. At the time of the interview, she said she had a closet full of them. When she was growing up, she only got a new pair of shoes when the old ones wore out . Her father only bought her practical shoes although she always wanted patent leather and red ones. (30:18-30:58)... When Vasquez was about nine years old, she started helping in the kitchen at Rancho Los Alamitos and worked there for about nine years. End of tape *** File: mjhcvasquez3.mp3 (0:00-1:21)... As a child, Vasquez didn't receive an allowance. She helped in the kitchen at Rancho Los Alamitos but she didn't earn very much and gave what she did earn to her father. (1:21-5:05)... Vasquez' sister Marguerita found a job off the ranch in Long Beach and she helped find Vasquez a job as well when she was 19. Her father disapproved of them working in town. Vasquez worked as a salesclerk. She saved her money and bought her first skirt for $17, which seemed like a fortune at the time. Even when she worked in town, she gave part of her earnings to her father. (5:05-10:26)... Vasquez adored the Bixbys who owned Rancho Los Alamitos. She was close to Fred Bixby but did not feel as close to Florence Bixby. Vasquez did not really have any close contact with her. (10:26-13:13)... Vasquez' mother taught her that the grass was not always greener on the other side of the fence and that she should be grateful for what she had. (13:13-17:36)... Riding the bus to school meant that Vasquez couldn't participate in social events after school. She is not bitter but knows that she could have participated in different activities. She could not go to dances or play with other kids after school. Vasquez did not go out on dates and did not get married. Sometime she went dancing at the Majestic ballroom, but she went with her brother and was always chaperoned. (17:36-20:32)... Vasquez did not learn the facts of life from her mother and her older sisters explained to her about menstruation. This only happened after she "got sick" in school one day and thought she was dying. Her relationship with her mother was very cool and she did not go to her mother to talk about anything. (20:32-24:40)... When Vasquez was 17 years old her family moved to the top of the hill and she lived there until 1960. Her father and mother continued to live there until 1968. They moved out when all of the homes were demolished. The top house was large and had a living room with a large fireplace, a kitchen, a dining room and several bedrooms. (24:40-30:59)... The Mexican children of the ranch workers played anywhere they wanted on Rancho Los Alamitos including the gardens; they had the run of the place. End of tape *** File: mjhcvasquez4.mp3 (2:20-14:21)... Ira, the man who Vasquez was dating at the time of the interview, joined the conversation. He remembers that the 1933 earthquake was scary and a lot of confusion followed it. His family owned a children's clothing store on Pine Avenue in Long Beach. During the earthquake, the whole front of store fell in. In Long Beach, people sat in front of their houses fearing that their houses might collapse. Many Long Beach school buildings collapsed and, if the quake had happened during school hours, it would have been a disaster. The buildings were very poorly built. The earthquake happened at 6 pm and about 8 or 9 pm, rumors began to circulate that a tidal wave was coming. Ira's family was the only one left on their street so they drove to the municipal golf course. There were about 2,000 people there and they made a big community campfire. Downtown, people were worried about contaminated water. Ira's family found a room on the tenth floor of a Los Angeles hotel until aftershocks began and they decided to move back to Long Beach. End of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Catalina Vasquez lived with her family at Rancho Los Alamitos while she was growing up. She moved away in 1960 and her parents continued to live there until her father retired in 1970. She remembers riding a bus to school and being discriminated again there. Although she spoke English, she was put in a class with other Mexican children who spoke only Spanish. At the ranch, however, she and the other children of the ranch workers could play anywhere on the ranch. When she was older, she helped out in the ranch house doing domestic work. Catalina remembers always having fresh milk and vegetables to eat when she was growing up on the ranch, but sometimes her mother couldn't get to a store. So she and her siblings took lunches wrapped in tortillas, which embarrassed them because other kids had sandwiches made with bread. Joan Hotchkis conduced this interview in Vasquez apartment. After about an hour and a half, Vasquez boyfriend, Ira, who also grew up in Long Beach, in came in and talks about his family and some of his experiences at the end of the interview. Hotchkis conducted this interview as part of a project to collect stories about Rancho Los Alamitos. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - Joan Hotchkis, who conducted this interview, grew up in San Marino and her maternal grandparents lived nearby at Rancho Los Alamitos in Long Beach. When she was growing up, she visited there often with her parents and siblings. In 1979, she decided to interview some of the people shoe remembered living and working at the ranch when she visited. She was studying her own family history and planning to write about it. Eventually this led her to write and perform a one woman show that she presented across the United States and in Europe. TOPICS - Topics on this side of tape include, being born and growing up at Rancho Los AlamitosTopics on this side of tape include, diet on ranch, father's work at Rancho Los Alamitos, bussed to school, discrimination at school, learned English from friend, segregation at school and domestic work at Rancho Los AlamitosTopics on this side of tape include, domestic work at Rancho Los Alamitos, work in Long Beach, how bussing affected her social life, description of house where she grew up and playing on Rancho Los AlamitosTopics on this side of tape include, Vasquez's boyfriend Ira talking about the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, growing up in Long Beach and visiting Rancho Los Alamitos
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| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
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4447435449319752-mjhcvasquez1.mp3 | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download |
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0280065938865692-mjhcvasquez2.mp3 | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download |
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2844243919433960-mjhcvasquez3.mp3 | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download |
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2349239300122241-mjhcvasquez4.mp3 | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download |