Episode 2: Empire of Dreams

Man: WHAT IS OUR HISTORY?

WHAT IS OUR PAST?

WHAT IS THE CLAIM THAT WE HAVE

TO BEING MEMBERS OF THIS SOCIETY?

Man: WE ARE NOT HERE TO THREATEN OR TO BEG.

WE ARE HERE TO PARTICIPATE.

Woman: YOU CANNOT CLOSE YOUR EYES

AND YOUR EARS TO US ANY LONGER, BECAUSE WE ARE HERE.

Man: MOST PEOPLE ARE SAYING, SPANISH, THE MEXICANS,

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DO NOT HAVE

THE SPECIAL INHERITANCE OF LIBERTY THAT WE HAVE.

Man: MY FATHER THOUGHT THAT THE UNITED STATES

WOULD BE LIKE PARADISE.

THERE WAS JOBS FOR EVERYONE.

THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET ACROSS.

THE TOUGHEST PART WAS WHEN I LEFT MY MOM,

NOT KNOWING IF I GONNA SEE HER AGAIN.

Woman: HERE'S A MAN WHO'S SHED HIS BLOOD,

AND YET HE CAN'T GET SOMETHING TO EAT.

RECKLESS?

YES.

DANGEROUS?

EXTREMELY.

DID IT PAY OFF?

DAMN RIGHT.

Woman: THE FIRST EUROPEAN LANGUAGE SPOKEN

IN WHAT WOULD BECOME THE UNITED STATES--SPANISH.

Woman: IMMIGRATION MEANS IT ALL GETS TO BE PART OF YOUR IDENTITY.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

IT'S CRUCIAL THAT WE KNOW WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE COME FROM,

AND WHAT IT'S BEEN LIKE.

I AM SO PROUD TO BE YOUR MAYOR.

I, SONIA SOTOMAYOR.

Man: THERE'S SO MUCH AT STAKE FOR ALL AMERICANS

IN HOW LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES DO.

An

Narrator: FROM 1836 TO 1914,

OVER 30 MILLION PEOPLE IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES,

THE TIRED, HUDDLED MASSES

THAT MADE ELLIS ISLAND A BEACON OF HOPE.

AMONG THE CROWDED FACES IN NEW YORK HARBOR

IN JANUARY 1880 AS A 27-YEAR-OLD POLITICAL EXILE

FROM CUBA--JOSE MARTI.

Man as Marti: ELSEWHERE, THEY MAKE MEN FLEE,

BUT HERE, THEY WELCOME THE FLEEING MAN WITH A SMILE.

Narrator: MARTI WOULD JOIN THE EARLIEST COMMUNITY

OF LATINOS IN NEW YORK-- PUERTO RICANS AND CUBANS

WHO HAD ARRIVED ALONG THE TRADE ROUTES

THAT BROUGHT TOBACCO, COFFEE, AND SUGAR INTO THE U.S.

[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS]

AS THE NEW CENTURY DAWNED, MANY MORE LATINOS

WOULD VENTURE NORTH FROM PLACES LINKED TO AMERICA BY TRADE

OR TAKEN BY CONQUEST.

Man: THIS HUGE LATINO PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES

IS A DIRECT RESULT OF OUR OWN NATION'S TERRITORIAL EXPANSION.

Narrator: TENS OF THOUSANDS WOULD COME FROM PUERTO RICO...

[EXPLOSION]

AN ISLAND ACQUIRED BY WAR IN 1898.

THEY WOULD BUILD A COMMUNITY THAT, IN TIME, WOULD SEE

MORE PUERTO RICANS IN THE UNITED STATES THAN ON THE ISLAND ITSELF.

NEARLY ONE MILLION WOULD COME FROM MEXICO

FOLLOWING THE TRACKS THAT BROUGHT SILVER

AND COPPER TO AMERICA AND NOW PROVIDED

THE ONLY ESCAPE FROM A VIOLENT REVOLUTION.

JUAN SALVADOR VILLASENOR SURVIVES THE WAR

AND ACHIEVES HIS OWN VERSION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM...

Man: MY FATHER THOUGHT THAT THE UNITED STATES

WAS LIKE PARADISE.

THERE WAS FOOD FOR EVERYONE, AND THERE WAS JOBS FOR EVERYONE.

Narrator: BUT FOR A MEXICAN-AMERICAN GIRL

BORN IN LOS ANGELES, THAT DREAM WOULD BE DENIED.

EMELIA CASTANEDA AND HER FAMILY ARE DEPORTED

ALONG WITH HALF A MILLION MEXICANS AND MEXICAN-AMERICANS

DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

Castaneda: WE HAD A TRUNK, A BIG TRUNK,

AND THE FIRST THING MY FATHER PUT IN THERE

WAS HIS WORKING TOOLS AND A COUPLE OF BLANKETS THAT WE HAD

BECAUSE WE LOST EVERYTHING.

Man: IT SETS UP A PATTERN OF WANTING MEXICAN LABOR

AT TIMES IN WHICH EMPLOYMENT IS NEEDED,

AND WANTING PEOPLE TO JUST LEAVE

WHEN THAT LABOR IS NO LONGER NEEDED.

Narrator: HALF A CENTURY AFTER OTHER LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES

ACHIEVED THEIR INDEPENDENCE,

ALL THAT WAS LEFT OF SPAIN'S VAST AMERICAN EMPIRE

WERE THE ISLANDS OF CUBA AND PUERTO RICO.

IN 1868, ANGERED BY 300 YEARS OF SPANISH RULE,

CUBANS ROSE IN REVOLT.

[MAN SPEAKING SPANISH]

Narrator: INSPIRED BY THE UPRISING,

JOSE MARTI WROTE HIS FIRST POEM AT AGE 15.

Woman: MARTI IS A ROMANTIC, AN IDEALIST

FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE.

15, 16 YEARS OLD, HE'S ALREADY PUBLISHING A NEWSPAPER IN CUBA

ADVOCATING FOR INDEPENDENCE.

Narrator: JOSE MARTI WAS TRIED FOR TREASON

AND SENTENCED TO FORCED LABOR

WHEN LETTERS LINKING HIM TO THE REVOLT WERE FOUND.

THE CHAINS ATTACHED TO HIS LEGS LACERATED HIM SO SEVERELY

THAT HIS MOTHER PLEADED TO HAVE HER SON RELEASED.

HE WAS EXILED FROM CUBA.

FOR 10 YEARS, HE WANDERED THE WORLD, AND IN 1880,

THE ASPIRING REVOLUTIONARY ARRIVED IN NEW YORK.

Man: MARTI IS VENERATED AS THE FATHER OF CUBAN INDEPENDENCE,

A TOWERING FIGURE OF CUBAN HISTORY.

HIS STATUS IN LATIN AMERICAN HAS THIS TREMENDOUS,

ALMOST DIVINE NATURE, IN MANY WAYS,

BUT MARTI, WHEN HE ARRIVES IN NEW YORK IN 1880,

IS A 27-YEAR-OLD POET.

Woman: HE COMES TO THE UNITED STATES,

AS MANY REVOLUTIONARIES FROM THE AMERICAS DID,

BECAUSE IT WAS A SAFE PLACE TO PLOT

FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF HIS COUNTRY.

Man: THE DREAM OF EQUALITY, THE DREAM OF FREEDOM--

THAT WAS THE DREAM OF THE UNITED STATES.

THAT'S WHAT DREW HIM TO THE UNITED STATES.

Man as Marti: I AM AT LAST IN A COUNTRY

WHERE EVERYONE LOOKS LIKE HIS OWN MASTER,

FREEDOM BEING HERE THE FOUNDATION, THE SHIELD,

THE ESSENCE OF LIFE.

Man: AMERICAN WAS INTELLECTUALLY FREE, DYNAMIC.

YOU DIDN'T HAVE SPANISH AGENTS LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER

IF YOU WANTED TO PUBLISH A NEWSPAPER.

IT WAS A PLACE WHERE MARTI COULD LOOK OVER THE FENCE

AND INTO AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF WHAT A SOCIETY COULD BE LIKE.

Narrator: MARTI WORKED AS A CORRESPONDENT

FOR LEADING SOUTH AMERICAN JOURNALS,

WRITING ON EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE IN AMERICA.

Man: HE REPORTED ON AN AMAZING NUMBER OF EVENTS.

HE COVERED THE OPENING OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

HE COVERED THE HAYMARKET SQUARE AFFAIR,

THE EXECUTIONS, LYNCHINGS.

IT GAVE HIM ENORMOUS INSIGHTS INTO AMERICAN SOCIETY.

Narrator: THE RACISM OF THE ERA OF JIM CROW

AND THE INEQUITIES OF NEW YORK CITY

IN THE AGE OF THE ROBBER BARONS TRANSFORMED JOSE MARTI.

ONCE AN ADMIRER OF THE UNITED STATES,

HE BEGAN TO LOSE FAITH IN AMERICA.

Garcia: HE BECOMES INCREDIBLY DISILLUSIONED,

AND HE BEGINS TO REALIZE THAT THE UNITED STATES

IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE MODEL FOR THE CUBA THAT HE ENVISIONS.

HE ENVISIONS A CUBA FOR PEOPLE OF ALL RACES,

OF ALL ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS.

Man: IT IS AROUND 1891 THAT HE CHANGES.

HE IS NO LONGER AN OBSERVER.

HE NOW BECOMES A FULL-TIME POLITICAL ACTOR,

AND THERE IS A SPEECH IN WHICH HE ESSENTIALLY LAUNCHES THIS,

AND HE SAYS, "WE ARE NOW GOING TO GET ON OUR HORSES," RIGHT,

FIGURATIVELY, OF COURSE, BECAUSE HE REALLY DIDN'T RIDE A HORSE.

FIGURATIVELY, HE SAYS, "WE'RE GONNA GET ON OUR HORSES,

"AND WE SHALL NOW RIDE, AND WE SHALL SUMMON

"ALL OUR STRENGTH TO BE ABLE TO FINALLY DO

WHAT WE HAVE TO DO AS CUBANS."

Narrator: FROM THE SAFETY OF EXILE,

MARTI ORGANIZED AN INSURRECTION AND WENT TO KEY WEST

AND YBOR CITY NEAR TAMPA, WHERE 15,000 CUBANS

HAD SETTLED AROUND CIGAR FACTORIES.

Garcia: THE CIGAR WORKERS WOULD POOL THEIR RESOURCES

AND HIRE A MAN TO READ TO THEM DURING THE WORK DAY,

AND THAT LECTOR, THAT READER, WOULD READ NEWSPAPERS,

WOULD READ FROM NOVELS AND FROM PLAYS.

SO, CONSEQUENTLY, THE WORKERS WERE VERY INFORMED PEOPLE

AND POLITICALLY SAVVY.

Narrator: CONTRIBUTING ONE DAY'S PAY EACH WEEK

TO THE CAUSE OF INDEPENDENCE, CIGAR WORKERS

BECAME THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE REVOLUTION

AND DEVOTED FOLLOWERS OF JOSE MARTI.

"WHAT A MAN," OBSERVED ONE WORKER.

"WITH EACH VISIT, HE LAYS ONE NEW BRICK TO THE BUILDING."

MARTI FOUNDED THE CUBAN REVOLUTIONARY PARTY

AND PUBLISHED A NEWSPAPER-- "PATRIA."

ON ITS PAGES, HE WARNED OF THE THREAT

HE FELT AMERICA'S GROWING POWER REPRESENTED FOR LATIN AMERICA.

Perez: UNLIKE PREVIOUS EMIGRES WHO HAD TRIED TO LOBBY THE U.S.

TO ENTER INTO THE CONFLICT, MARTI DOES NOT WANT

TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE CAUSE OF CUBA IN THE U.S.

Suarez: MARTI BELIEVES THAT IF LEFT TO ITS OWN DEVICES,

THE UNITED STATES WOULD BE AN EXPANSIONIST POWER, AND LOOK.

HE ISN'T TOO FAR OFF THE MARK.

TWICE IN THE 19th CENTURY,

THE UNTIED STATES TRIES TO BUY CUBA FROM SPAIN.

Garcia: MARTI KNOWS HIS HISTORY.

HE SEES WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICAN ORIGIN

IN THE CONQUERED TERRITORIES IN THE SOUTHWEST.

HE SEES HOW, DESPITE THE PROTECTIONS

OFFERED BY THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO,

THAT THE PEOPLE IN THIS CONQUERED TERRITORY

HAVE BECOME SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS.

Narrator: BY 1895,

CUBAN REBELS WERE READY TO RISE UP.

MARTI WROTE THE ORDER FOR THE INSURRECTION TO BEGIN.

IT WAS SMUGGLED INTO HAVANA HIDDEN INSIDE A CIGAR.

IN APRIL, HE SAILED TO CUBA

WITH A SMALL FORCE OF EXILES TO COMMAND THE UPRISING.

ONLY 5 WEEKS AFTER HE ARRIVED, THE POET WAS KILLED IN BATTLE.

AN UNFINISHED LETTER PUBLISHED AFTER HIS DEATH

WOULD BECOME HIS MOST IMPORTANT LEGACY.

Man as Marti: MY DEAREST BROTHER,

I AM DAILY IN DANGER OF GIVING MY LIFE FOR MY COUNTRY AND DUTY,

THE DUTY OF PREVENTING THE UNITED STATES

FROM OVERPOWERING OUR LANDS WITH ITS MIGHT.

Narrator: FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS, CUBAN INSURGENTS

AND SPANISH SOLDIERS FOUGHT A FIERCE WAR OF ATTRITION

90 MILES SOUTH OF A MIGHTY AMERICAN NATION

POISED TO BECOME A WORLD POWER.

Gerstle: AS IT LOOKS ON A WORLD OF NATIONS THAT IS RUSHING

TO ACQUIRE COLONIES, THE UNITED STATES ASKS,

"SHOULD WE JOIN THIS RACE FOR EXPANSION?"

AND ONE SECTOR OF AMERICA SAYS,

"YES.

GREAT NATIONS HAVE IMPERIAL TERRITORIES,"

AND THERE IS ANOTHER GROUP OF AMERICANS

THAT SAYS, "WELL, NOT SO FAST.

"THIS NATION WAS BORN TO BE A NATION OF EQUALITY AND LIBERTY.

"IT WAS NOT BORN TO IMPOSE ITS WILL

AND ITS SOVEREIGNTY ON UNWILLING PEOPLE."

Narrator: WITH THE UNITED STATES NOW EXTENDING

"FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA,"

THE EXPANSIONISTS COVETED THE SCRAPS

OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE-- THE PHILIPPINES IN THE PACIFIC

AND IN THE CARIBBEAN, PUERTO RICO AND CUBA,

A STRATEGIC ISLAND AT THE GATEWAY OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

AND WHERE AMERICANS HAD $50 MILLION INVESTED IN SUGAR--

BUT WITH 300,000 SOLDIERS IN CUBA,

SPAIN WAS DETERMINED TO HOLD ON TO THE ISLAND.

TO CRUSH THE INSURGENCY AND WEAKEN SUPPORT FOR THE REBELS,

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CUBANS

WERE HERDED INTO CONCENTRATION CAMPS.

THEIR PLIGHT BECAME DAILY FODDER FOR WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST

AND JOSEPH PULITZER, WHO BEAT THE DRUMS OF WAR

TO BUILD THEIR NEWSPAPER EMPIRES.

Gerstle: WHAT MAKES THE ENTHUSIASM FOR A WAR IN CUBA

ALMOST UNANIMOUS IN 1898 IS THAT IT OFFERS A WAY

FOR THE UNITED STATES TO EXPRESS BOTH OF ITS IMPULSES--

THE IMPULSE TO MAKE A STATEMENT TO THE WORLD,

"WE ARE AN IMPERIAL POWER,"

AND ON THE OTHER HAND, THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY,

"WE ARE BRINGING OUR HERITAGE OF LIBERTY AND FREEDOM

AND DEMOCRACY FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT IT."

Narrator: WITH WAR FEVER RUNNING HIGH,

ALL THAT WAS NEEDED WAS A PRETEXT.

ON FEBRUARY 15, 1898...

[EXPLOSION]

IN HAVANA HARBOR,

AN EXPLOSION DESTROYED AN AMERICAN BATTLESHIP,

THE USS MAINE, KILLING 266 MEN ON BOARD.

EVEN THOUGH REPORTS ON THE CAUSE WERE CONFLICTING,

PRESIDENT WILLIAM McKINLEY ASKED CONGRESS

TO DECLARE WAR ON SPAIN.

U.S.

FORCES LANDED IN THE PHILIPPINES AND CUBA.

FROM CUBA CAME IMAGES OF AMERICAN HEROICS.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT AT THE HEAD OF HIS ROUGH RIDERS

CAPTURED SAN JUAN HILL AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC'S IMAGINATION.

"A SPLENDID, LITTLE WAR,"

SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN HAY CALLED IT.

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR LASTED A MERE 13 WEEKS.

WHEN THE U.S. NAVY DESTROYED THE SPANISH FLEET,

SPAIN SURRENDERED.

THE AMERICAN ARMY ENTERED SANTIAGO DE CUBA AS LIBERATORS

WHILE THE CUBAN REBEL ARMY WAS FORCED TO WAIT OUTSIDE THE CITY.

Gerstle: THE STORY IS TOLD IN AMERICA

THAT THE CUBANS ARE A LOT LIKE US.

THEY ARE TRYING TO FREE THEMSELVES

FROM AN OPPRESSIVE COLONIAL POWER.

AS THEY'RE IMAGINING THEY'RE LIKE US,

THEY'RE IMAGINING THEM AS WHITE,

BUT THE CUBAN ALLIES TURN OUT BE MOSTLY BLACK,

AND THIS WAS CONFOUNDING AND UPSETTING

BECAUSE IN THEIR OWN SOCIETY, AMERICANS ARE SAYING

THINGS LIKE, "WHITES ARE FIT FOR LIBERTY AND SELF-RULE.

BLACKS ARE NOT."

Narrator: THE HEAD OF U.S.

FORCES

GENERAL WILLIAM SCHAFTER, REMARKED,

"THESE PEOPLE ARE NO MORE FIT FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT

THAN GUNPOWDER IS FOR HELL,"

Garcia: THE FINAL INSULT COMES IN DECEMBER 1898,

WHEN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES AND OF SPAIN

SIT DOWN TO NEGOTIATE THE END OF THE WAR AND THE SPOILS OF WAR.

THE PEOPLE WHOSE DESTINIES WILL BE DETERMINED,

THE CUBANOS, THE PUERTORIQUENOS, THE FILIPINOS--

NONE OF THEM ARE INVITED TO TAKE PART IN THESE DISCUSSIONS.

Narrator: THE PHILIPPINES, CUBA, AND PUERTO RICO

WERE NOW UNDER U.S. CONTROL.

AFTER 4 YEARS OF AMERICAN MILITARY OCCUPATION,

CUBA BECAME INDEPENDENT.

IN 1898, BEFORE WAR HAD BEEN DECLARED,

JOSE MARTI'S, REVOLUTIONARY PARTY

HAD STRUCK A DEAL WITH THE U.S. CONGRESS.

IN EXCHANGE FOR THE REBEL'S COOPERATION

WITH THE U.S. MILITARY INTERVENTION,

THE UNITED STATES PROMISED TO LEAVE CUBA

AT THE END OF THE WAR.

Garcia: THE AMERICANS HAD COMMITTED THEMSELVES

TO LEAVING CUBANS TO THEIR OWN POLITICAL AUTHORITY,

AND SO THEY DO THAT.

THEY HONOR THOSE TERMS,

BUT THEY LEAVE IN PLACE THE PLATT AMENDMENT,

WHICH THE CUBANS RELUCTANTLY AGREE TO.

AMERICANS SAY THAT THEY WILL INTERVENE IN CUBAN AFFAIRS

IF THEY FEEL THAT CUBAN INDEPENDENCE

OR CUBAN SOVEREIGNTY IS THREATENED,

AND THEY EXERCISE THAT RIGHT TO INTERVENE IN CUBAN AFFAIRS

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.

Narrator: IN PUERTO RICO, THE UNITED STATES

TOOK OVER THE ISLAND AND NEVER LEFT.

Suarez: PUERTO RICO IS AN ACCIDENTAL IMPERIAL INHERITANCE

OF THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR.

NOBODY WENT TO WAR TO OWN PUERTO RICO.

BASICALLY, WE JUST SEND A BUNCH OF AMERICAN OFFICE HOLDERS

AND GENERALS DOWN TO RUN THE PLACE.

Man: ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THE GOVERNMENT DID

WAS CHANGE THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION

IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF PUERTO RICO TO ENGLISH.

KIDS IN PUERTO RICO WERE LEARNING

ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON AND ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

BUT WHAT THEY WERE NOT LEARNING,

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THEIR OWN ISLAND.

Narrator: BENIGN ASSIMILATION, AS THE POLICY WAS CALLED,

WAS ACCOMPANIED BY REAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ISLAND,

AS THE AMERICANS BUILT ROADS, HOSPITALS, SEWERS.

U.S. COMPANIES INVESTED MILLIONS IN SUGAR,

CREATING THOUSANDS OF JOBS.

Garcia: THAT HELPS TO FOSTER A SENSE OF OPTIMISM

ABOUT WHAT LIFE MIGHT LOOK LIKE UNDER AMERICAN RULE,

BUT PUERTO RICANS ALSO COME TO REALIZE

THAT THEY OCCUPY A VERY AMBIGUOUS STATUS.

Man: PUERTO RICANS HAD NO VOTE IN THE CONGRESS,

OBVIOUSLY NO SENATORS.

THE GOVERNORS WERE SENT BY THE PRESIDENT, AND CONGRESS

ESSENTIALLY DICTATED THE AFFAIRS OF THE ISLAND,

AND CONGRESS WAS NOT OF A MIND TO EITHER

GRANT PUERTO RICO INDEPENDENCE OR GRANT IT STATEHOOD.

Narrator: ONE PROMINENT PUERTO RICAN,

LUIS MUNOZ RIVERA, APPEALED TO THE U.S.

TO DEFINE THE STATUS OF PUERTO RICO.

"[WE ARE] A PEOPLE WITHOUT A COUNTRY,

"A FLAG, ALMOST WITHOUT A NAME.

"WHO ARE WE?

WHAT ARE WE?

ARE WE CITIZENS, OR ARE WE SUBJECTS?"

CONGRESS TOOK ONE STEP TOWARD CLARIFYING THE QUESTION,

GRANTING PUERTO RICANS U.S.

CITIZENSHIP IN 1917,

BUT THEY WOULD ENJOY ONLY LIMITED RIGHTS.

THEY WOULD HAVE NO REPRESENTATION

IN THE U.S. CONGRESS

AND COULD NOT ELECT THEIR OWN GOVERNOR.

WHAT THEY COULD DO WAS TRAVEL FREELY TO THE UNITED STATES.

THEY CAME ABOARD THE COAMO,

THE BORINQUEN.

THEY CAME TO WORK IN THE TOBACCO AND ROPE FACTORIES

AND DOCK YARDS OF NEW YORK CITY.

Woman: IN SOME FAMILIES,

THERE WERE COLLECTIONS THAT WERE TAKEN

SO THAT ONE MEMBER OF THE FAMILY COULD MIGRATE.

THOSE DECISIONS WERE NOT MADE LIGHTLY

BECAUSE IT COST ABOUT $25, WHICH WAS AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY.

Narrator: BERNARDO VEGA, A CIGAR ROLLER

FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF PUERTO RICO,

WAS A PASSENGER ON THE COAMO.

Man as Vega: THE OVERRIDING THEME OF OUR CONVERSATIONS

ON THE SHIP WAS WHAT WE EXPECTED TO FIND IN NEW YORK CITY.

FIRST SAVINGS WOULD BE FOR SENDING FOR CLOSE RELATIVES.

YEARS LATER, THE TIME WOULD COME

TO RETURN HOME WITH POTS OF MONEY.

EVERYONE'S MIND WAS ON THAT FARM WE WOULD BE BUYING.

Karoll: IT TRUE OF EVERY GROUP

WHO HAS EVER MADE THE VOYAGE FROM PUERTO RICO.

THE INTENTION IS ALWAYS, IT'S GOING TO BE THE MOVE

THAT'S GOING TO BETTER THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES,

BUT IN THE LONG RUN, THEY'RE ALWAYS GOING TO COME BACK HOME,

AND THE SAD PART ABOUT IT IS THAT THEY ALMOST NEVER DO.

THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE CHILDREN,

AND THEIR CHILDREN ARE GOING TO HAVE FAMILIES,

AND THEY ARE GOING TO BE ROOTED HERE.

Narrator: BY 1920, MORE THAN 10,000 PUERTO RICANS

HAD SETTLED IN NEW YORK-- IN BROOKLYN,

THE LOWER EAST SIDE, AND EAST HARLEM--EL BARRIO.

BERNARDO VEGA GOT A JOB AS A CIGAR WORKER,

MARRIED, AND HAD TWO CHILDREN.

HE WOULD NEVER GET THE FARM OF HIS DREAMS BACK HOME,

BUT HE HELPED PIONEER WHAT WOULD, IN TIME, BECOME

A NATION ON TWO SHORES, WITH MORE PUERTO RICANS

IN THE UNITED STATES THAN ON THE ISLAND OF PUERTO RICO.

PUERTO RICANS WERE BUT A FRACTION OF LATINOS

COMING TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE EARLY 1900s.

NEARLY ONE MILLION CAME FROM MEXICO,

ESCAPING THE VIOLENCE OF REVOLUTION.

[GUNFIRE]

Man: MY FATHER GREW UP IN THIS LITTLE VILLAGE

IN THE MOUNTAINS OF JALISCO IN THE MIDDLE OF MEXICO,

AND HE SAID THEY HAD CHICKENS AND GOATS

AND DIRT FLOORS, AND THEY HAD HORSES AND CATTLE.

[GUNFIRE]

Narrator: THEN IN 1914, WAR CAME TO ALTOS DE JALISCO, MEXICO.

AND JUST LIKE THAT, EVERYTHING WAS GONE.

Villasenor: ALL HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS WERE SLAUGHTERED.

ALL THAT WAS LEFT WAS THIS 11-YEAR-OLD KID

AND ONE SISTER THAT WAS 13 AND ANOTHER SISTER

THAT HER HUSBAND HAD BEEN KILLED AT THE DINNER TABLE...

AND MY FATHER SAID THAT WHEN HIS FATHER

CAME BACK FROM SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA,

WHERE HE'D GONE FOR A YEAR TO WORK ON A HORSE RANCH,

HE SAW ALL THE CATTLE HAD BEEN STOLEN.

ALL THE HORSES HAD BEEN TAKEN.

ALMOST ALL HIS SONS HAD BEEN KILLED,

AND HE STARTED SCREAMING, "IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD.

"GOD HAS FORSAKEN US," AND HE STARTED DRINKING AND DIED.

ON THE OTHER HAND, MI CPARRITA,

MY GRANDMOTHER FROM OAXACA,

SHE SAW THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES, AND SHE DIDN'T FALL APART.

SHE SAID, "MANANA ES OTRO MILAGRO DE DIOS,"

"TOMORROW IS ANOTHER MIRACLE FROM GOD,"

"Y CON EL FAVOR DE DIOS," "AND WITH THE BLESSING OF GOD,

WE WILL SURVIVE,"

AND THEY LEFT THE MOUNTAINS OF JALISCO.

Narrator: THE FAMILY HEADED DOWN TO LEON,

TO THE VALLEY OF GUANAJUATO.

LIKE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF OTHER MEXICANS,

THEY WENT IN SEARCH OF A TRAIN THAT WOULD TAKE THEM NORTH.

AWAY FROM THE WAR THAT NOW CONSUMED MEXICO.

[GUNFIRE]

THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION BEGAN IN 1910

AS A REVOLT AGAINST PRESIDENT PORFIRIO DIAZ.

DIAZ RULED MEXICO FOR 35 YEARS,

RELYING ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT TO TRANSFORM THE NATION.

Woman: HE ATTRACTED CONSIDERABLE FOREIGN INVESTMENT

FROM EUROPE AND FROM THE UNITED STATES.

Narrator: U.S. COMPANIES INVESTED

NEARLY $2 BILLION IN MEXICO IN MINING,

COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE, AND IN THE RAILROADS

THAT CARRIED SILVER, COFFEE, AND OIL NORTH

AND BROUGHT SOUTH THE MACHINERY THAT BUILT MODERN MEXICO.

Ruiz: PORFIRIO DIAZ IS CREDITED

WITH THE MODERNIZATION OF MEXICO, BUT AT WHAT COST?

THERE IS RISING POVERTY.

HISTORIANS ESTIMATE THAT 90% OF MEXICANS WERE LANDLESS.

RURAL PEOPLE WERE KICKED OFF THEIR SMALL LAND HOLDINGS

TO MAKE WAY FOR THIS CONCENTRATION

OF CORPORATE AGRICULTURE.

Narrator: PORFIRIO DIAZ HAD PROMISED TO STEP DOWN,

BUT IN 1910, HE DECLARED HIMSELF PRESIDENT FOR ONE MORE TERM.

HIS OPPONENT FRANCISCO MADERO CALLED FOR AN INSURRECTION.

IN THE SOUTH ROSE EMILIANO ZAPATA

AND HIS ARMY OF LANDLESS PEASANTS.

IN THE NORTH, THE DASHING PANCHO VILLA

BECAME THE FACE OF THE REBELLION.

THE TRAINS THAT ONCE LINKED THE MEXICAN ECONOMY

TO THE UNITED STATES NOW CARRIED

THE ARMIES OF THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION...

AND AS THE FIGHTING ENGULFED MEXICO,

THE TRACKS RUNNING NORTH PROVIDED THE ONLY MEANS

OF ESCAPE FOR ALMOST ONE MILLION MEXICANS,

WHO WALKED FOR MILES, SOMETIMES WAITING WEEKS,

FOR THE OCCASIONAL EMPTY TRAIN.

Ruiz: FROM 1/10 TO 1/8 OF MEXICO'S POPULATION,

AN ESTIMATED ONE MILLION, PERISHED IN THE REVOLUTION.

ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER WENT NORTH.

Narrator: THE VILLASENORS MADE THEIR WAY

TOWARD THE UNITED STATES

AND HEADED RIGHT INTO THE WORST OF THE FIGHTING.

Villasenor: FIGHTING WAS GOING ON ALL AROUND THEM,

AND MY FATHER SAID THAT EVEN AFTER A DAY OF SLAUGHTER,

HIS MOTHER WOULD HAVE THEM ALL KNEEL DOWN

AND THANK GOD THEY HAD SURVIVED,

AND IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO EAT,

SHE'D GET LITTLE, ROUND RIVER ROCKS

AND HAVE THEM SUCK ON THEM.

WHEN THE MOON CAME UP, IN THE MEXICAN-INDIAN CULTURE,

THAT'S THE LEFT EYE OF GOD,

AND THEN THE STARS ARE OUR FAMILY

BECAUSE WE COME FROM THE STARS,

AND SHE'D POINT TO THE STARS

AND SAY, "THAT'S YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER THIS,"

AND, "THIS IS YOUR UNCLE THIS AND THIS."

MY FATHER SAID

THAT IF IT WASN'T FOR HIS MOTHER'S INDESTRUCTIBLE FAITH,

THEY WOULD HAVE DIED OVER AND OVER AND OVER

ON THEIR JOURNEY NORTH.

Narrator: MIDWAY BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL MEXICO

AND THE BORDER OF THE UNITED STATES,

JUAN SALVADOR NO LONGER YEARNED FOR THE LIFE HE'D KNOWN

IN ALTOS DE JALISCO.

Villasenor: MY FATHER THOUGHT THAT THE UNITED STATES

WOULD BE LIKE PARADISE, LIKE THEIR LITTLE PARADISE

THAT THEY'D HAD IN THE MOUNTAINS OF JALISCO

WAS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE PARADISE OF THE UNITED STATES,

AND THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT ONCE YOU CROSS THE RIO GRANDE RIVER

IN TEXAS, THAT THERE WAS FOOD FOR EVERYONE

AND THERE WAS JOBS FOR EVERYONE

AND THAT THE PEOPLE ACTUALLY GOT FAT.

HE COULDN'T IMAGINE SUCH A THING.

Narrator: FINALLY ONE DAY, A TRAIN CAME, A CATTLE TRAIN

FILLED WITH MANURE BUT ALSO FILLED WITH POSSIBILITIES.

Villasenor: WHEN MY FATHER AND HIS FAMILY FINALLY GOT

TO THE AMERICAN BORDER ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE

FROM EL PASO, TEXAS,

IT WASN'T ANYTHING LIKE THEY EXPECTED.

THERE WAS NOTHING, JUST SAND,

AND THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET ACROSS.

Ruiz: EL PASO WAS THE ELLIS ISLAND FOR MEXICANOS.

IF YOU ARE A STRAPPING YOUNG MAN

AND YOU'RE COMING ACROSS THAT STANTON STREET BRIDGE,

THERE WOULD BE RECRUITERS FROM PENNSYLVANIA, FROM IDAHO,

FROM UTAH, FROM COLORADO, FROM CALIFORNIA, ALL OVER,

WANTING YOUR LABOR, BIDDING FOR YOUR LABOR.

Man: IT'S NOT JUST THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION FORCING PEOPLE OUT.

THE EXODUS, IF YOU WILL, IT'S PROPELLED BY THE REVOLUTION,

BUT IT BEGAN BEFORE THAT.

IT HAS TO DO WITH THE GREAT LABOR DEMAND

FOR THE BOOMING AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY OF THE SOUTHWEST.

THIS IS WHEN THE GREAT AQUEDUCTS

IN CALIFORNIA ARE BUILT.

THIS IS WHEN THE CENTRAL VALLEY TOWNS IN CALIFORNIA ARE FOUNDED.

SAME THING IS HAPPENING IN TEXAS.

YOU HAVE THESE DESERT LANDS BEING RECLAIMED

AND BEING FARMED.

Ruiz: SO THERE WAS THIS SORT OF IMPETUS THAT THERE WERE JOBS,

BUT IF YOU'RE A WOMAN, IT'S GOING TO BE HARDER FOR YOU

TO GET ACROSS THAT BORDER BECAUSE, IT WAS LIKE,

"WELL, WHO'S GOING TO SUPPORT YOU?

ARE YOU LIABLE TO BECOME A PUBLIC CHARGE?"

Narrator: FOR MONTHS, THE VILLASENOR FAMILY

CAMPED NEAR THE BORDER IN CIUDAD JUAREZ,

GOING HUNGRY, SLEEPING ON THE STREETS,

WAITING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO CROSS INTO THE UNITED STATES.

Villasenor: ONE DAY, THEY NOTICED THAT THE ANTS

HAVE GONE UNDERGROUND.

SO THEY KNEW THAT A SANDSTORM WAS COMING,

AND THE SAND STARTED BLOWING,

BUT IT DIDN'T BLOW JUST FOR ONE AFTERNOON OR SOMETHING.

IT KEPT BLOWING AND BLOWING AND GETTING LARGER, LARGER,

AND FINALLY, IT'S GETTING DARK, BLACK FROM SANDSTORM,

AND SAND CAN ACTUALLY TAKE YOUR SKIN OFF YOUR BODY...

AND HE SAID THIS IS WHEN THE POWER OF HIS MOTHER

CAME THROUGH AS HE'D NEVER SEEN ANYTHING BEFORE.

SHE SAID, "NO NOS VAMOS A MORIR."

"WE ARE NOT GOING TO DIE."

AND THEN ON THIRD DAY, THE SANDSTORM STOPPED,

AND THERE WAS BLUE SKY...

AND HE SAID THAT THAT'S WHEN

HE TOOK AN OATH THAT HE WAS GOING TO MAKE MONEY.

HE WAS GOING TO GET RICH, AND HE WAS GO TO BE ABLE

TO TAKE CARE OF HIS MOTHER, AND HE WAS GOING TO BE ABLE

TO TAKE CARE OF HIS SISTERS.

AT THAT POINT, HE CHANGED FROM BEING A LITTLE BOY

DEPENDING ON HIS MOTHER TO BECOMING A MAN WHO

IS GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR HIS FAMILY,

AND BY THIS TIME, HE WAS ABOUT 13 YEARS OLD.

Narrator: CROSSING THE RIO GRANDE FROM JUAREZ INTO EL PASO,

JUAN SALVADOR WAS NOW STRONG ENOUGH

TO BE OF INTEREST TO RECRUITERS.

HE GOT A JOB IN ARIZONA AT THE QUEEN MINE COMPANY

DIGGING FOR COPPER.

Gerstle: THIS IS A TIME WHEN THE UNITED STATES

HAS LOST A LOT OF ITS SUPPLY OF CHEAP LABOR FROM EUROPE

BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT COMING OVER IN A BOAT FROM EUROPE

WHEN WORLD WAR I IS RAGING,

AND SO AMERICA IS LOOKING FOR NEW SOURCES OF CHEAP LABOR.

Ruiz: THERE WERE, AT FIRST, NATIVE AMERICANS, CHINESE,

JAPANESE, PUNJABI SIKHS, AND MEXICANS.

Montejano: THERE ARE VARIOUS EXPERIMENTS

WITH DIFFERENT KIND OF LABOR, BUT CLEARLY THE WINNER

IN THIS CONTEST FOR CHEAP LABOR HAPPENS TO BE THE MEXICANS.

Narrator: JUAN SALVADOR VILLASENOR

WORKED LONG DAYS AT THE MINE AND, UNDER AN ASSUMED NAME,

JUAN CRUZ, TOOK ANOTHER JOB WORKING THE NIGHT SHIFT.

HE WAS MAKING MONEY, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO SUPPORT

HIS MOTHER AND HIS SISTERS, NOW LIVING IN ARIZONA.

Villasenor: THIS OLDER BOY THAT WAS ABOUT 17

TOLD MY FATHER THAT WHAT THEY COULD DO IS,

THEY COULD STEAL A LITTLE BIT OF THE ORE.

SO THEY STOLE THE EQUIVALENT OF $6.00,

AND THEY WENT INTO TOWN TO SELL IT,

AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT IT WAS A SETUP.

THEY SENTENCED MY FATHER AND THAT BOY TO PRISON.

Narrator: JUAN SALVADOR ESCAPED FROM PRISON

AFTER SERVING ONE YEAR OF HIS 3-YEAR SENTENCE.

THE 14-YEAR-OLD BOY MADE HIS WAY BACK TO HIS MOTHER.

Villasenor: HIS MOTHER VERY WISELY TELLS HIM

TO NOT GO BACK TOWARDS MEXICO-- THEY'RE GOING TO CATCH HIM,

AND THINGS ARE TERRIBLE IN MEXICO--TO GO NORTH.

HE ENDED UP IN BUTTE, MONTANA,

AND THAT'S WHERE HE BECAME A MAN,

IN BUTTE, MONTANA.

Narrator: 1920s LOS ANGELES WAS A BOOM TOWN.

PULLED BY PLENTIFUL WORK IN AGRICULTURE, FACTORIES,

AND CONSTRUCTION, MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS HEADED TO THE CITY

IN EVER INCREASING NUMBERS.

Ruiz: IN 1900 YOU HAD ABOUT 3,000 TO 5,000 MEXICAN,

MEXICAN AMERICAN RESIDENTS;

BY 1930, ABOUT 150,000.

THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE.

Narrator: IN THE 1800s, MEXICANS HAD BUILT LOS ANGELES

FROM A MISSION INTO THE CAPITAL OF SPANISH CALIFORNIA.

IN THE 1920s THEY WOULD HELP BUILD IT AGAIN.

Estrada: THE STORY OF HOW MEXICANS BUILT THIS CITY FROM

A RURAL TOWN TO AN INDUSTRIAL METROPOLIS IS STILL

LARGELY UNTOLD.

WITHOUT THE MEXICAN LABOR, MUCH OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE

IN THE CITY WOULD NOT EXIST.

Narrator: NOW IMMIGRANTS IN A LAND THAT HAD ONCE BEEN

THEIRS, MEXICANS WERE VIEWED AS SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS.

Montejano: A MEXICAN PRESENTS A NEW PROBLEM.

HE'S NOT BLACK, AND HE'S NOT WHITE.

HOW DO WE FIT THIS NEW RACE INTO THE AMERICAN SYSTEM

OF STRATIFICATION?

THAT IS RESOLVED BY JUST SIMPLY EXTENDING THE PRACTICES

OF SEGREGATION THAT HAD BEEN DEVELOPED FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS

TO MEXICAN AMERICANS.

Ruiz: THERE WERE SEGREGATED SCHOOLS.

THERE COULD BE SEGREGATED PUBLIC FACILITIES.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE DAY BEFORE THEY DRAINED THE POOL,

THEY HAD INTERNATIONAL DAY, WHERE ANYONE WHO WASN'T WHITE

COULD GO AND USE THE POOL.

Narrator: MOST IMMIGRANTS GRAVITATED TOWARD DOWNTOWN

AND SETTLED AROUND LA PLAZA DE NUESTRA REINA DE LOS ANGELES.

FOUNDED IN 1781, THE PLAZA HAD ONCE BEEN THE CENTER

OF MEXICAN LIFE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

Estrada: THE PLAZA WAS A SAFE PLACE, IT WAS A ROMANTIC

PLACE, AND IT WAS ALSO A MEMORY OF THEIR CULTURE.

Sanchez: FOR THE IMMIGRANT GENERATION THAT COMES,

THE SENSE THAT THE LAND WAS ONCE HELD BY A SPANISH

ELITE, A MEXICAN ELITE, IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT

IN MAKING PEOPLE FEEL THAT THERE IS A HISTORY HERE THAT

BELONGS TO THEM.

Estrada: BOTH MY PARENTS HAD A SENSE OF HISTORY

AND REMEMBERED THE PLACE NAMES OF LOS ANGELES.

THEY ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT, YOU KNOW, "THAT IS SEPUÚLVEDA,

"THAT STREET.

THAT'S PICO."

MY FATHER EVEN POINTED OUT THE 3-STORY PICO HOUSE, WHICH

AT THE TIME WAS THE MOST ELEGANT FANCY HOTEL, AND MY

FATHER WHISPERED IN MY EAR AND TOLD ME,

"M'IJO, HE WAS ONE OF US.

PIÍO PICO WAS ONE OF US."

Narrator: IN THE 1920s, FUELED BY A GROWING MEXICAN

POPULATION, MEXICAN CULTURE WAS EXPERIENCING A REVIVAL.

[PEOPLE SINGING IN SPANISH]

Sanchez: THERE'S A GROWN OF ARTS.

THERE'S THE BEGINNINGS OF THE FIRST EVER REAL

MEXICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC CULTURE.

[PEOPLE SINGING IN SPANISH]

IT'S RECORDING THE MUSIC OF THE MEXICAN

REVOLUTION IN LOS ANGELES.

IT'S EXPORTING IT DOWN TO MEXICO.

[PEOPLE SINGING IN SPANISH]

IT'S A CULTURAL RENAISSANCE IN A WAY THAT ONE WOULDN'T SEE

AGAIN UNTIL THE 1960s.

Estrada: WE SEE RESTAURANTS, BAKERIES, PHARMACIES,

LIVE THEATERS, NOT TO FORGET THE HOLLYWOOD MOVIE

INDUSTRY AS WELL.

I MEAN, WE CAN HAVE PEOPLE LIKE

A YOUNG RAMOÓN NOVARRO, WHO STARRED IN THE FIRST

SILENT "BEN-HUR," WHO WAS A MEXICAN IMMIGRANT WORKING

AS A LABORER IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.

Narrator: IN THE ERA OF THE SILENT FILM, MEXICANS BECAME

ICONS OF POPULAR CULTURE.

A WORKING-CLASS GIRL, LUPE VELEZ,

AND THE ARISTOCRATIC DOLORES DEL RIO OFFERED TWO

CONTRASTING IMAGES FOR MEXICAN WOMEN COMING OF AGE.

Ruiz: DOLORES DEL RIO WAS DISCOVERED IN AN AFTERNOON TEA

IN MEXICO CITY.

SHE WAS A WEALTHY, YOUNG NEWLYWED.

SHE DOES NOT SPEAK ENGLISH.

IF YOU LOOK AT HER EARLY STILLS, SHE LOOKS LIKE A VERY

BEAUTIFUL BUT STEREOTYPICAL LATIN AMERICAN BEAUTY.

THE HAIR IS DONE UP BEHIND.

SHE'S IN THIS REBOZO, AND SHE'S GOT THIS SORT

OF SUBMISSIVE LOOK.

WITHIN A FEW YEARS, ONCE SHE IS A ESTABLISHED CELEBRITY,

SHE REALLY SHEDS THE "ETHNIC IMAGERY."

SHE WAS ABELE TO CRAFT THE SYMBOL OF A WOMAN

ON THE PEDESTAL, A HIGHBORN, SORT OF CASTILIAN BEAUTY.

Sanchez: I THINK HER BEAUTY IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.

FOR A LOT OF YOUNG MEXICAN WOMEN, SHE'S THE INSPIRATION

TO BRING COSMETICS INTO THE HOUSEHOLD.

SHE CREATES AN ALTERNATIVE IDENTITY--A NEW 1920s WOMAN

IN A MEXICAN STYLE.

Ruiz: THEY'RE BOBBING THEIR HAIR.

THEY'RE WEARING SHORT DRESSES OR THEY'RE WEARING BLOOMERS,

DITCHING THEIR CHAPERONE, AND GOING TO THE DANCE HALL,

THE MOVIES.

Sanchez: THEY'RE SAYING, "WAIT A SECOND.

"WE'RE NOT PART OF THE PAST OF LOS ANGELES.

"WE'RE ACTUALLY PART OF THE FUTURE.

WE'RE NOT SIMPLY RELICS FROM A DIFFERENT ERA."

Narrator: YOUNG MEXICANS BEGAN TO BUILD FAMILIES AND MOVED

EAST, ACROSS THE LOS ANGELES RIVER, TO BROOKLYN HEIGHTS,

BELVEDERE, AND BOYLE HEIGHTS, A DIVERSE COMMUNITY

IN THE MOUNTAINS OF EAST L.A.

IT WAS THERE THAT NATIVIDAD CASTANEDA, A STONEMASON WHO

HAD EMIGRATED FROM MEXICO IN 1915, SETTLED WITH HIS WIFE

GREGORIA AND THEIR TWO CHILDREN--FRANCISCO, AND HIS

YOUNGER SISTER EMILIA, BORN IN LOS ANGELES IN 1926.

Castaneda: IT WAS A HAPPY LIFE THAT I HAD WHEN I WAS

A LITTLE GIRL.

I USED TO LIKE TO GO TO SCHOOL.

WE USED TO HAVE SOME TIME TO PLAY BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED,

BEFORE WE WENT TO DO OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

WE WENT TO THE MOVIES HERE AND THERE.

IT USED TO BE A NICKEL TO GO TO THE MOVIES.

WE USE TO HAVE A VICTROLA.

I REMEMBER ONE OF THE RECORDS THAT THEY USED TO PLAY.

[WOMEN SINGING IN SPANISH]

IT WAS A SONG ABOUT "SOY VIRGENCITA Y ENTRE LAS FLORES

ME ENCONTRARAÁS".

[WOMEN SINGING IN SPANISH]

WE HAD A NICE SUMMER PORCH.

WE HAD AN AVOCADO IN THE BACK.

MY MOTHER USED TO LOVE AVOCADOS.

MAYBE MY DAD PLANTED THE AVOCADO FOR HER.

[WOMEN SINGING IN SPANISH]

Newsreel announcer: CLOSING TIME.

THE CLOSE OF AN ERA.

IN THE 1920s THE GREAT AMERICAN WORD WAS PROSPERITY.

NOW THE THIRTIES HAVE BEGUN, AND THERE IS A NEW WORD...

DEPRESSION.

Narrator: AS THE DEPRESSION DEEPENED, COMPETITION

FOR SCARCE JOBS GREW FIERCE.

IN LAUNDRIES, FACTORIES, CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES,

MEXICAN WORKERS WERE REPLACED BY U.S. CITIZENS.

Sanchez: DEVASTATING IS A GOOD ADJECTIVE TO USE FOR MEXICANS

IN LOS ANGELES IN THE DEPRESSION.

VERY QUICKLY, BY 1931, YOU KNOW, HALF THE POPULATION

IS UNEMPLOYED.

MUCH LARGER THAN THE GENERAL LOS ANGELES POPULATION.

THAT MEANS A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAD HAD FAIRLY SECURE

EMPLOYMENT BEFORE THIS PERIOD NOW ARE OUT OF WORK.

Castaneda: MY FATHER LOST HIS JOB.

HE DIDN'T WANT TO RECEIVE RELIEF.

HE DIDN'T WANT TO RECEIVE IT.

HE WANTED TO WORK.

BUT LIKE I SAID, THERE WAS NO WORK FOR MEXICANS.

AT LEAST MY MOTHER WAS WORKING AS A MAID IN A WEALTHY FAMILY.

Sanchez: PRESIDENT HOOVER, BY 1931, IS DESPERATE TO

STAY IN OFFICE.

HE IS ROUNDLY BLAMED FOR THE DEPRESSION.

AND HE BEGINS TO LOOK FOR SCAPEGOATS, AND IT'S

THE SECRETARY OF LABOR WHO BEGINS TO SAY,

"WELL, YOU KNOW, IF WE JUST SIMPLY GOT RID OF MEXICANS,

WE WOULD HAVE JOBS FOR EVERYONE ELSE."

LOS ANGELES BEGINS TO TARGET THE MEXICAN COMMUNITY.

THE FIRST EVER IMMIGRATION RAID IS DONE AT THE PLAZA.

IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES ARE BROUGHT IN FROM OTHER PLACES

TO KIND OF SURROUND THE PLAZA.

THEY END UP CAPTURING AS MANY JAPANESE OR CHINESE AMERICANS

AT THE PLAZA AS THEY DO MEXICANS, AND THEY DEPORT 15

PEOPLE THAT DAY.

BUT WHAT THEY WANTED IS TO SCARE PEOPLE, AND THEY

ACCOMPLISH THAT.

IN THE WEEKS FOLLOWING THAT IMMIGRATION RAID, PEOPLE WERE

SCARED TO GO TO WORK.

THEY WERE SCARED TO GO OUTSIDE.

THIS CREATED A PANIC, NOT ONLY AMONG THE MEXICAN COMMUNITY,

BUT ALSO AMONG THEIR EMPLOYERS.

Narrator: IN LOS ANGELES, THE MEXICAN CONSUL SUGGESTED

THAT INSTEAD OF PERSECUTING MEXICANS, THE CITY BUY TRAIN

TICKETS FOR ANYONE WILLING TO RETURN TO MEXICO, NOW PEACEFUL

A DECADE AFTER THE END OF THE REVOLUTION.

Sanchez: INITIALLY IN 1931 WHEN THEY START THIS, THEY HAVE

NO PROBLEM FILLING THE TRAINS.

THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED, WHO WANT

TO GO BACK.

BY '32 THEY HAVE TROUBLE FILLING THE TRAINS, AND THAT'S

WHEN MORE COERCIVE MEASURES START TO BE USED.

COUNTY WELFARE OFFICIALS BEGIN TO TARGET CERTAIN

NEIGHBORHOODS, NEIGHBORHOODS THAT THEY KNOW HAVE A LARGE

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED MEXICANS.

THEY WILL GO HOUSE TO HOUSE.

THEY WILL SAY, THE CHEESE THAT YOU'RE GETTING, THE BREAD WE

"HAVE BEEN GIVEN YOU IS NO LONGER GOING TO BE MADE

"AVAILABLE TO YOU.

"INSTEAD WE WILL GIVE YOU THIS ONE TICKET, AND THIS IS

"FOR A RIDE BACK TO MEXICO ON A TRAIN.

"THIS IS YOUR ONLY CHOICE.

YOU WILL GET NO MORE ASSISTANCE."

Narrator: FOR THE CASTANEDAS, THE KNOCK ON THE DOOR CAME

EARLY IN 1935, NOT LONG AFTER TRAGEDY STRUCK THE FAMILY.

Castaneda: MY MOTHER GOT SICK WITH T.B., AND SHE DIED.

SHE DIED IN 1934, THE 10th OF MAY.

I WAS MAKING MY FIRST COMMUNION THAT DAY WHEN MY

MOTHER DIED.

I REMEMBER WHEN THEY BURIED HER, I REMEMBER THAT THEY HAD

TO DRAG ME OUT OF THERE BECAUSE I WAS SO EMOTIONAL

OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO HER, WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO US.

Narrator: NATIVIDAD CASTANEDA WAS OFFERED 3 TICKETS--FOR

HIMSELF AND HIS TWO AMERICAN- BORN CHILDREN--ON A TRAIN

GOING TO DURANGO, IN NORTHERN MEXICO.

WE HAD A TRUNK, A BIG TRUNK, AND THE FIRST THING THAT HE

PUT IN THERE WAS HIS WORKING TOOLS.

THAT'S WHAT WENT IN THERE, AND A COUPLE OF BLANKETS THAT

WE HAD AND A FEW COOKING UTENSILS AND DISHES AND WHAT

LITTLE CLOTHING WE HAD...

BECAUSE WE'D LOST EVERYTHING.

WE ARRIVED AT THE TRAIN STATION.

IT WAS VERY CROWDED.

PEOPLE CRYING, CHILDREN AND ADULTS.

I WAS APPROACHED BY A MAN.

HE SAID THAT I COULD STAY HERE, THAT I WOULD BECOME

A WARD OF THE STATE.

YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU HEAR ABOUT THESE ORPHANAGES.

I DON'T WANT TO BE IN AN ORPHANAGE.

I WANTED TO BE WITH MY FATHER AND MY BROTHER.

I HAD A FAMILY.

Gerstle: BETWEEN 300,000 AND 500,000 MEXICANS

AND MEXICAN AMERICANS ARE FORCED OUT OF THE UNITED STATES

IN THE 1930s.

THERE ARE PLENTY OF AMERICANS WHO SAID, "WE DON'T WANT THE

EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS ANYMORE."

THERE ARE PLENTY OF AMERICANS WHO SAID, "WE DON'T WANT

"ANY ITALIANS.

"WE DON'T WANT ANY POLES.

"WE DON'T WANT ANY JEWS."

BUT THERE WAS NEVER AN ACTION TO ROUND THEM UP EN MASSE

AND TO SEND THEM BACK TO THEIR HOME COUNTRIES.

AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO MEXICANS.

Castaneda: WE WENT TO LIVE WITH THIS TIÍA, MY FATHER'S AUNT.

WE REALLY WEREN'T WELCOME BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE

WASN'T MUCH ROOM EVEN FOR THEM.

SO WE HAD TO LIVE OUTDOORS, SLEEP OUTDOORS.

POURING RAIN, THERE WAS NO PLACE FOR US TO GO BUT PUT UP

WITH THE RAIN.

THERE WAS NO RUNNING WATER.

WE HAD TO GO MILES TO GO WASH CLOTHES.

MY DAD USED TO GO TO WORK.

HE TAUGHT MY BROTHER THE TRADE.

AND I TOLD HIM THAT I WAS LEAVING SCHOOL, THAT I WOULD

BE WITH HIM.

I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO BE PLAYING HERE AND THERE.

I HAD TO WORK.

Estrada: CLEARLY IT SETS UP A PATTERN OF WANTING MEXICAN

LABOR AT TIMES IN WHICH EMPLOYMENT IS NEEDED

AND WANTING PEOPLE TO JUST LEAVE AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE

WHEN THAT LABOR IS NO LONGER NEEDED.

Gerstyle: TO BE MARKED AS VISIBLY MEXICAN IN AMERICA

IN THE 1930s IS TO PUT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AT RISK.

AND SO MEXICANS BECOME, IN L.A.

IN THE 1930s, WHAT ONE

HISTORIAN HAS CALLED THE INVISIBLE MINORITY.

IN OTHER WORDS, THEY WITHDRAW FROM PUBLIC LIFE.

IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEIR CULTURE DISAPPEARS...

BUT IT MEANS THAT A COMMUNITY THAT HAD BEEN SO EXPANSIVE

AND OVERFLOWING RETREATS INTO A KIND OF SHELL.

Narrator: THE GREAT DEPRESSION RAVAGED PUERTO RICO.

THE ISLAND HAD BECOME DEPENDENT ON SUGAR, AND WHEN

THE U.S. SUGAR MARKET COLLAPSED, THE PUERTO RICAN

ECONOMY COLLAPSED WITH IT.

Gonzalez: THE 1930s WERE THE LOW POINT OF THE PUERTO RICAN

NATION UNDER U.S. RULE.

DISEASE WAS ALL OVER THE ISLAND, UNEMPLOYMENT RAMPANT.

STARVATION WAS ENDEMIC.

MY FAMILY WENT THROUGH THAT.

MY GRANDMOTHER HAD 11 CHILDREN.

5 OF THEM DIED IN CHILDHOOD.

WHEN HER HUSBAND, MY GRANDFATHER, DIED,

THE FAMILY WAS THRUST INTO INCREDIBLE POVERTY--SUCH

POVERTY THAT MY GRANDMOTHER COULD NOT FEED THE REMAINING

6 CHILDREN SHE HAD, SO SHE GRADUALLY GAVE THE CHILDREN

AWAY TO DIFFERENT FAMILIES THAT WERE BETTER OFF WHO

COULD AT LEAST FEED THEM.

Narrator: PUERTO RICANS WERE DIVIDED OVER THEIR

RELATIONSHIP TO THE UNITED STATES--

BETWEEN THOSE WHO WANTED THEIR ISLAND TO BECOME A STATE

AND A GROWING INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT.

[MAN SHOUTING IN SPANISH]

Narrator: A COMPROMISE WAS EVENTUALLY REACHED.

PUERTO RICO WOULD BECOME A COMMONWEALTH,

STILL A U.S.

TERRITORY BUT WITH SIGNIFICANT

POLITICAL AUTONOMY.

Suarez: PUERTO RICO HAD 450 YEARS OF GOVERNORS, AND THEY

HAD NEVER GOTTEN TO ELECT ONE.

THAT WAS A PRETTY BIG DEAL.

Narrator: IN THE YEARS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION, JUAN

SALVADOR VILLASENOR GOT A SECOND SHOT

AT THE AMERICAN DREAM.

IN BUTTE, MONTANA, WHERE HE HAD FLED AFTER ESCAPING PRISON

AT AGE 14, "SAL" AS HE WAS NOW KNOWN, HAD BECOME

A BOOTLEGGER.

Villasenor: HE'D LEARNED HOW TO GAMBLE AND HOW TO MAKE

WHISKEY, AND HE'D LEARNED HOW TO SELL IT.

AND HE'S 25, AND HE'S THE KING.

Narrator: JUAN SALVADOR MOVED TO SAN DIEGO TO JOIN HIS

MOTHER AND SISTERS, WHO HAD SETTLED IN THE MEXICAN

SECTION OF TOWN.

Villasenor: THE STREETS WERE DIRT AND FULL OF ROCK

AND HOLES, AND EVERYTHING WAS DUSTY, AND THERE WERE CHICKENS

RUNNING ALL OVER THE STREET.

THERE WERE GOATS.

Narrator: HIS POCKETS LINED WITH MONEY AND HIS HEAD FULL

OF DREAMS, JUAN SALVADOR MARRIED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL

GIRL IN TOWN--LUPE GOMEZ, THE DEVOUT DAUGHTER

OF MIGRANT WORKERS.

Villasenor: MY MOTHER MARRIED MY FATHER THINKING THAT HE

MADE A LOT OF MONEY BECAUSE HE HAD TRUCKS MOVING FERTILIZER.

SHE HAD GROWN UP BEING TOTALLY AGAINST LIQUOR AND GAMBLING.

SHE HAD NO IDEA THAT HE MOVED FERTILIZER AS A COVER-UP TO

HIDE HIS BARRELS OF WHISKEY UNDERNEATH.

ONE DAY THE DISTILLERY BLOWS UP, AND NOW THEY'RE RUNNING

FROM THE LAW.

AND MY MOTHER HAS A LITTLE CHILD, AND SHE'S PREGNANT

WITH ANOTHER ON THE WAY.

SHE SAID, "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE A BOOTLEGGER ANYMORE.

"YOU LIED TO ME WHEN WE GOT MARRIED.

"WE'RE GOING TO GET A BUSINESS, AND WE ARE GOING TO

BE REGULAR PEOPLE AND DO THINGS WITHIN THE LAW."

Narrator: SAL GAVE UP BOOTLEGGING OUT

OF LOVE FOR LUPE.

HE BOUGHT A POOL HALL, AND AT THE END OF PROHIBITION

A LIQUOR STORE.

AND THEN ANOTHER.

IN TIME THE VILLASENORS BUILT A HOME THAT OVERLOOKED

THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

Villasenor: MY FATHER SAID THAT HE WANTED TO BUILD THE

BIGGEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL HOUSE IN THE AREA, AND MY MOTHER

BUILT IT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE BLESSED MOTHER.

THIS HOUSE REPRESENTS MY PARENTS' DREAM COME TRUE.

AND THIS IS WHERE I GREW UP, IN THIS HOUSE.

AND WE'RE STILL HERE IN THIS HOUSE.

Narrator: EMILIA CASTANEDA RETURNED HOME TO BOYLE HEIGHTS

IN 1944 AFTER 9 YEARS IN MEXICO.

SHE WAS 17.

THE FIRST THING SHE DID WAS TO BRUSH UP ON HER ENGLISH--AT

THE VERY SCHOOL SHE'D ATTENDED UP TO THE FOURTH GRADE.

Castaneda: ONCE WHEN I WAS COMING BACK FROM SCHOOL, ONE

OF THE NEIGHBORS ASKED ME IF I WAS EMILIA.

AND I SAID YES.

AND SHE SAYS, "I'M MAURA" AND SHE INVITED ME TO MY

HOME--THE HOME THAT HAD BEEN OURS.

Narrator: EMILIA HAD LOST IT ALL--HER HOME, HER CHILDHOOD,

HER FAMILY.

HER FATHER, NATIVIDAD CASTANEDA, COULD NEVER AGAIN

RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES.

Castaneda: THEY STAMPED ON HIS PAPERS THAT HE WAS DEPORTED.

EVERY YEAR, I USED TO GO VISIT HIM.

I DIDN'T FORGET HIM.

Announcer: NEXT TIME ON "LATINO AMERICANS"...

Man: THE JAPANESE WERE BLOWING THE PLACE UP.

Announcer: THEY SERVED WITH HONOR...

Woman: THEY VOLUNTEER IN RECORD NUMBERS.

Man: IN 4 HOURS, I HAD 800 PRISONERS.

Announcer: BUT THEY COME HOME TO FACE ANOTHER BATTLE.

Man: HE WAS A GENUINE HERO.

Woman: AND YET HE CAN'T GET SOMETHING TO EAT.

Announcer: LATINOS RISE TO THE CHALLENGE...

Woman: THEY WANTED A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

Announcer: NEXT TIME ON "LATINO AMERICANS."

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