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Audio Recording "It's very important to have American citizenship."

"It's very important to have American citizenship."

About this Item

Title

  • "It's very important to have American citizenship."

Names

  • Mantilla, Francisco "Arturo" (Narrator)
  • Carroll, Thomas D. (Interviewer)

Created / Published

  • 1994-08-10

Headings

  • -  Interviews
  • -  Puerto Ricans
  • -  Oral history
  • -  Sound recordings
  • -  Family-run businesses
  • -  21st Avenue (Paterson, N. J.)
  • -  Elsa's Fashions (Paterson, N.J.)
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  United States -- New Jersey -- Paterson

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Interview with Francisco "Arturo" Mantilla, co-owner of Elsa's Fashions on 21st Avenue.
  • -  Summary of audio segment: AM says he is very involved with community. Supported softball teams, one Spanish, one American, spent money to keep young people off the streets. Also supported many soccer teams, for the same reason. And 4 years ago, 1990, started a group with other Spanish people to help them become American citizens. AM got his green card after 5 years, then got his citizenship soon after, without delay. Some people live in this country for 25 years, and never have the right to vote, get a better education, they stay the same. So AM tries to convince people to apply for citizenship. Since 1990 AM has spent hours in his store, 10-7, Mon to Sat, there's a desk in the front of the store, and people can come in and begin the process. AM can take fingerprints, and he has been authorized to give the test for citizenship at his office in the store. In the past 3 years, AM has trained 2 or 3 thousand people to get their citizenship. People come not only from Paterson, but also from Passaic, Hackensack, Englewood, New York. Not only Spanish. He was surprised to find recently that at the Italian club people 65, 80 years old, 40 years in this country, are not citizens. So Italian people as well as Spanish people come to his place. A man from Garfield who was from Yugoslavia came to him recently, and he helped him too. AM is happy to do this. He gives back to the people what they gave to him, anything he can do for the people, not only Spanish people, anybody, he will help them.

Medium

  • Digital Audio Tape

Call Number/Physical Location

  • AFC 1995/028: WIP-TDC-A006

Source Collection

  • Working in Paterson Project Collection (AFC 1995/028)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

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Credit line

Working in Paterson Project collection, 1993-2002 (AFC 1995/028), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Mantilla, Francisco "Arturo", and Thomas D Carroll. "It's very important to have American citizenship.". -08-10, 1994. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip003877/.

APA citation style:

Mantilla, F. ". & Carroll, T. D. (1994) "It's very important to have American citizenship.". -08-10. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip003877/.

MLA citation style:

Mantilla, Francisco "Arturo", and Thomas D Carroll. "It's very important to have American citizenship.". -08-10, 1994. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afcwip003877/>.