Scope and Contents

In this interview, Kristy Chavez-Fernandez, known professionally as Kristy la rAt, discusses music, family and community memories growing up in the D.C. metro area with strong ties to her family in Lima, Peru and New York. Her work in activism, education and culture, with relationships at the core, led to co-founding Anthology of Booty and throwing intentional parties in D.C. with her best friends.

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Kristy Chavez-Fernandez, known professionally as Kristy la rAt, discusses music, family and community memories growing up in the D.C. metro area with strong ties to her family in Lima, Peru and New York. Her work in activism, education and culture, with relationships at the core, led to co-founding Anthology of Booty and throwing intentional parties in D.C. with her best friends.

Scope and Contents From 1981 and 1982, the Latin American Youth Center in Washington D.C. conducted approximately 47 oral history interviews with Latino community members, of which 24 were donated to the Library. The project's directors were Lisa Wheaton and Lesley Rankin-Hill. The project was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and all interviews were conducted by high school students. Indexes are in English and Spanish; taped interviews are in Spanish. Collection contains notes on interviews...

Abstract Laura Irene talks about moving to Washington, D.C. from Dallas, Texas and slowly finding the music and arts community that she continues to foster today. She reflects on her collection of records of LatinX music, interview recordings, and other interesting sounds. She remembers creating Day of the Dead altars for two years, where Rhizome DC community was invited to reflect on their dead, as well as remember LatinX people, killed by the police. She emphasizes how rare and important spaces...

Scope and Contents

Mark Poletunow discusses his arrival in DC, teaching English as a second language to Spanish-speaking people, identification with immigrant communities, his work at the Spanish Catholic Center, poor treatment of the latino community by DC police, his memories of the Mount Pleasant riot and their aftermath.

Abstract Audio of interview with Marta Burrell. Ms. Burrell discusses immigrating from Paraguay and adjusting to a new culture and way of life. She first attended the DC Latino Festival the last time it was held in Adams Morgan in 1988. Then she met Walter Burrell who was actively involved in the 1989-1990 Festivals. Burrell was excited to see the Festival move to the Mall. She recalls meeting the mayor, and was amazed at seeing the wide variety of representations from all the Latin American and...

Abstract Norberto Borja describes the early years when his family migrated from Colombia and lived on Ontario Road in Adams Morgan. Borja describes the neighborhood in the 1970’s: full of Latino families who knew each other. He describes his first job working at the SED Center, located next to his house. Borja first got involved in the D C Latino Festival in the early years when it was held on Colombia Rd. He describes how his young Colombian group of drummers was asked to perform in the Festival. By...

Abstract Audio interview of Norma Small-Warren. She describes how her mother, Olga Small, started the Panamanian folkloric group, and how it grew when the Festival moved to the Mall in 1989. Small-Warren reflects on how the Festival brought Latinos together with the common goal of presenting the dances and music from the various Latin American countries. She believes that the Festival outgrew its space on Columbia Road and that exposure on Constitution Avenue and the Mall was the way to expand the...

Scope and Contents

Pedro Avilés discusses moving to Adams Morgan in 1974, his memories of Mount Pleasant, his involvement with the Sacred Heart Church Theatre Group, racial identity, tensions between teachers at DC Public Schools and non-English-speaking students, his memories of the Mount Pleasant riot, his subsequent involvement with DC's Latino Task Force, and police-community relations in DC.