Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) Oral Histories

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  Interview with Jesus Villarreal

  Jesus Villarreal and Ramon Navarro

  The interviewee is Jesus Villarreal, owner of the taqueria. Along with many others, he has struggled to keep his small business afloat during this pandemic. He worked at a young age and saved enough to pursue his dream of opening a taqueria alongside his mother, but with recent events it has been an uphill battle. Social distancing measures were taken during the interview to ensure the safety of both parties.

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  Interview with Sarah Walker

  Sarah Walker and Maxwell A. Perkins

  The interviewee is Sarah Walker, who has lived in the Rio Grande Valley for her entire life. She was hired at a local restaurant shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic reached the Valley, working there well into the summer of 2020 under shifting policies and protocols, until contracting the coronavirus herself, recovering, and quitting. Based on her experiences during this time, Sarah gives us insight to how the pandemic affected a part of the food industry in McAllen, Texas, during the pandemic, as well as from a COVID-19 survivor.

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  Interview with Flavia Webber Ortiz

  Flavia Webber Ortiz and Roseann Bacha-Garza

  Supporting oral interviews conducted for Rio Grande Civil War Trail publication.

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  Interview with Alva Whitsitt "Purple Communion Shoes"

  Alva Mae Whitsitt, Lara Speights, and Monica Anzaldua-Arraiza

  Oral History Interview conducted on 6/16/2012, 10 a.m. – 11:30 AM, as part of the Porciones to Colonias project where RGV community members are interviewed by local school teachers about lived experiences in the border region.

  Purple Communion Shoes: Growing up as 1 of 12 in Brownsville, Texas

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  Interview with Emilio Zamora

  Emilio Zamora and Roseann Bacha Garza

  The purpose of this interview with Dr. Emilio Zamora, Professor Emeritus History at the University of Texas – Austin, is to learn about his family life along the US-Mexico border where he was born and was raised throughout a portion of his youth across the Río Grande in El Horcón and Rio Rico. The CHAPS Program at UTRGV is interested in researching El Horcón, a tract of land along the US-Mexico border (near today’s Mecedes, Texas) that originally belonged to the United States but was intentionally cut off by the American Rio Grande Land Irrigation Company in 1906 when they deliberately diverted the course of the Rio Grande (the natural and international border between the US and Mexico) in order to guarantee the river remain adjacent to their newly established pumphouse. This personal story has been captured to help understand cultural lifeways developed along the transnational US-Mexico border.

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  Interview with Zenon Zachariah Zapata

  Zenon Zachariah Zapata and Selena Alvarado

  The interviewee is named Zenon Zachariah Zapata but goes by Zack. He has been a bartender at Buffalo Wings and Rings on North 10th for two years. He will provide us with a bartender's perspective and discuss his personal experiences on how the virus has affected his life/work since it started.