Elva Luna, Community Elder

An interview with Elva Luna, a local elder in the Boyle Heights neighborhood.

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Elva is an elder neighbor who lives on her own in a small apartment. She shares how difficult it was to arrive in this country and how she confronted many barriers— particularly navigating the English language,  looking for work, and more recently, how she has been affected by the pandemic. Elva also tells us about her past and her family.

ACTA · Sounds of CA - Boyle Heights
Between 1979 to our present day, how have you seen this country change?
"It has changed a lot. I remember when I got here I earned the minimum wage, it was $ 2. It was difficult, everything was very difficult for me... I said that I would only go to work for a year and then I would leave. I thought I was only going to last a year, but I've been here for 40 years now. I started working in a theater, doing accounting, and then at a sports store… and that's where I've been working for the last 25 years."

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