Margarita Gonzalez, Community Documentarian

An interview with Margarita Gonzalez, community documentarian and long-time resident of Boyle Heights


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Interview with Margarita at Hollenbeck Park, a woman who came to the states with the American dream, of offering her family a better life, and providing for her parents. In Boyle Heights, Margarita Gonzalez  runs a Mexican style gelatin business with her son, and co-leads an initiative that aims to secure dignified and affordable housing that is controlled by residents, known as the Fideicomiso de Tierra Libre [Liberated Land Trust]. During her interview, she speaks about her work in sewing, and how she managed to provide for her children, who are now university students. She, like many immigrants, left their parents and did not see her mother ever again. She spoke of how in the United States, migrants are judged and discriminated against and not appreciated for the great work that they do.


ACTA · Sounds of CA - Boyle Heights
"Being an immigrant - the only sin is that we do not have a paper that tells us that we are free in this country. But we work more (or perhaps also the same) as many who do. We contribute the same. But the immigrant is always pointed out, a label is put on him. They don't see him for what he is: a person who comes to work, who comes to struggle." -Margarita Gonzalez

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