Interviewer : Ernesto Valdes

Project : University of Houston

Carmen Salinas, a native of San Antonio, recounts her family history in the United States, Mexico, and Texas. She has both Spanish and Native American ancestry, both of which are well-documented. Salinas discusses her family history: occupations of her various relatives, their marriages and relationships with one another, where they are buried, both in Mexico and Texas. One of the major themes Salinas focuses on is the various kinds of discrimination faced by Mexican-Americans and Tejanos when she was growing up, as well as into the present. Salinas and Valdes also discuss her research process, the difficulties she has accessing various documents due to racism or reluctance on the part of potential interviewees.