Texas Southern University Oral History Project: Mexican Amer

Texas Southern Universityoral History Projectmexican American History

Texas Southern University Oral History Project Mexican American History Class Spring 2014 Interviewee: Raul de La Rosa Date: 5/10/13 Location: Taco Cabana Interviewer: Ana Turrubiates Transcriber: Ana Turrubiates AT: This is Ana Turrubiartes I’m interviewing Raul de La Rosa on May 9th, or 10th, of 2013 outside the Taco Cabana in Houston Texas. Can you begin by telling me your full name? RR: my name is Raul de La Rosa AT: ok, thank you. And where were you born? RR: I was born here in Houston, Texas AT: Wow ok so you’ve lived here all your life? RR: Yeah born and raised in Houston Texas AT: Wow ok great. What’s your birth date? RR: I’m an Aquarius, I was born on February 7th 1978 AT: Ok, ok. What school did you go to? RR: I ended up finishing up at Fair High School which is here in Houston like in the east side but I started off going to Reagan here in the heights AT: Ok ok great did you, is that just high school education, is that middle school is that? RR: Those are the two high schools that I went to but I ended up going to some college at University of Houston Downtown- I took some courses not many but a few AT: Ok. How was the, how were the classes at University of Houston-Downtown? RR: It was fine, I mean I enjoyed the atmosphere, but you know just the life of work got in the way of me finishing up, but the classes were fine. AT: Ok did you go to day classes or where you more of a nightly student I mean I guess? RR: I would go after work so I would go in the evening, so it was evening. AT: Ok. I bet that was hard working during the day and then studying at night in the evening? RR: Yeah the actual going to the classes was fine but the actual finding time to study was more of a task I guess. AT: Ok great. And how many siblings do you have? RR: I’m the oldest of four. I have a brother and two sisters. So it’s two and two. AT: Ok, your brothers, or how old are your siblings? RR: Like I said I’m the oldest of the four and my brother would be the second oldest and he’s two years younger than me so he’s 33 and then my sisters are thirty and thirty-one. So we are all kind of grew up together. AT: Ok so I guess growing up at home it was good because there was two boys and two girls. Everyone had someone to play with, sort of? RR: Yeah my brother, kind of, even though yeah I had a brother we were kind of different he kind of enjoyed different activities as I, but I mean we grew up together. We all played our typical role. I was the big brother trying to get them into bad stuff but at the same time I looked out after them. AT: Ok could you tell me a little about your parents? RR: Yeah, both of my parents they were born in Mexico. My dad was born in San Luis Potosi and my mom in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Yeah so they were both born over there. My dad was a mechanic and my mom for the most part she was a housewife so she did her job of taking care of us making sure we got to school on time. AT: Ok, that’s good definitely. So most of the time you lived with your parents growing up is that how it worked, or did you move out early? RR: I lived with my parents probably until my early 20’s when I moved out. I stayed there until I finally moved out on my own AT: Ok so you were very close to them? RR: Yeah we were close; we were a close net family. Most of our other family was in Mexico. We had a few family members here in Houston but being that there wasn’t so many of us we kind of just stuck together. AT: Now were your other siblings your brothers and sister just as close to your parents as you were? RR: If I were to break it down. I would say that I was closer to my mother and my brother was closer to my dad. And then my sisters were both a daddy’s girls. So they were both closest to my dad, but I was probably the one closest to my mother. Like I said my dad was a mechanic so he liked, he was outside working on cars doing extra projects on his free time and my brother really was interested in what he did while I was probably inside watching my mom bake or cook or something, My interest was more inside compared to my brother he liked being outside with my dad. AT: So normally in Mexican families, I can say from personal experience its really hard for parents to let go of their children, especially moms you know when their kids are growing up, so when you were moving out was it hard for your mom to let go or see that you were bettering yourself or looking to seek an outside life? RR: Definitely I think my mother did struggle the most because I was her first you know we had a really close bond so she struggled the most letting go and it was just went I moved out; it was growing up I was the one who fought extend the curfew or to get the extra freedoms that my siblings took for granted without having to go through the pulling away stage from my mother and my dad. AT: So growing up celebrating were there specific days or specific traditions that your family held on to that you can say, that you could clearly remember, did your sisters have that traditional quincenera’s growing up or how were the celebrations of birthdays, Cinco de Mayo, and stuff like that? RR: It’s interesting that you say this today. The mother’s day that we celebrate was always May 10th the same day as Mexico. So even though everyone here celebrates on the Sunday, I’m not sure which Sunday of May it is. We always did May 10th so that was an interesting thing to bring up on today because today in my family its mothers day. One of my sister’s had a quince era the other one not because we didn’t want her to have a quince era but more because she was more of an introvert kind of shy so she wasn’t really wanting one but yea we would do a lot of traditional the quince era, mother’s day on may 10 even like the way we celebrate other holidays like new years a lot of time our goal was to when we had vacation was to go to Mexico and celebrate them there with the rest of our family AT: So your mother how long has she lived here for? RR: They moved here probably two years before I was born, being that I’m 35 now they lived here. Well my dad passed away. But they moved here two years before I was born. My mother has been here 37 years AT: That being said I was asking the question because maybe she’s accustomed to celebration now having two mothers day the 10 and the Sunday that we celebrate here in the U.S? RR: Yeah she’s very aware that there are two days now, she’s been aware for a while and she tries to take advantage and expect us on the tenth there and then on Sunday she’ll want us around to. She is fully expecting us to be there both days so definitely AT: Another topic that I would like to discuss is your job, what you do? RR: I work for the city of Houston, the department that I work is called the Houston Emergency Center and we refer to it as HEC and what I do there is I’m considered a senior 911 tele communicator which in all less I answer 911 emergency calls for the fire department and for the EMS. AT: Ok, how many days a week do you work there or your typical as far as how many hours would you describe a typical week being? RR: That building there operates 24 hours a day obviously because we always have to have the emergency center going to answer 911 calls. My typical work week consist of working 5- 8 hour days. Typical, there’s different shifts the shift I’m on is from 10 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening. So it’s a petty typical day the only main difference from other jobs are my days off are not automatically Saturdays and Sundays my days off are during the week. AT: How do you like being off during the week, how do you feel it compares to other jobs that Monday through Friday 8-5 or 9-5? RR: That’s one of the things that you have to get used to. As far as If you’re going to work in that type of environment. There’s a lot of family gathering or festivities that happen on Saturdays and Sundays even like going to church you have to rearrange some of those things and make them happen on different days but as far as getting things done; during the week everybody is at work so I’m able to move around the city without too many people in the way so that’s one of the convenience’s but you do miss out on a lot of typical things that are done on the weekends. AT: Now your job, do you live near the area or do you have a far commute? RR: No, I’m very close to my job and it’s by design I don’t commute that much. I can probably get to work in less that 15 minutes but my goal was to find somewhere near to avoid commuting. AT: Yes because that Houston traffic is just hectic. RR: Definitely, that gives me a lot more time to my self other than being stuck on the freeway here in Houston AT: Would you describe your job, how do you feel being a Latino it sound like a very responsible job being in those shoes you say your are almost a senior tele communicator, I’m assuming that is a big responsibility. How do you think you’ve impacted it speaking both very fluent English and Spanish? RR: Every day in my job, I do get paid extra because I do speak Spanish not only do I answer and process 911 call for citizens that speak English I also process them for the Spanish speaking people as well. If you are here in Houston and you have an emergency and you only speak Spanish there is someone here to process your call in the same amount of time for an English speaking. Every day I handle 911 calls in Spanish. We are talking about peoples lives sometimes we do have to do CPR, a lot of medical emergencies, talking through the beginning stages of delivering a baby if there’s a pregnant female about to give birth. We answer fire calls to if someone is having a fire emergencies there building is having a fire and they speak Spanish I process those on a daily basis so speaking Spanish has helped me out and it’s helping out passing it on and helping others every day.

Paper For Above instruction

The interview with Raul de La Rosa provides a comprehensive insight into the experiences of a Mexican American living and working in Houston, Texas. His narrative offers a layered understanding of cultural traditions, familial relationships, and the professional roles that shape his identity within the Mexican American community.

Introduction

Raul de La Rosa’s account exemplifies the integration of cultural heritage and personal growth within the context of urban American life. Born and raised in Houston, his story highlights the importance of family bonds, cultural traditions such as celebrating Mother’s Day on May 10th and observing Quinceañeras, and his career in emergency services as a bilingual 911 telecommunicator. This narrative underscores the significant role that cultural identity and family ties play in the everyday lives of Mexican Americans in Houston.

Family and Cultural Traditions

Raul's family maintains strong ties to Mexican traditions, which are evident in their holiday celebrations and familial bonds. Celebrating Mother’s Day on May 10th aligns with Mexico’s tradition, contrasting with the U.S. observance on the second Sunday of May. His family's practice of celebrating these holidays with family gatherings in Mexico signifies the preservation of cultural practices despite residing in Houston. The familial structure reflects typical Mexican cultural values where close-knit relationships and respect for tradition are prioritized. He describes his close relationship with his parents and siblings, noting that his mother struggled to let go when he moved out, a phenomenon common in Mexican families where parental attachment is profound.

Family Dynamics and Parental Relationships

Raul’s recounting of his family dynamics illustrates the traditional gender roles and emotional bonds characteristic of Mexican culture. He emphasizes the closeness with his mother and brother, as well as the individual special bonds his sisters shared with their father. These relationships depict the importance of familial loyalty and emotional support, which serve as a foundation for resilience and community cohesion. The narrative also reveals the emotional struggles involved in growing up and becoming independent, especially for mothers who grapple with letting go of their children, as Raul’s mother did when he made the transition to adulthood.

Educational and Occupational Experiences

Raul’s educational journey, although interrupted by work commitments, showcases his effort to pursue higher education at the University of Houston Downtown. His experience reflects the common challenges faced by working adults balancing job responsibilities and academic aspirations. His job as a senior 911 telecommunicator for the Houston Emergency Center embodies a significant level of responsibility, particularly in providing bilingual services to the community. This role underscores how the Mexican American identity contributes to essential community services, affirming the importance of bilingualism in fostering inclusivity and effective communication in multicultural settings.

Professional Impact and Bilingualism

Raul’s ability to speak both English and Spanish enhances his professional capacity, allowing him to serve a broader segment of Houston's diverse population effectively. His work in processing emergency calls in Spanish daily underscores the critical importance of language skills in emergency services, especially in a city like Houston with a substantial Hispanic population. His contribution exemplifies how bilingual individuals serve as cultural and linguistic bridges, facilitating access to emergency services for Spanish-speaking residents, which is vital for community health and safety.

Conclusion

Raul de La Rosa’s narrative captures the essence of Mexican American life in Houston, intertwining familial devotion, cultural traditions, and professional dedication. His story illuminates the ongoing connection to Mexican heritage through holiday celebrations and family bonds, while also highlighting the realities of balancing work in emergency services with personal and cultural responsibilities. The interview exemplifies how cultural identity influences daily life and professional roles, reinforcing the resilient and resourceful nature of Mexican Americans in urban American settings.

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