Jose Aguilar

Interview Description

Oral History Interview with José Aguilar

José Aguilar left El Salvador in 1980, when a relative was killed in the civil war and he began to fear for his own safety. He came to New York City via Mexico, and lived first in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens. Aguilar found work in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, but was picked up by immigration authorities and jailed. His fine was paid by a sister of the Church of the Transfiguration, and he was released. The church helped him find work, and his first job was at a summer camp in Upstate New York. Aguilar found an apartment in "Los Sures'' in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, not far from the Church of the Transfiguration.

In the interview, José Aguilar examines the difficulties of attending school to learn English while working and trying to survive economically. He speaks of the illusions that many Salvadorans have that they will live in the Manhattan skyscrapers they have seen in pictures, but end up in poor areas of Brooklyn. But in spite of difficulties, he feels that the community of Salvadorans that has fully formed near the church provides a support system that makes life more bearable for him. Aguilar observes that the Church of the Transfiguration has helped so many Central Americans, and as a result, many people arriving from there head directly to the church. Interview in Spanish conducted by Lucia Rodriguez.

Brooklyn Historical Society initiated the Hispanic Communities Documentation Project in 1988. Over fifty interviews were conducted to document the experiences of Brooklyn residents who arrived from Puerto Rico, Panama, Ecuador, and several other Central and South American nations in the latter half of the twentieth century. This collection includes recordings and transcripts of interviews conducted between 1988 and 1989. The oral histories often contain descriptions of immigration, living arrangements, neighborhood demographics, discrimination, employment, community development, and political leadership. Also included are photographs and printed ephemera.

Citation

Aguilar, Jose, Oral history interview conducted by Lucia Rodriguez, February 11, 1989, Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories, 1989.004.23; Brooklyn Historical Society.