Terms of Use

Oral histories are intimate conversations between and among people who have generously agreed to share these recordings with BHS’s archives and researchers. Please listen in the spirit with which these were shared. BHS abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.

Every oral history relies on the memories, views, and opinions of the narrator. Because of the personal nature of oral history, listeners may find some viewpoints or language of the recorded participants to be objectionable. In keeping with its mission of preservation and unfettered access whenever possible, BHS presents these views as recorded.

The audio recording should be considered the primary source for each interview. Where provided, transcripts created prior to 2008 or commissioned by a third party other than BHS, serve as a guide to the interview and are not considered verbatim. More recent transcripts commissioned by BHS are nearly verbatim copies of the recorded interview, and as such may contain the natural false starts, verbal stumbles, misspeaks, and repetitions that are common in conversation. The decision for their inclusion was made because BHS gives primacy to the audible voice and also because some researchers do find useful information in these verbal patterns. Unless these verbal patterns are germane to your scholarly work, when quoting from this material researchers are encouraged to correct the grammar and make other modifications maintaining the flavor of the narrator’s speech while editing the material for the standards of print.

All citations must be attributed to Brooklyn Historical Society:

[Last name, First name], Oral history interview conducted by [Interviewer’s First name Last name], [Month DD, YYYY], [Title of Collection], [Call #]; Brooklyn Historical Society.

These interviews are made available for research purposes only. For more information about other kinds of usage and permissions, see BHS’s rights and reproductions policy.

Agree to terms of use

Carmen Rosado Arroyo

Oral history interview conducted by Jaime Barreto

January 1975

Call number: 1976.001.005

Search This Index
Search Clear

0:03 - Introducción, trabajo de los padres en P.R., mudanza a EE.UU. y primeras impresiones de N.Y. - Introductions, parents' occupations in P.R., migrating to U.S., first impressions of N.Y.

Play segment

Partial Transcript:

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords:

Subjects:

8:59 - Crecer biligüe, la carrera de su padre, relaciones entre otros inmigrantes de N.Y - Growing up bilingual, father’s career, and relations between immigrants in N.Y.

Play segment

Partial Transcript:

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords:

Subjects:

14:56 - Organizaciones comunitarias, líderes y orígenes de la Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana de Habla Española - Community organizations, leaders and origins of the First Spanish Presbyterian Church

Play segment

Partial Transcript:

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords:

Subjects:

26:00 - El apoyo de la comunidad italiana y judia hacia la comunidad puertorriqueña - The Italian and Jewish community’s support towards the Puerto Rican community

Play segment

Partial Transcript:

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords:

Subjects:

30:18 - Actividades caritativas de la iglesia, cambios demográficos en Williamsburg - Church’s charitable activities, demographic changes in Williamsburg

Play segment

Partial Transcript:

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords:

Subjects:

44:26 - Welfare y sus efectos en las generaciones más jóvenes - Welfare and its effect on the younger generations

Play segment

Partial Transcript:

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords:

Subjects:

47:13 - Representación de los puertorriqueños en la prensa, la identidad puertorriqueña y el progreso de los puertorriqueños en puestos públicos - Portrayal of Puerto Ricans in media, Puerto Rican identity, advancement of Puerto Ricans in public positions

Play segment

Partial Transcript:

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords:

Subjects:

58:52 - Seguro Social, trabajar durante la Gran Depresión, programas de asistencia económica (CCC, WPA) - Social security, working during the Depression, relief programs (CCC, WPA)

Play segment

Partial Transcript:

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords:

Subjects:

63:20 - El futuro de la comunidad puertorriqueña, la necesidad de programas para puertorriqueños de edad avanzada - The future of the Puerto Rican community, the need for Puerto Rican senior citizens programs

Play segment

Partial Transcript:

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords:

Subjects:

Interview Description

Oral History Interview with Carmen Rosado Arroyo

Carmen Rosado Arroyo was born in the 1910s in the neighborhood of Melillas in Santurce, Puerto Rico. She moved to New York in 1923, where she had six children and spent most of her life as a housewife. She was involved in civic and religious activities and was a member of the First Spanish Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg. At the time of the interview in 1973, she was sixty-five years old and had been living in New York for approximately fifty-two years.

In this interview, Carmen Rosado Arroyo briefly describes her life in Santurce, Puerto Rico and her first experiences in New York. Mrs. Rosado Arroyo talks about the beginnings of the First Spanish Presbyterian Church and the reasons for its establishment. She compares New York--as well as its population--of 1973, to the New York she knew during her first years in the city. She goes into detail as to how immigrants worked and lived together regardless of country of origin. Mrs. Rosado Arroyo discusses several social relief programs such as the Works Progress Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, and welfare. Interview in Spanish conducted by Jaime Barreto.

This collection includes recordings and transcripts of oral histories narrated by those in the Puerto Rican community of Brooklyn who arrived between 1917 and 1940. The Long Island Historical Society initiated the Puerto Rican Oral History Project in 1973, conducting over eighty interviews between 1973 and 1975. The oral histories often contain descriptions of immigration, living arrangements, neighborhood ethnicities, discrimination, employment, community development and political leadership. Also included are newspaper clippings, brochures, booklets about Brooklyn's Puerto Rican community, and administrative information on how the project was developed, carried out, and evaluated.

Citation

Arroyo, Carmen Rosado, Oral history interview conducted by Jaime Barreto, January 1975, Puerto Rican Oral History Project records, 1976.001.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.

People

  • Arroyo, Carmen Rosado
  • Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.)
  • New York (N.Y.). Department of Public Welfare
  • Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Presytery of New York
  • United States. Works Progress Administration (N.Y.)

Topics

  • Depressions
  • Emigration and immigration
  • Employment
  • Puerto Ricans
  • Race relations

Places

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Puerto Rico
  • Santurce (San Juan, P.R.)
  • Williamsburg (New York, N.Y.)

Finding Aid

Puerto Rican Oral History Project records