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Luis Paz

Oral history interview conducted by Marcelo Herman

March 11, 1989

Call number: 1989.004.31

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0:12 - Breve historia del voto en el exterior en Ecuador - Brief history on the absentee vote in Ecuador

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5:44 - Población ecuatoriana en EE.UU. - Ecuadorian population in the U.S.

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7:04 - Frente Ecuatoriano para la Defensa del Voto en el Exterior, organizaciones ecuatorianas en Brooklyn - Organization pro absentee vote, Ecuadorian organizations in Brooklyn

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8:12 - Razón para el gran número de clubes ecuatorianos - Reasons for the high number of Ecuadorian clubs

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11:35 - Razones para mudarse a NY, aportación de Brooklyn al resto de EE.UU., tranportación - Reasons for moving to NY, Brooklyn's contribution to society, transportation

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14:49 - Cambios en Brooklyn, desplazamiento de la comunidad ecuatoriana del alto Manhattan a Queens y Brooklyn - Changes in Brooklyn, shift of Ecuadorian community from Upper Manhattan to Queens and Brooklyn

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22:44 - Empleo en Ecuador, problemas obteniendo licencia de profesor en EE.UU. - Employment in Ecuador, issues obtaining teaching license in the U.S.

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24:14 - Observaciones finales, membresía a organizaciones ecuatorianas, PROECUA - Final remarks, membership to Ecuadorian organizations, PROECUA

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Interview Description

Oral History Interview with Luis Paz

Luis Paz served as president of an organization of Ecuadorians dedicated to securing voting rights for Ecuadorians living abroad, who as of the late 1980s, were not permitted to participate in their country's electoral process. Paz is also a member of Profesionales Ecuatorianos en el Exterior (PROECUA), an organization of Ecuadorian professionals that was founded in 1979. When the interview took place in 1989, he was residing on Fourth Avenue at 62nd Street in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.

In the interview, Luis Paz describes the history of the struggle for voting rights in Ecuador, which has included appeals to the United Nations and the World Court, as well as the role of the Ecuadorian American community in Brooklyn and the other boroughs in Ecuadorian politics. He explains the proliferation of Ecuadorian associations, which number in the hundreds in the tristate area, and the founding of the ''dean" of these associations, the Ecuadorian Sporting Club, which was over fifty years old at the time of the 1989 interview. Paz speaks of his reasons for living in Brooklyn, and describes the main Ecuadorian neighborhoods in the borough. Finally, he discusses the need for political mobilization among all the groups of Hispanic heritage in the borough, to give them a representation in local politics. Interview in Spanish conducted by Marcelo Herman.

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

Paz, Luis, Oral history interview conducted by Marcelo Herman, March 11, 1989, Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories, 1989.004.31; Brooklyn Historical Society.

People

  • Paz, Luis
  • Roldos Aguilera, Jaime

Topics

  • Clubs
  • Community organizing
  • Ecuadorian Americans
  • Ecuadorians
  • Emigration and immigration
  • Hispanic Americans
  • Immigrants
  • Parades
  • Professional associations
  • Suffrage

Places

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Ecuador
  • New York (N.Y.)

Finding Aid

Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories