Amado Soriano

Interview Description

Oral History Interview with Amado Soriano

Amado Soriano was born in Piaxtla, a village in the state of Puebla, Mexico. His father was a school teacher. Soriano moved to Mexico City in 1965 with his brother and worked in a publicity agency. He came to New York City in 1971, at first living with friends in the South Bronx. He found work in a private restaurant in the Wall Street area of Manhattan (where he continued to work when the interview took place in 1989). In 1971, he moved to the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. Soriano is an active member of several important Mexican organizations in Brooklyn; including la Sociedad Guadalupana, dedicated to organizing the services for Mexico's patron saint and held every December, and the Comite Pro-Construccion Capilla Cristo Rey en Piaxtla, a group raising funds to build a chapel in his hometown in Puebla.

In the interview, Amado Soriano recalls many of his biographical details; from his youth in Piaxtla, Puebla, Mexico and as a young man in Mexico City and New York City. He speaks about the Virgin of Guadalupe ceremonies. Soriano details his son's participation, in that he dances with Los Tecuanes, a group of masked dancers who perform on the Virgin of Guadalupe's day. Soriano recounts the history of these dances, from their Mexican Indian origins, as well as the origins of the town of Piaxtla. Finally, he describes the growth of the Mexican community in Brooklyn. The interview closes with a reading of a composition, "Saludo Guadalupano." 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

Soriano, Amado, Oral history interview conducted by Marcelo Herman, February 12, 1989, Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories, 1989.004.21; Brooklyn Historical Society.