Diana Salgado grew up in the Barrio Chihuahua area of Del Rio in the 1940s. She recalled the discrimination in public spaces in the city (movie theaters, soda fountains…) and how the operators of these places would sometimes try to give her preferential treatment over other Mexican Americans due to her fair skin. Salgado married and dropped out of school shortly before her expected graduation; after spending some years in Arizona, her husband and her moved to San Jose, California, where she found a job in a fruit cannery. In her years working at the cannery, Salgado and her family witnessed the height of the farm workers' movement, and joined the boycotts (her husband was a union member). During her time at the cannery, she also realized the discriminatory practices against line workers and other unsavory actions by the management. She later quit the cannery and became a licensed realtor; after retiring, her family moved back to Texas, eventually resettling in Del Rio. She became involved with local politics through the Democratic Party; she was the chair of the Val Verde Co. committee and ran for several local posts. As leader of the local Democrats, in 2009 she challenged the …

Alonso speaks about growing up in San Felipe and the segregated nature of Del Rio generally. He also speaks a great deal about migrant farm work and following the seasonal harvest. He speaks about his time in the West Texas cotton fields and speaking Spanish in Anglo schools out in West Texas. He talks a little bit about the 1969 Palm Sunday march--he wasn't a participant but he talks about the march. He also talks about the importance of education he received from Bambi Cardenas and Aurelio Montemayor who were both educators at San Felipe in the late 1960s. All in all, this is a great interview that has tons of useful information on Del Rio, San Felipe, and Alonso's life story.