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Building a Community
As the first wave of Puerto
Rican migrants established themselves, they helped pave the way for other
Puerto Ricans seeking work in Hartford. Subsequent arrivals had help finding
jobs, learning English, and locating housing thanks to those already here.
As more Puerto Ricans arrived in Hartford, a neighborhood developed with
the sights, sounds, and smells of home.
The Neighborhood
The streets where you would find the most Puerto Ricans were 60, 66 Main
Street, 44 Lawrence Street, 1723 Main Street and there were already quite
a lot of families…around Kennedy, Russell Streets, all of that is now
gone because they knocked everything down. There were many places to live
here…in Hartford.
Haydee Montalvo-Feliciano 
Listen in Spanish (57 KB MP3
- 1, 804 KB WAV)
They were brownstone,
brick buildings. Some were three family houses… The stores were all located
in the Main St. area... These were only residences… [People] would play
dominoes on the back porch. There were family parties…the aguinaldos [Christmas
parties]…roast pig…the three o'clock coffee… It was really nice.
Juan Colón
It was a pleasure
to go outside and hear Spanish. [Because] everything was English.
Haydee Montalvo-Feliciano
How to Roast a
Pig In Hartford
When many Puerto Ricans came here to the United States - you know that
they like roast pig. Many times the only way of being able to make a pig
were in those metal bathtubs, they can put the coal in there and they
can make the pig that way. That worked well as long as the bathtubs were
metal…they were roasting the pigs in the bathtub, and they were plastic,
so they burned all the way down when they put in the coal… But even so…
That didn't dampen our enthusiasm. We continued with the parties, the
parranda [celebrations], and the aguinaldo [Christmas party] . So the
pig ended up getting roasted even if it was in the oven but it tasted
good.
Juan Colón
Listen in Spanish (78
KB MP3 - 2, 481KB WAV)
First Puerto Rican
Food Store
The first Hispanic store was Julian Vargas'… In a little truck he brought…yautia
[sweet potato], guineo [banana], and the things that we use. And after
that time he established a restaurant.
Mariano Cortéz
First Puerto Rican
Clothing Store
My idea was
to get ahead. So I used to do as much as I could to try to progress a
little. So I established the store…at 1335 Main Street… It was a clothing
store. …For the Puerto Ricans that was...like something incredible…to
see a Hispanic clothing store…people came from all over…from all the camps,
from…almost all the towns near Hartford they came to buy from me. And
the store grew fast.
Mariano Cortéz
Buying a Home
My wife's first job was in…the Guilford Laundry, earning sixteen dollars
a week. And there was a lady there…and… she told Angie that she knew about
a place on White Rose Avenue that had been abandoned for generations…
I went to see the place and as soon as I saw the place I said, "This will
be my home"… But I didn't have a penny. I went home, I told Angie…"They're
asking fifteen hundred dollars for that place, and I don't have a dime"…
Angie said, "Well, let me see what we can do." And when I returned from
work that day, she said to me, "Flor, I have eight hundred dollars." I
said, "What?"… "I have eight hundred dollars inside a shoe." …[Angie]
had saved pennies...and dimes… And so we got the place.
Florencio Morales
Baseball
….Baseball
games in the summer… My brother had a team [sponsored by the restaurant]…
And my husband played, and my cousins and nephews played, and many friends…
And that's where people began to get together, I made frituras [fried
foods], when my mother was here, we made pasteles… We made empanadillas…to
sell in the park… [during] a baseball game…
Joaquina Rodríguez
Listen in Spanish (65 KB MP3
- 2, 064 KB WAV)
I had about four
[base] ball teams. I spent a lot of money on that… As soon as the store
began to do well I began with the…ball teams. …I began [with] children
from six years on, from eight to twelve, from twelve to sixteen, I had
a large team. …I spent a lot of time on that but…I felt good because seeing
them sharing together and not being involved in bad things, in trouble,
well, I felt good. And I still see people…black guys come up to me because…the[re]
were blacks, Puerto Ricans, Americans. So a black guy [says] "Daddy"
and he throws his arms around me and I say, "Who could this man be?" and
then he says to me, "Don't you remember that I played with you when I
was eight years old?"
Mariano Cortéz
Listen in Spanish (62 KB MP3
- 1, 967 KB WAV)
"We Were All Like
a Family"
We were all like a family… María Sánchez was like our mother...for all the
young kids… She used to take us to activities and our parents would let
us go with her… If we went to anyplace we would say…"We're going with María,
okay?" [and they would answer] "It's okay."
Carmen Malavé
Listen in English (33 KB MP3
- 517 KB WAV)
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