Title: Pedro Aguilar oral history interview, 2011

Identifier: OH0265   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15395)

Description: Audio recording in English of a Latino oral history, done for an event held at Joyner Library on April 10, 2011. Mr. Aguilar, originally from Veracruz, Mexico, is a restaurant-owner in Duplin County. When he was a child, his family settled in Beulaville, N.C., where they worked in tobacco and later in the hog industry, including for Smithfield. He taught himself English by watching tv. He speaks of the emphasis his family places on education, and how he was able to secure scholarships to help with tuition for his degree at Mount Olive College. In college, he began working in a Mexican restaurant, and following his graduation he worked at a restaurant in Fuquay Varina, before decided to open his own restaurant and employ many of his family members. He discusses the difficulties of restaurant work and his desire to get back to his photography, as well as other family matters and the slowness of the immigration system. The interview forms part of the Latino Oral History Archive, and was conducted by Drs. Ricardo Contreras (Anthropology, ECU) and David Griffith (Anthropology and Coastal Science and Policy, ECU) with funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council.