When high school students at Columbia Heights-based Latin American Youth Center undertook an ambitious project in 1981, they didn’t know it would be headlining a publication more than 40 years later.
Their mission was to preserve important DC history: Central Americans were fleeing their homelands in record numbers — escaping war and economic crisis. When many sought refuge in the Land of Opportunity’s Capital, they were slammed with a reality check: their lives will be changed forever.
LAYC’s students switched on their tape recorders and began collecting oral histories with the newest members of Washington’s Latino community. They wanted to know what it’s like to start over — thousands of miles away in an unfamiliar place with a foreign language?
These cassettes sat quietly in DC Public Library’s archives for years. Now, they’re coming back to life.
In partnership with LAYC, Washingtonians have resurrected hours of interviews online to promote culture, history, and bilingual education.
Nuevas Voces: Latino Immigrants in DC is spotlighting the most captivating clips from these conversations by translating them into English for a broader audience to enjoy and is restoring low-quality audio for Spanish speakers. Its content provides comprehension questions and its website houses quizzes and discussion questions tailored for bilingual education.
The archive contains stories of success, struggle, and resilience.“Latinos come here and maybe they’re very disoriented… just almost in shock,” Lori Kaplan said in her 1982 interview.
Kaplan, merely a new LAYC employee at the time, ascended to President and CEO of the organization — advising DC mayors and council members on Latino youth issues. She was one of the few non-immigrants involved in the original project.
“That sense of community that everybody talks about — for many, it’s still a lonely, isolating experience,” she said.
But others like Viterbo Martinez, a barbershop owner, thrived in his new home. “Once I got to Washington, I immediately said to myself, ‘I want to build my life here,” he said in 1982.
“I am self-reliant — and that is the most important thing: for a person to be able to make a living on their own, without having to depend on anyone else,” Martinez said.
“Although 44 years have passed, the most fascinating aspect of these stories is realizing how little — not how much — has changed,” said Jack Hochman, an Emmy Award winner and Capitol Hill resident spearheading the current venture.
“The immigrants were dismayed by skyrocketing housing costs, even in suboptimal DC neighborhoods. The lack of good jobs and affordability was pushing them into the suburbs — and they all knew somebody petrified of their undocumented status. Sound familiar?” Hochman said.
“There’s never been a more important time to hear this.”
Nuevas Voces’ community liaison Chander Jayaraman shares a special connection to the series. The recently retired ANC Commissioner and a 30-year Capitol Hill resident worked to grow LAYC’s YouthBuild program years ago.
“It’s so gratifying to be able to resurrect these hidden gems and ensure that they become a valuable part of LAYC’s storied history,” Jayaraman said. “It provides a glimpse into the very beginning of the Latino community in our city and the profound impact they’ve had on Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant, as well as the success of greater Washington, DC.”
The duo credit HumanitiesDC and DC Oral History Collaborative with making the project possible. Hochman and Jayaraman are working on contributing new original Latino voices to this collection later this year.
Nuevas Voces: Latino Immigrants in DC is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
