Oral history interview with Eduardo Flores
Object Details
- General
- Associated documentation, including partial transcripts, for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives. The textual transcripts are not verbatim of the audio recordings.
- Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
- Interviewer
- Corporan, Héctor, 1945-
- Names
- Flores, Eduardo
- Collection Creator
- Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum
- Place
- Cuba
- New Orleans (La.)
- Washington (D.C.)
- United States
- Topic
- Black Hispanics
- African Americans
- Emigration and immigration
- Race
- Race relations
- Racism
- Identity
- Santeria
- Yoruba (African people) -- Religion
- Yoruba (African people)
- Slavery
- Interviews
- Interviewer
- Corporan, Héctor, 1945-
- Culture
- Afro-Cubans
- Cubans
- See more items in
- Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records
- Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records / Series 3: Oral History Interviews
- Sponsor
- Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
- Extent
- 2 Digital files
- 1 Sound cassette
- Date
- 1992 November 24
- Archival Repository
- Anacostia Community Museum Archives
- Type
- Archival materials
- Digital files
- Sound cassettes
- Citation
- Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
- Collection Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Note
- The total playing time of interview recording is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Scope and Contents
- Eduardo Flores, also known as Eduardo Jesus Flores Hernandez, spoke about his extended family history and ethnic background, which included Canarian, Dominican, and African ancestry; his childhood in Pinar del Rio, and later Havana with his aunt and cousins, including his school experience, Sunday movie matinees, weekly Catholic church, and chores; and what his parents did for work. Note, Flores identified himself as Black Afro-Cuban and Black Hispanic. Flores explained in detail what happens in Cuba when the government knows you are leaving the country, and why he almost did not leave Cuba. He spoke about his migration and arrival in Miami in 1969, including staying at Cuban Refugee, living in New Orleans from 1969 to 1971, and then migrating to Washington, DC. Flores detailed his school experience, learning English, his first time experiencing discrimination, and the racial and ethnic divisions and tension in New Orleans as well as his high school experience in Washington, DC. He also explained how discrimination and racial identity differed in the United States and Cuba as well as a brief history of slavery in both countries. Flores explained he joined sports to be accepted; he felt hostility toward Black people because he was not accepted as a Black person in the US; learning about Black history and culture in the United States; and how and when he started to see commonalities between Black people in the US and himself. Flores explained in detail Santeria, a religion with Yoruba roots; when and why he started to study Santeria; how he became a Santero and his work; and his goal to write a book about the roots of slavery and the roots of Santeria. He also spoke extensively about his mother's death, with a connection to Santeria. Eduardo Flores was interviewed by Hector Corporan. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include white noise and static. Interviewee's voice is intelligible for the most part.
- Collection Restrictions
- Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
- Record ID
- ebl-1712088000981-1712088003355-1
- Metadata Usage
- CC0