Oral history interview, Lily and Lucia Villagran, 2013 (video and transcript)

Lucia Villagran was born in El Fresno, Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1926. Lily, her daughter, was born in Canutillo, Texas, in 1958. Lucia’s husband worked in the fields in New Mexico and came to Colorado in 1976 to work in the turkey processing plant in Longmont. They talk about working at the processing plant and an incident in which Lucia fell and was not treated adequately. They also talk about the union that was established in the early ‘90s that helped improve working conditions. They talk about their Mexican traditions and discrimination they’ve faced in Longmont, Colorado. They mention the two young Latino men who were killed by police officers in the 1980s and how El Comité was formed in reaction to that incident and the positive impact the El Comité has had on the community. Lucia and Lily express their belief that Latinos are more accepted in Boulder County, but that some racism remains.