Oral history interview, Maria Medina, 1978? (audio and summary)

Maria Medina was born in 1891, probably in Arroyo Secco, New Mexico. She was 86 years old at the time of the interview, living in some kind of a care facility, and was rather confused in her recollections. She was orphaned at age 3 and raised by a “comadre.” She did not go to school and did not know how to read or write; she did not speak English, although she had lived in Colorado for many years. She mentioned some aspects of the economic and social life of her New Mexican community when she was a child. She and her husband came to Colorado to find better-paying work. She had 12 children but was not in close contact with most of them or her grandchildren, who did not know Spanish. Maria spoke Spanish with a strongly traditional New Mexican pronunciation; she used some older vocabulary and verb forms as well. The audio interview is a linguistic gem, but it is hard for a native Spanish speaker from another region in 2013 to understand.