Oral history interview, Arthur Perez, 2013 (video and transcript)

Arthur Perez, an executive chef who grew up in Louisville, Colorado, talks about the challenges he confronted while growing up as one of very few Latino families in the community. His maternal grandparents were both chefs. His father was a migrant worker from Texas; his mother, whose family moved from Erie to the Goss-Grove neighborhood of Boulder in the 1950s, worked at Valley Lab. His parents moved to Louisville in 1975. He discusses the importance of food in his family’s activities, his strong sense of pride in being Latino, the importance of family and religion in his culture, and contributions of Hispanics to Boulder County. He gives examples of racism that he has encountered, talks about how not having learned Spanish at home has affected him, and reflects on the pull of gangs for some Latino youth.