"My parents built the house in 1965 after buying the property which was a desertlike area, with no construction done previously on it. I was two years old when I first moved in, around 1966. My parents contracted an engineer to design the house, and they began to plan the structure of the place my family would live in. There was also another empty lot next to the house, which my family did not own until later years. That empty lot eventually became our backyard, but it was just a yard of dirt for many years. There were no trees at this point in time, but eventually palm trees would arise in our front yard after being planted, and another large tree was planted in the interior, towards the side of our property. There was no running water either in this area at this point in time, but my grandpa installed a water system eventually."
"After my family and I moved in, houses began to be built around ours. A neighborhood was being developed, and our surroundings were becoming urbanized. The population of the city began to grow over time. The city is bordered with San Luis, Arizona, so many people began to move to this city to find jobs in Arizona that were close to the border. As I stated before, trees began to be planted around us, including in our own area. 2 large palm trees were planted in a line in front of our house, as well as a large tree and eventually a small tree inside our gates. With the increased vegetation, the climate eventually became better, and the weather became cooler with all the new plants and water in the area."
"The area was very calm when I lived here, and my brothers and I went to school around here. We had a dog, and took good care of it while we lived here as well. The area was very safe, so children were able to play outside without having to worry about any danger, and the community was very tight-knit. I went swimming sometimes because the weather is pretty hot here, so it was convenient. The Colorado River also passes through here which is notable."
"I currently don’t live there anymore, but I lived there for approximately 30 years. I commuted to work from this house, and I kept doing so until I met your father and moved to the United States in 1997. My parents, and your grandparents, still live there to this day. They continue to maintain the well-being of the property by irrigating all the plants around the property. My grandparents keep another dog in the empty lot they eventually bought, and they had many chickens to supply eggs, and parakeets and canaries as pets. The commercial activity has increased since we lived there since we are on the international border, as well as bordering Baja California."
Isaac: My name is Isaac Cortes and I’ll be interviewing my mom, Forinya [SP] Cortes, today about where she lived for about 30 years in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico which is in the state of Sonora. So, to start off, how did this place look before?
Forinya: Okay. My parents built this house in 1965 after buying the property which was a desert-like area with no construction done previously on it. I was two years old when I first move in around 1966. My parents contracted an engineer to design the house, and they began to plan the structure of the place my family would live in. There were, I’m sorry, there was also another empty lot next to the house which my family did not own until later years. That empty lot eventually became our back yard but it was just a yard of dirt for many years. There were no trees at this point in time but, eventually, palm trees would arise in our front yard after being planted. And, another large tree was planted in the interior towards the side of our property. There was no running water either in this area at this point in time but my dad installed a water system eventually.
Isaac: All right. Next question. How has this place changed?
Forinya: After my family and I moved in, houses began to be built around ours. A neighborhood was being developed and our surroundings were becoming urbanized.
Isaac: Urbanized.
Forinya: Urbanized. The population of the city began to grow over time. The city is border with San Luis, Arizona so many people began to move to this city to find jobs in Arizona that were close to the border. As I state before, trees began to be plant around us including in our own area. Two large palm trees were planted in a line in front of our house as well as large tree and eventually a small tree inside our gate. With increase vegetation, the climate eventually become better and the weather become cooler with all the new plants and water in the area.
Isaac: All right. Next question. What are some of the things you used to do here in this place?
Forinya: The area was very calm when I live here as a child. And, my brothers and I went to school around here. We had a dog and took good care of it while we live here as well. The area was very safe so children were able to play outside without having to worry about any danger and the community was very tight-knit. I went swimming sometimes because the weather is pretty hot here so it was convenient. The Colorado River also passes through here which is notable.
Isaac: All right. Last question. What are some other things you do here now?
Forinya: I currently don’t live there anymore but I live there for approximately 30 years. I commuted to work from this house and I kept doing so until I met my husband and moved to the United States in 1997. My parents and your…
Isaac: Which are my grandparents.
Forinya: And your grandparents still live there to this day. They continue to maintain the well-being of the property by irrigating all the plants around the property. My parents keep another dog in the empty lot they eventually bought and they have many chickens to supply eggs, and parakeet, and canaries as pets. The commercial activity has increased since we live there since we are on the international border as well as bordering with Baja California, Mexico.
Isaac: All right. Thank you.