Robert “Bob” Agonia (1938- ) was born in Garden Grove, California on a migrant camp made up of Filipino and Mexican-American workers. Agonia’s father was a farmer on a 70 acre farm owned by the Beggs family. Agonia did not spend much time living on the migrant camp, as his father moved the family to a private residence when Agonia was four. Agonia attended school, during an era of school desegregation in Garden Grove. He recalls that his mother dealt with segregation during her schooling, being forced to attend a school miles down the road from her home despite living across the street from another school. Agonia recalls his community being very diverse with families sharing Filipino and Mexican-American heritage and his neighbors being Japanese Americans. Agonia participated in a multicultural Boy Scout troop. After high school, Agonia joined the Peace Corps and served in El Salvador. While there, Agonia worked in an agricultural research center in Santa Tecla where he helped local farmers select the proper insecticide for their crops. After the Peace Corps, Agonia had his choice of government jobs, ultimately selecting to work for the Internal Revenue Service. Agonia’s work with the IRS is what eventually brought him from California to Las Vegas. He quickly realized that the type of IRS cases he would be handling in Las Vegas were completely different from the work he was accustomed to in California. One of those unique cases required him to close the doors of a downtown casino. Since moving to Las Vegas, Agonia was critical in establishing a Las Vegas LULAC chapter, an American GI Forum, an EEO council, and the UNLV Engineering school.

Interviewed by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez. Gustavo Ramos Junior was born in Presidio, Texas. Growing up Ramos described his childhood as simple childhood, typical of someone that was born on farmland. At the age 10, Ramos and his family moved to California in hopes of better opportunities. When they arrived in California the family had to live in public housing, despite his father not wanting to, he realized it was the only way his family could start anew. Living in public housing influenced Ramos for the rest of his life, including his career as director of public housing in three states.

Interviewed by Maribel Estrada Calderón. Barbara Tabach and Laurents Banuelos-Benitez also participate in the questioning. Erika Castro was born in Mexico City in 1989. At the age of three, she migrated with her family to the United States. She remembers entering Kindergarten without knowing how to speak English. She graduated from the College of Southern Nevada. Castro has since been a political activist. Subjects: PLAN, Planned Parenthood, Environmental Justice, UndocuNetwork, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DREAM Act

Randy Garcia is the founder and CEO of the investment management-consulting firm, The Investment Counsel Company. Born in Los Angeles on Feb. 21, 1954, Garcia’s family moved to Las Vegas in 1957. The son of a World War II vet and a homemaker, Garcia’s ancestral roots come from Mexico, Italy, and Spain. He grew up in Las Vegas during segregation and expansion. He remembers a time when much of city included dirt lots and casinos that no longer stand. A champion in serving under privileged youth and communities across southern Nevada, Garcia lives by the philosophy, “give until it hurts.” Garcia uses his success as a wealth manager to promote, foster, and cultivate positive change for the Latinx community in Las Vegas. His story and dedication to his community is a pinnacle of hope and benevolence for current and future generations. Garcia became the first in his family to attend and graduate college. He graduated from UNLV in 1977 with honors, where he majored in business administratio

Interviewed by Nathalie Martinez. Jocelyn Cortez is a Salvadoran-American immigration lawyer. She grew up on the Eastside of Las Vegas and grew up going to school in the Clark County School District and at UNLV before going to Law School at the University of Arizona. She is an engaged community member as an immigration lawyer working alongside the Culinary Union and the Latino Bar Association.

Interviewed by Maribel Estrada Calderón. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico in 1979, parents immigrated to US when he was pre-school age. By 1989, they had moved to Las Vegas where father got a construction job. Today, Raul is Vice President of Catering with the Station Casinos/Hotels. Married to Ace Daniels.

On February 28, 1980, Paul Gentle interviewed Luella Knuckles (b. 1910 in Impolla, Texas) about life as an African-American in Las Vegas, Nevada. Knuckles talks to Gentle about the conditions that African-Americans lived in and the discrimination they faced when first arriving to the city. Knuckles, in particular, spends a portion of the interview discussing the segregated layout of Las Vegas and the jobs and opportunities that were available for the black community in a segregated town. Moreover, she provides anecdotes about her deceased husband’s employment, their experience buying and repairing a property by themselves, and the changes in attitudes as the city desegregated. The conversation later focuses on the Church’s place in the African-American community, education and participation in church activities, and Knuckle’s personal love for books and Bible study.