Oral history interview with Eric Mendoza conducted by Holly O'Donnell on November 29, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Eric Mendoza shares his family's chain migration history from Manila, Philippines to the United States and his difficult immigration and naturalization process once arriving in America in 1996. He talks about what brought him to live in Las Vegas, Nevada, his education and professional pursuits, what his life is like in the United States compared to that of the Philippines, and the lives of his eight siblings. Eric Mendoza discusses the historical past of the Philippines, the infrastructure in place there, and government corruption. He also speaks to Filipino traditions and festivals, food and customs, his cultural identity, and assimilating to American culture.

Men harvesting celery on the Iki ranch near Logandale, Nevada.

Transcribed Notes: Bureau of Reclamation typed notes appended to back of photo: Boulder Canyon Project, Nevada Region 3 "Pickers" at work harvesting celery plants on the IKI Ranch near Logandale, Nevada. Raising celery plants is a relatively new type of irrigated specialty farming in southern Nevada. Water from the Muddy River is used to irrigate the fields. Twenty million celery plants were harvested from the 60 acres planted this season. The plants were shipped to the neighboring western states.