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Margie Llorente Gonzales oral history interview: transcript
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Marietta "Margie" Llorente Gonzales conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Vanessa Concepcion, and Stefani Evans on November 1 and 22, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Margie Llorente-Gonzales discusses her upbringing in Manila, the Philippines and her family history within the country, recalling the lives of her parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. She talks about her childhood, educational pursuits, and courtship with her husband in the Philippines. Margie shares how she and her husband immigrated to the United States, how she adapted to her new life as an immigrant dependent on her extended family, and how she and her husband came to settle in Las Vegas. She talks about her artistic pursuits in the forms of dance choreography and performing, scriptwriting, broadcasting, and publishing newsletters. Margie also discusses her employment at McCarran Airport and her political activism, canvassing, and committee work in the Philippines and the United States.
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Swatling, Carol-Ann
Carol-Ann Swatling was raised in Buffalo, New York, in what she subtly calls a “non-traditional upbringing.” Her primary caregivers during her early years were her maternal grandmother, who she fondly recalls and a great uncle and aunt who operated a hearse business. Her mother was in and out of her life, but it was her mother’s sister who mentored her while working at a retail store during high school.
Person
Canarelli, Larry (Lawrence D.)
Lawrence Canarelli was born in Roseburg, Oregon shortly after World War II. His family had no money and lived in a tent on the Umpqua River, foraging and living day-to-day. After their tent and everything they owned burned down, Canarelli’s family moved to various logging camps through Oregon and California. His father quit his job and unexpectedly left the family, leaving the 21-year old mother no choice but to put Canarelli and his three siblings in a Pentecostal orphanage.
Person
Kwan, So Lin, 1949-
In 1990, when Tina's parents opened the Fortune Inn restaurant, seven-year-old Tina began working alongside them; they closed the restaurant in 2005. After the restaurant closed, Tina's mother, So Lin Kwan, became a dealer and her father, David Kwan, became a cook at Lily Langtry restaurant in the Golden Nugget. So Lin is the third youngest of ten children born in Quiping to a different Kwan family. So Lin's oldest sister and her brother were the first of the family to emigrate; the brother did so at twelve years of age.
Person
