Oral history interview with Michelle DiTondo conducted by Vanessa Concepcion on November 9, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Michelle talks about her parents' experiences living in Osaka, Japan during the war, and the circumstances of her move as a child to Nellis Air Force base in 1972. She discusses living in North Las Vegas and her experiences being part of an air force family. Michelle shares stories of her life on the base and her interactions with other air force families. She also talks about her Japanese culture, foods she has cooked with her mother and brother, celebrating cultural events in light of the pandemic, and her career history including her most recent role working at MGM Resorts International.
Subjects discussed include: Air Force Base; NCO Club; AAPI Scholarship Fund; Taiko Drums.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Hernando Amaya conducted by Laurents Banuelos-Benitez, Marcela Rodriguez-Campo, and Barbara Tabach on October 18, 2018 and December 3, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Hernando Amaya talks about his childhood and education in Bogota, Colombia. He discusses his start in journalism as a young man and working for El Espectador, the Colombian national newspaper. He discusses his experiences reporting on the narco-terrorism occurring in Medellin, Colombia and how this eventually led to his immigration to the United States. Amaya moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001 and continued his career in journalism by working for local Spanish speaking papers and websites. He relates his civic involvement in the Las Vegas area, his work as the president of the Colombian Association of Las Vegas, and various other civic engagements. As a journalist, he asserts the importance of knowing one's culture, storytelling, learning history, and being active in the community.
Archival Collection
This collection has been removed from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries Special Collections and Archives' holdings by request of the donor. The collection was returned to the donor. Please contact special.collections@unlv.edu for further information.
The Leon Carter, Sr. Photographs (approximately 1948-2019) primarily contain photographic prints documenting Leon Carter, Sr.'s life living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Included are photographs of Carter, his brother John L. Carter, members of the Carter family, and snapshots from the Helldorado Days parade in the mid-1960s. The collection includes a photograph of Carter as a table dealer, a facsimile photograph of Carter when he played baseball in Canada in the early 1950s, and his yearbook portrait. Materials also include a brochure from Carter's political campaign running for County Commissioner in 1972, and a 1989 certificate of appreciation to Carter from the Las Vegas Breakfasters Lions Club.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Elda Membreno conducted by Elsa Lopez on February 15, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Elda Membreno discusses her childhood and young adulthood growing up in El Salvador. She recalls her family struggling financially throughout her childhood, which caused her parents to make the trip to the United States and began financially supporting Elda and her siblings abroad. Membreno shares how she became a single mother at a young age and the struggles that came along with that. After remarrying, Elda and her new husband immigrated to California. In 2004, the couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, and Membreno began working as housekeeper. Membreno discusses the problems she faced in her marriage and shares how her experiences have caused her to become outspoken about the problems she has faced throughout her life. Elda is a big advocate for therapy, and she talks about how many Latin households must break the stigma of domestic abuse. Finally, Membreno discusses her involvement in the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and her various civic engagements.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Brendan Ly conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on March 27, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Brendan discusses his background growing up in communist Vietnam in the early 1970s and fleeing with his family as refugees; they immigrated to Hong Kong, China before moving to the United States to live briefly in North Carolina before settling in California. Brendan talks about working at a young age picking fruit, working in catering, and having positions in retail before pursuing higher education and studying pharmaceuticals. He shares stories of his work experience with Walgreens and how this led to him opening a pharmacy with his brother, which they've managed together for the past 18 years.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ropchai, Somphool, Sakulrat, Puonyarat, and Rutt Premsrirut conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on November 23, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. The Premsrirut family takes turns sharing their personal and professional histories and what brought them to Las Vegas, Nevada. Father Ropchai discusses his educational background and how he came to be an Economics Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas after growing up in Nong Khai, Thailand. Mother Somphool, born in the same town in Thailand, shares her path in pursuing medicine and becoming a pediatrician. Siblings Sakulrat, Puonyarat, and Rutt talk about their childhoods growing up in the United States and their current professional pursuits.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kim You Taing conducted by Vanessa Concepcion, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on November 15, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Kim discusses his upbringing in Cambodia during the Cambodian Civil War, the death of his siblings from tragedy and his father from racially-motivated war crimes, and his immigration to the United States as a refugee. He shares how he and his mother lived and worked in the United States, first in Seattle, Washington and then in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kim talks about his work in the hospitality industry in various Vegas hotels and casinos and his membership with the Culinary Workers Union advocating for Asian workers. He also discusses family life with his wife and daughter and his plans to retire.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gloria T. Caoile conducted by Vanessa Concepcion and Stefani Evans on November 18, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Gloria talks about her immigration from the United States to the Philippines with her family when she was a child and how she lived there until the age of 16. She describes her upbringing and family's values that led her to pursue activism within the Asian American community. Gloria shares stories from her three decades of activism and community outreach working with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, local labor unions, and other organizations to uplift Filipino Americans within Las Vegas and the United States.
Subjects discussed include: Ilocano people/language; compound homes; Lolas; Seafood City; Philippine Times newspaper; Claire Chenault
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lisa Song Sutton conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Vanessa Concepcion, and Stefani Evans on November 19, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Lisa shares her personal history and childhood memories moving from Seoul, South Korea to Sierra Vista, Arizona at the age of five. She discusses her educational and professional pursuits in business litigation, bankruptcy law, entrepreneurship, modeling, and her time in the pageant circuit winning Miss Vegas and Miss Nevada in 2013. Lisa also talks about her activism and community engagement efforts to empower women within Las Vegas. She concludes her interview with insight into her Korean heritage, traditional celebrations, and religion.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Yazmin Beltran conducted by Rodrigo Vasquez and Barbara Tabach on February 4, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Beltran discusses her early life in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico and her childhood and upbringing in Mexico. In 2003, at the age of eighteen, she and her mother joined the rest of her family in Las Vegas, Nevada. After attending College of Southern Nevada and taking English as a Second Language classes, Yazmin began to write as a Spanish contributor for a publication in Reno, and became a writer for Spanish publications in Las Vegas, including El Tiempo, El Mundo, and Univision. Beltran's work for Univision led her to Texas, where she covered events and crises including the 2018 child separation occurring at the United States border, which she discusses in the interview. Finally, Beltran talks about being a journalist for The Nevada Independent and the importance of continuing to report in Spanish.
Archival Collection