Click below to listen to the first interview recording
Click below to listen to the second interview recording
Interview Information
Interviewee: Gina M. Rodriguez Lopez
Interviewer: Dulce Gutierrez Vasquez
Interview Date: June, 23rd 2022
Summary: Gina Marie Rodriguez Lopez was born on October 14th, 1961 in San Luis Obispo, California. On February 13th, 1980 she moved with her then husband to Brewster, Washington and worked in agriculture for several years. In 1984, Lopez went on to work for the Brewster School District’s Migrant Program as a home visitor before opening a Mexican restaurant, Mi Casita, in 1986. Seven years later, after divorcing her husband, Lopez moved to Wenatchee and now works for Agg Supply County as the Human Resource Manager and Safety Manager. Lopez talks about raising her children in Brewster and Wenatchee and notes the differences with her own childhood in California.
Lopez became involved with the Latino community after joining the Wenatchee chapter of LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens1. As a part of LULAC, Gina helped organized the 2006 Immigration Reform March that started at the Canadian border and ended in Wenatchee2. Lopez’s involvement with LULAC and CAFÉ started after meeting people such as Jorge and Alma Chacon, Aaron Ruiz, Teresa Contreras, and Gloria Vasquez at Fiestas Mexicanas events where she would be attending as a Mariachi Huenachi parent.
Lopez mentions the changes in Wenatchee are both positive and negative, noting increased addiction and gang activity as well as new businesses opening. Lopez compares her work with AGG Supply Co to her time working in the orchards in Brewster and expresses a desire to retire and enjoy life.
1 The Wenatchee LULAC chapter dissolved and became CAFÉ, the Community for the Advancement of Family Education.
2 Year not confirmed
First Interview Transcript Below
Acronyms: GV= Dulce Gutierrez Vasquez; GL= Gina Lopez.
GL: That’s the scaring the birds in the cherry orchard, that boom.
GV: Oh is it like a machine or a what-
GL: No I think it’s just like they have some machine or something.
GV: The date is is June 23rd 2022, my name is Dulce Gutierrez Vasquez, I’m the interviewer with the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center’s Diversity in Local History grant, collecting oral histories from local Latinos in the Wenatchee valley. I am here with Gina at her home, Gina could you please state your name, date of birth, and where you were born?
GL: My name is Gina Marie Lopez, I was born- my date of birth is October 14th 1961 and I was born in San Luis Obispo CA.
GV: What brought you up to Washington?
GL: I moved to Washington in February 13th, 1980 my husband brought me here up to Brewster, WA.
GV: How did you end up in Wenatchee from Brewster?
GL: When I got divorced I moved to Wenatchee.
GV: What has your path been been like, for you or your family, since you arrived in this area?
GL: I would say that since I arrived in this area, I became more of an agriculture worker. I worked side by side with my husband in the orchard for several years, until 1984, I got a job with the Brewster School District and in the migrant program as a home visitor and that’s when I started steering away from agriculture. And then in…did I say 1994? That was…19 that was 1984.[Laughs] So in 1986, I actually started a Mexican restaurant in Brewster and it was called Mi Casita and so I had the restaurant for seven years until I moved to Wenatchee.
GV: I didn’t know that.
GL: Yeah.
GV: What do you do now?
GL: So currently I work for Agg Supply Company and I’ve been with them for 15 years and my current position is human resource manager and safety manager.
GV: Did your children do other schooling here, in the area?
GL: My three children were born in Brewste,r and of course they went to school in Brewster, Orville and Wenatchee. And Crystal went to Eastern Washington University and she’s currently employed there, and Kenny was not able to finish high school, and then Trinidad he takes- he took classes at Wenatchee Valley College and kind of basically learned on the job. So he currently is the executive officer for a regional support network which manages mental health money, and Crystal runs the Visitor Center at Eastern Washington.
GV: What was it like for you to raise children in this area?
GL: To me it was, I think the Wenatchee area was better than the Brewster area because there was more for my children to do. More electives as I would put it, you know and so it gave them an opportunity to do other things, other sports and stuff like that.
GV: Are there any traditional aspects of your culture that you find important to you or that you think were important to pass down in your family?
GL: So I would say that I didn’t live a row traditional life because of out of my upbringing but you know like I think one of the traditions that I hold really close to me is celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas together and I I make sure every Christmas we make them a list so several times a year when crystal’s favorite dishes plus all day I’ll make plus all day for her so I try to keep those traditions you know with my family I wouldn’t say I always had that when I was a child but I kind of wanted to create my own traditions from my family for my children could have something to hold onto for those same traditions that your family did they wear those as ones that started um they did sometimes yeah are there down to their yes I I hope that my children are able to keep like our Christmas traditions um you know the the unity the cooking together music you know and just spending time with family one of my new rules is well you know we’re all at the table eating cell phones are off the table so because I still feel that we need to communicate so yeah and I I think it’s very important to be able to socialized with your children and yeah do you think bringing would have been any different even if I would have had my children in California definitely I feel that in California life is faster and there’s a lot more temptations um I’ll just be straightforward so I’ve had a lot of relatives distant and very close relatives that have have had addiction issues gang issues and I just felt like up here is a little bit different for from my children and they you know like I say I moved 1200 miles away from my family I was alone without any relatives for a long time up here you can build yeah I I did and and I feel like you know one of the things that dad really helped me and my children uh you know crystal was part of she was in mariachi during part of her schooling so so we would volunteer a lot you know and that’s where I met a lot of a wonderful group of people and back then it was we the group’s name was lulac and so so in 2006 you know we did the immigration reform March here from the Canadian border all the way to Wenatchee and so you know it was an opportunity for my children to um to see the struggle other people struggles you know that necessarily they didn’t have because they were born here you know or I didn’t have because I was born here but you know it’s really sad when you have first cousins that have lived here for 30 years and they’re still illegal and there’s still not an immigration reform that can legalize them so you know so I would say you know a lot of our community involvement was part of that and also like fiestas mexicanas you know it it gave my children opportunities see more of their culture and and so and they they I would say work hand in hand with me you know on those projects along with all the other people that all of us that volunteered all tying back then 2006 I think yeah yeah I think it was I think it was 2006 I’m pretty sure was it 2000 yeah it was whatever we did lulac here in I I have stuff downstairs I have a picture of me with and that’s the year the Mexican president came to Yakima remember and we all went to Yakima give mom went quite a few of us that went yeah yeah it’s funny ’cause yeah yeah project that I what people were actually doing yeah we were just going yeah we’re just going here right there yeah yeah did you did you organizing stuff like that no no I I used to be really really shy when I was young and so no not really yeah but this just through like that yes yeah it was through the mariachi and and then hey let’s go help with fiestas mexicanas and let’s you know so that’s how I got it like with the Chuck ONS and your and your mom and Gloria and there is a contreras and Iran and his brothers and yeah yeah I would say that I can see some of the struggles that I saw in California as the young person I would say more in gang activity more tagging you know it yeah I I I see more I see struggles IPad on the other hand I see a lot of people that are starting businesses that you know my kids they have a lot of friends that are first generation college students so you know there’s always there’s always good and bad um I guess more education for families on on the difficult topics like gangs and and how they can be generational you know drug addiction and and I think I don’t know if I should say this but I was a wild Fairchild I was raised on welfare tell us 14 years old and I always told myself I will not raise my kids that way so I’ve worked really hard to try to teach my kids how to work be self sufficient yeah for yourself yeah I hope to retire in six years I’ll be 67 after I retire I’d like to just enjoy life and I feel like I put a hard days of work you know a lot of long days of work different types of work and I just feel like I’ve contributed to my community so I just like to enjoy life yeah as we back is there that children or certain things where um like like what like like as far as maybe not with I think I think you know like I think our our music our food you know I think family unity I think is important there’s something that you would like we that there are very they’re very hardworking people you know and and they they struggle to get ahead and and ’cause I know for me it hasn’t been easy especially since I was a single parent but I think if you stay focused on your goals in life and and I feel that that God provides for you and your family you had mentioned earlier that you word what was that what was that like and on the other end on like the add to play HR on the HR side up compared to my job now some days I wish I worked at the orchard you know our I always enjoyed working in the orchard I tried to packing shed for two days I couldn’t handle that but I a joy working in the orchard because you’re out in the fresh air you know you’re out there with your people and you know everybody singing all day long and you know just I I loved that job that importunately I you know how to look at my family’s future and and compared to doing HR now I feel my my job now I feel like I I help develop people into better positions I and very focused on employee training you know like let’s say I got somebody they come in as an associate at the hardware store and You know and then six months down the road I’ll go and talk to them OK tell me what you’ve learned I know how to mix pain I know how to make keys you know and of course a lot a lot of our employees they love helping customers with their their problems that they might have plumbing electrical and that a lot of times I hear employees tell me I learn from the customer also you know so so that’s gratifying to me to know that you know they’re learning something while they’re with us and I always tell our managers you know a lot of our ploy ease are we’re just a stepping stone for them to get to a better place and they could take skills with them that will help them in their future so that’s the difference surprise oh definitely I would have never imagined I’d be in this position yeah that I’ve been remodeling for the last year yeah I don’t know yeah so I’ll tell you a funny story so when I moved to Washington the first year after the harvest of 1980 I was pregnant with my first child and we lived up in the cabin right outside of rooster and they had no sheetrocking just it was just word on the outside we had to heat it with the oven in the bathroom was probably from here to that shared down there which is about 100 feet and so whenever I had to go to the bathroom I had to walk through the stove to this other build the outbuilding so you know and then you talk about my home now and that’s where I feel like you know I’ve been blessed with through my hard work from where I lived when I lived in Brewster but it’s taken a lot of work and a lot of sweat and there’s sometimes you go and I think I’ve made my family proud oh thank you
[End of Interview]
Interview length: 35:45
Transcribed by: Dulce Gutierrez Vasquez on June 22nd, 2022
Second Interview Transcript
Acronyms: GV= Dulce Gutierrez Vasquez; GL= Gina Lopez.
GL: That’s the scaring the birds in the cherry orchard, that boom.
GV: Oh is it like a machine or a what-
GL: No I think it’s just like they have some machine or something.
GV: The date is is June 23rd 2022, my name is Dulce Gutierrez Vasquez, I’m the interviewer with the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center’s Diversity in Local History grant, collecting oral histories from local Latinos in the Wenatchee valley. I am here with Gina at her home, Gina could you please state your name, date of birth, and where you were born?
GL: My name is Gina Marie Lopez. I was born- my date of birth is October 14th, 1961 and I was born in San Luis Obispo CA.
GV: What brought you up to Washington?
GL: I moved to Washington in February 13th, 1980. My husband brought me here, up to Brewster, WA.
GV: How did you end up in Wenatchee from Brewster?
GL: When I got divorced I moved to Wenatchee.
GV: What has your path been been like, for you or your family, since you arrived in this area?
GL: I would say that since I arrived in this area, I became more of an agriculture worker. I worked side by side with my husband in the orchard for several years until 1984. I got a job with the Brewster School District in the Migrant Program as a home visitor. That’s when I started steering away from agriculture. And then in…did I say 1994? That was…19 that was 1984.[Laughs] So in 1986, I actually started a Mexican restaurant in Brewster and it was called Mi Casita and so I had the restaurant for seven years until I moved to Wenatchee.
GV: I didn’t know that.
GL: Yeah.
GV: What do you do now?
GL: So currently I work for Agg Supply Company and I’ve been with them for 15 years and my current position is Human Resource Manager and Safety Manager.
GV: Did your children do other schooling here, in the area?
GL: My three children were born in Brewster and of course they went to school in Brewster, Orville and Wenatchee. And Crystal went to Eastern Washington University and she’s currently employed there. And Kenny was not able to finish high school and then Trinidad he takes- he took classes at Wenatchee Valley College and kind of basically learned on the job. So he currently is the executive officer for a regional support network which manages mental health money, and Crystal runs the Visitor Center at Eastern Washington.
GV: What was it like for you to raise children in this area?
GL: To me it was, I think the Wenatchee area was better than the Brewster area, because there was more for my children to do; more electives as I would put it, you know? And so it gave them an opportunity to do other things, other sports and stuff like that.
GV: Are there any traditional aspects of your culture that you find important to you or that you think were important to pass down in your family?
GL: So I would say that I didn’t live a real traditional life because of my upbringing, but I think one of the traditions that I hold really close to me is celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas together. And I make sure every Christmas we make tamales so several times a year when Crystal’s favorite dishes is pozole I make pozole for her. So I try to keep those traditions you know with my family. I wouldn’t say I always had that when I was a child, but I kind of wanted to create my own traditions from my family for my children could have something to hold onto.
GV: Were those the same traditions that your family did or they wear those ones that started with you?
GL: They did sometimes, yeah.
GV: Are there any that you hope your kids with pass down to their families?
GL: Yes, I hope that my children are able to keep like our Christmas traditions. You know, the unity, the cooking together, music you know and just spending time with family. One of my new rules is when we’re all at the table eating cell phones are off the table so because I still feel that we need to communicate. So yeah and I think it’s very important to be able to socialized with your children and yeah.
GV: Do you think their upbringing would have been any different had you guys stayed in California vs being in this state?
GL: If I would have had my children in California definitely.
GV: How so?
GL: I feel that in California life is faster and there’s a lot more temptations of…I’ll just be straightforward.
GV: Yeah.
GL: So I’ve had a lot of relatives distant and very close relatives that have had addiction issues, gang issues, and I just felt like up here is a little bit different for my children and they you know like I say I moved 1200 miles away from my family. I was alone without any relatives for a long time up here.
GV: Did you feel like you could build your family here? Like a sense of community?
GL: Yeah I did and I feel like one of the things that really helped me and my children- uh you know Crystal was part of, she was in mariachi during part of her schooling so we would volunteer a lot you know and that’s where I met a lot of a wonderful group of people. And back then it was, the group’s name was LULAC and so in 2006 you know we did the Immigration Reform March here from the Canadian border all the way to Wenatchee. And so you know it was an opportunity for my children to um to see the struggle other people struggles you know that necessarily they didn’t have because they were born here you know or I didn’t have because I was born here. But you know it’s really sad when you have first cousins that have lived here for 30 years and they’re still illegal and there’s still not an immigration reform that can legalize them so you know so I would say you know a lot of our community involvement was part of that. And also like Fiestas Mexicanas, you know it gave my children opportunities see more of their culture and so they I would say worked hand in hand with me on those projects along with all the other people that volunteered a lot of time back then.
GV: Do you remember what year you did the march from the border?
GL: 2006 I believe.
GV: I’m trying to think what was going on politically at that time.
GL: Yeah, I think it was 2006. I’m pretty sure was it 2006. Yeah it was whatever we did LULAC here.
GV: Ok. I can probably look up old Wenatchee [inaudible 10:10].
GL: I have stuff downstairs. I have a picture of me with, and that’s the year the Mexican president came to Yakima remember? And we all went to Yakima. I think your mom went.
GV: I wouldn’t be surprised.
GL: There was quite a few of us that went.
GV: Yeah. Yeah it’s funny ’cause I have been around all of this because my mom was involved in CAFÉ and everything and it wasn’t until this project that I learned what people were actually doing because I didn’t have the context.
GL: Yeah. We were just going here, going there.
GV: Yeah I wasn’t aware with all of the concerns that were going on with that. Did you expect, did you have any idea that you would get involved with community organizing stuff like that?
GL: Uh, no. I used to be really, really shy when I was young and so no, not really yeah.
GV: Was it just through mariachi that you just started meeting everyone and then got involved?
GL: Yes. Yeah it was through the mariachi and then hey let’s go help with Fiestas Mexicanas and let’s you know so that’s how I got it like with the Chacóns and your mom and Gloria and Teresa Contreras and Aaron Ruiz and his brothers.
GV: How have you seen the community change from you know your earlier years when you were raising your kids to now?
GL: I would say that I can see some of the struggles that I saw in California as the young person.
GV: Like what?
GL: I would say more in gang activity more tagging you know it yeah. I see more, I see struggles but on the other hand I see a lot of people that are starting businesses that you know my kids they have a lot of friends that are first generation college students. So you know there’s always there’s always good and bad.
GV: Do you have any hopes for the community in the future?
GL: Um I guess more education for families on the difficult topics like gangs and how they can be generational, you know drug addiction and I think I don’t know if I should say this but I was a welfare child. I was raised on welfare till I was 14 years old, and I always told myself I will not raise my kids that way so I’ve worked really hard to try to teach my kids how to work and be self-sufficient yeah.
GV: Do you have any personal goals for yourself for your future?
GL: Yeah, I hope to retire in six years. I’ll be 67.
GV: What would you do after retiring?
GL: After I retire I’d like to just enjoy life and I feel like I put a hard days of work you know a lot of long days of work different types of work and I just feel like I’ve contributed to my community so I’d just like to enjoy life.
GV: As you should. As we are preserving these oral history stories for future generations to one day access when they are looking back on the history of the Wenatchee area, is there certain things that you would like to pass down to your children or certain things that you are considering preserving for the future?
GL: Like what?
GV: Like what would be important for you to get passed down?
GL: As far as?
GV: It could be like ideals or objects. What’s something that you feel is representative-
GL: I think our music, our food you know. I think family unity I think is important.
GV: What is something that you would like the community to know about Latinos in Wenatchee?
GL: That they are very hardworking people and they struggle to get ahead. I know for me it wasn’t easy especially since I was a single parent. But I think if you stay focused on your goals in life and I feel that God provides for you and your family.
GV: You had mentioned earlier that you had worked in the orchards initially when you came. What was that like and then now looking back on it on the other end in the Agg Supply in the HR-
GL: On the HR side? Compared to my job now some days I wish I worked at the orchard. You know, I always enjoyed working in the orchard. I tried working in the packing shed for two days, I couldn’t handle that. But I enjoyed working in the orchard because you’re out in the fresh air you know you’re out there with your people and you know everybody singing all day long and you know just I, I loved that job. But unfortunately, I had to look at my family’s future and compared to doing HR now I feel my job now, I feel like I help develop people into better positions. I am very focused on employee training. You know, let’s say I got somebody-they come in as an associate at the hardware store and you know and then six months down the road I’ll go and talk to them, “ok tell me what you’ve learned”. I know how to mix paint, I know how to make keys, you know and of course a lot a lot of our employees they love helping customers with their problems that they might have-plumbing electrical-but a lot of times I hear employees tell me I learn from the customer also. You know so that’s gratifying to me to know that they’re learning something while they’re with us, and I always tell our managers you know a lot of our employees are-we’re just a stepping stone for them to get to a better place and they could take skills with them that will help them in their future, so that’s the difference.
GV: Would the you of the past be surprised as to where you’ve ended up today?
GL: Oh definitely! I would have never imagined I’d be in this position.
GV: In this beautiful home?
GL: Yeah that I’ve been remodeling for the last year. Yeah so I’ll tell you a funny story. So when I moved to Washington the first year after the harvest of 1980 I was pregnant with my first child and we lived up in a cabin right outside of Brewster, and it had no sheetrock and it was just wood on the outside. We had to heat it with the oven. In the bathroom was probably from here to that shed down there which is about 100 feet and so whenever I had to go to the bathroom I had to walk through the stove to this other building, the outbuilding. So you know and then you talk about my home now and that’s where I feel like I’ve been blessed with, through my hard work from where I lived when I lived in Brewster. But it’s taken a lot of work and a lot of sweat and there’s-sometimes you wanna give up, but you just gotta keep going you know. And I think I’ve made my family proud.
GV: Those are all my questions for today. Thank you so much Gina for taking the time to do this with me. I’m very happy to include your story as a part of this project.
GL: Oh thank you.
[End of Interview]
Interview length: 20:50
Transcribed by: Dulce Gutierrez Vasquez on June 25th, 2022