By Benjamin Ortiz During the late 40's and early 50's, Bridgeport was an important nucleus for the migration of Puerto Ricans and many Cubans. They left their Caribbean homeland in search of better opportunities for their families. These pioneering families such as the Pericas, Faria, Medina, Diaz, Arias, and Batalla, are just ...
Most residents of Connecticut, when considering who were the earliest immigrants to this State naturally think mostly of the European countries. If you asked anyone when the first Puerto Rican immigrant came to Connecticut, they would say, " probably the 1950’s.” Wouldn’t you be surprised to ...
By: Mary K. Witkowski, Bridgeport City Historian The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. visited Bridgeport at least five times. In March of 1961, King delivered the Frank Jacoby lecture for the. University of Bridgeport. Due to the large crowd, the lecture was held at the Klein Memorial Auditorium. ...
by Andy Piascik As Puerto Rico began to more acutely experience the economic ravages of colonialism in the years after the Second World War, more and more people from the island began migrating en el norte. Though most settled in the nation’s largest cities, Bridgeport was ...
by Andy Piascik On July1, 1979, 400 members of United Steelworkers Local 7201 employed at the Handy and Harman precious metals factory in Fairfield went on strike. There was nothing particularly unusual or exceptional about that; workers at factories in Bridgeport and the surrounding area regularly ...
By Abraham Lima To read the previous articles, use the guide below to navigate. Part 1 - https://bportlibrary.org/hc/hispanic-populations-and-culture/when-the-aztec-eagle-began-her-soar-over-bridgeport-part-1/ Part 2 – https://bportlibrary.org/hc/business-and-commerce/when-the-aztec-eagle-began-to-soar-over-bridgeport-part-2-from-puebla-york-oaxakeepsie-and-mexchester-2/ “I don’t remember the year they opened, it was in the 90s. When I arrived after a few years, the first Mexican restaurant that opened was La ...
By Abraham Lima PROLOGUE: The eagle eating a cactus perched on a snake was the symbol the god Huitlolopotchli gave to nomadic Nahuatl-speaking people as to where to build their new city. They found just that in the middle of Lake Texcoco and thus the city of ...
by Abraham Lima This is Part 2 of a 5 Part Series at the Bridgeport History Center: For Part 1 click below: https://bportlibrary.org/hc/hispanic-populations-and-culture/when-the-aztec-eagle-began-her-soar-over-bridgeport-part-1/ For Part 3 click below: https://bportlibrary.org/hc/business-and-commerce/when-the-aztec-eagle-began-her-soar-over-bridgeport-part-3-men-of-maplewood/ How did Bridgeport’s Mexican community arise? It came about with a few separate chance incidents. A Few Early Arrivals: The Carmonas and ...
