Catalog ID:
ORH-006-0011
Creator:
Santiago, Yolanda
Archives Field 21:
AUDIO Click to Play
Scope & Content:
Date of interview: January 17, 2024
Location: East Side Senior Center
Duration: 33 minutes, 39 seconds
Yolanda Santiago was born June 21, 1951 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Yolanda lived in Puerto Rico for most of her life (aside from a brief stint in the Bronx in 1956, only to return a year later in 1957), until meeting her husband (in Mayagüez), marrying him, and moving with him to Washington Heights, New York. Her husband worked various jobs before becoming a building superintendent. They lived in Washington Heights with their daughter, Brigitte, for 12-13 years, until her husband heard about a new opportunity to work in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They moved to Bridgeport in 1983, settling near the Bridgeport hospital in a building with mostly other Puerto Ricans. While Yolanda was primarily a homemaker, she did spend a brief period of time working as a volunteer, and eventual director, of a nutritional organization in her building, intended to provide healthier meals to seniors living in the building. She and her husband lived in the building until 2000, when her husband became sick with cancer and they moved to another apartment in the East Side. After he passed, she continued doing nutritional programs with elderly communities in Bridgeport, including the East Side Senior Center.
For Yolanda, New York is more home than Bridgeport is - she spent many weekends visiting family in Washington Heights, and felt there was more to do in New York than in Bridgeport (aside from visiting Trumbull Mall, and perhaps taking an occasional trip to the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket before it became too expensive). Having retired, she currently enjoys spending time with her granddaughter, Mia, attending church activities, and reading.
Location: East Side Senior Center
Duration: 33 minutes, 39 seconds
Yolanda Santiago was born June 21, 1951 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Yolanda lived in Puerto Rico for most of her life (aside from a brief stint in the Bronx in 1956, only to return a year later in 1957), until meeting her husband (in Mayagüez), marrying him, and moving with him to Washington Heights, New York. Her husband worked various jobs before becoming a building superintendent. They lived in Washington Heights with their daughter, Brigitte, for 12-13 years, until her husband heard about a new opportunity to work in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They moved to Bridgeport in 1983, settling near the Bridgeport hospital in a building with mostly other Puerto Ricans. While Yolanda was primarily a homemaker, she did spend a brief period of time working as a volunteer, and eventual director, of a nutritional organization in her building, intended to provide healthier meals to seniors living in the building. She and her husband lived in the building until 2000, when her husband became sick with cancer and they moved to another apartment in the East Side. After he passed, she continued doing nutritional programs with elderly communities in Bridgeport, including the East Side Senior Center.
For Yolanda, New York is more home than Bridgeport is - she spent many weekends visiting family in Washington Heights, and felt there was more to do in New York than in Bridgeport (aside from visiting Trumbull Mall, and perhaps taking an occasional trip to the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket before it became too expensive). Having retired, she currently enjoys spending time with her granddaughter, Mia, attending church activities, and reading.
Interviewer:
Interviewed by Amanda Rivera
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