Isabel Villar, 1948-2023

Isabel Villar, the founding Executive Director of El Centro Hispano in White Plains, died July 12 from ovarian cancer. In 2015, she participated in our library’s People and Stories oral history project. The link to her story is below.

Isabel Villar is the Executive Director of El Centro Hispano, an organization that supports the Hispanic Community in White Plains. She is also a longtime resident of White Plains, arriving from Cuba in the late-1960s. In this oral history, Villar describes the experience of being a Hispanic immigrant in White Plains. She tells stories about her first educational and professional experiences, and reflects on the character of Hispanic immigrants in White Plains. Villar’s story is one from among over 17,000 Hispanic people in White Plains and is a great way to begin to gain a sense of what life is like for new and longtime residents alike.

People & Stories is the oral history project of the White Plains Public Library. People & Stories seeks to record and share the voices of people who have lived or worked in White Plains. The project functions by pairing interviewers with storytellers from the community.