Archives for Cuban-American History

People & Stories Oral History Project: Isabel Villar

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
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Categories: Library News, Local History, and Oral History.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Aurelio Saiz

Did you know that Juanita Castro, Fidel's sister, spent a night in White Plains? That story and many others come from Aurelio Saiz's oral history in which he describes moving with his family to White Plains from Cuba. The Saiz Family lived in a building on the corner of Main Street and Mamaroneck Avenue at a time when dozens of businesses had elaborate storefronts and narrower streets still accommodated two-way traffic. His bedroom windows were directly across from the marquee of RKO Keith's Theater! Saiz is a great storyteller. He conveys a vivid version of growing up on the streets
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Categories: Local History and Oral History.