WATCH: Mother And Daughter Recall The Challenges Of Immigrating To The U.S. In The 1970s

This Friday, StoryCorps, an oral history initiative that helps Americans record and archive stories from their lives, will celebrate the third annual National Day of Listening, which organizers say they hope will remind people of "how much more unites us than divides us." To help commemorate the event, HuffPost is featuring one StoryCorps conversation every day this week leading up to the National Day of Listening on November 26.

In today's installment, The Icing on the Cake, Blanca Alvarez and her daughter, Connie, talk about the challenges their family faced when they immigrated to the United States in 1972. Blanca and her husband worked multiple jobs and tried to shelter their children from the difficult realities of life, and Connie reveals that she knew, even when she was young, how hard her parents struggled -- and that she drew great inspiration from her parents' example.

Listen to Connie's interview with her mother, Blanca, below.

The Icing on the Cake from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

To hear more stories, learn about the National Day of Listening, and to find out how you can record your own story at home with a DIY kit, visit StoryCorps. You can also tune in to hear StoryCorps broadcasts on NPR.

Comments

[RRoadrunner]

08:54 AM on 11/24/2010

This is a fantastic video. it not only applies to Latinos, it a applies to every immigrant that’s reached our shores. Too bad many people have forgotten the struggles faced by their ancestors or are unaware of the struggles prior that generations had to endure to become “Americans”.
For anyone who thinks we have “immigration issues” look up your family tree.

[powerhuff]

08:35 AM on 11/24/2010

POLITICAL BOUNDARIES ARE

[AMizrachi]

08:02 AM on 11/24/2010

That was so sweet! I'm a little verklempt... talk amongst yourselves.

[Planet Caravan]

03:45 AM on 11/24/2010

Immigration (both legal and illegal) is way out of control and needs to be drastically lowered. At least until the economy picks back up. We need to produce millions of quality jobs for home grown citizens first and foremost before we take in unempoyed foreigners. This should be common sense.

[Loffee]

04:18 AM on 11/24/2010

It should be common sense but it's not. You are labeled a hater for no reason if you think we should restrict immigration. I'll bet we can dig up a story like that from a whole lot of countries. What about the hardships and struggles of the Americans that are born and raised here? We have plenty of Americans with the same type of story.

[brooklyncitizen]

05:21 AM on 11/24/2010

As an immigrant I have to say that your average american john smith or jane smith cannot match the level of hard work and sheer will to overcome that immigrants possess.In fact americans are allergic to hard work.Just look around at the quality of services that are provided-they're typically sub par and people are simply not motivated. THere are exceptions but the point is that there is a complacency that is SO AMERICAN and this very complacency is at the root of all the problems.
This is a culture of leisure.....all americans want to do is have a good time. It is a culture that is self indulgent where the issue most are passionate about is legalizing pot.Without immigrants this country would come to a screeching halt.

Immigrants cannot be complacent; they have to survive and they dream of going beyond it and thriving.

[RedWhiteBlue-abc]

06:18 AM on 11/24/2010

I have first-hand knowledge of what I will say next. The flood of illegals into many parts of our country is absolutely taking jobs from our own citizens and is essentially bringing the wages in construction down to Mexican levels. For example, the wages for a carpenter in my area are probably 1/3 of what a carpenter further north makes, and almost 100% of the carpenters here are illegals. The situation is really bad and our own people are hurting as a result. I do not feel any obligation whatsoever to fix all the troubles in Mexico. That is something for Mexicans to do.

Just wait until we start giving out "free healthcare" cards. We will be paying for half of the medical bills in Mexico. Why do I say this: 1) we have no real border 2) anyone will be given the card just for asking 3) anyone who attempts to ask for any type of id will be called a racist. Yep, we're all set to begin picking up the tab for a ton of Mexican medical bills. This will be in addition to the bills EVERY hospital anywhere near the border has been picking up for a very long time.

Folks, the US is broke and stuff like this is absolutely nutty.

[Shaun Hensley]

05:02 AM on 11/24/2010

We need to knock down borders.

[Planet Caravan]

05:56 AM on 11/24/2010

That sounds like imperialism

[treeshack]

07:52 AM on 11/24/2010

Absolutely! Let everyone in the world who wants to move to the US immigrate here.

What could possibly go wrong??

[lightist]

01:55 AM on 11/24/2010

This is important life reality to convey for the future, for now though first.

[Santamonicaboulevard]

01:24 AM on 11/24/2010

I hope they do a story about the thousands of U.S. citizens who are emigrating to Europe in search of greater freedom and a higher standard of living.

[Loffee]

04:31 AM on 11/24/2010

That would be nice wouldn't it.

[stuck-in-paris]

05:05 AM on 11/24/2010

huh?

[MissCupcake]

11:53 PM on 11/23/2010

These StoryCorps videos are great. I've seen a few of them, I think on hulu, maybe. I don't remember. Anyway, check them out. There are some really sweet ones.

[brooklyncitizen]

11:26 PM on 11/23/2010

sweet.

[HukaShakaHukaHuka]

11:22 PM on 11/23/2010

Gracias for the wonderful story... :-)

[beerbagger]

10:22 PM on 11/23/2010

Thank You StoryCorps!!! These animated shorts are outstanding!!!

[UltraClassicII]

09:39 PM on 11/23/2010

OK, worked at night and a slim diet and wondering whether you could pay the rent. Sounds like my college days and is a heck of alot better than what is going on south of the river.

[radiooo]

09:16 PM on 11/23/2010

This is a wonderful story. Long live the American dream!

[RNC King]

02:07 AM on 11/24/2010

long live the American dream for citizens.

[NateBk]

03:14 AM on 11/24/2010

Your ancestors who came to this country chasing the American Dream weren't citizens.

[Loffee]

04:32 AM on 11/24/2010

I agree with you on that one RNC KING