Man: WHAT IS OUR HISTORY?

WHAT IS OUR PAST?

WHAT IS THE CLAIM THAT WE HAVE TO BE MEMBERS OF THIS SOCIETY?

Man: WE ARE NOT HERE TO THREATEN OR TO BEG.

WE ARE HERE TO PARTICIPATE.

Woman: YOU CANNOT CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOUR EARS TO US ANY LONGER BECAUSE WE ARE HERE.

Man: MOST PEOPLE ARE SAYING, SPANISH, THE MEXICANS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DO NOT HAVE THE SPECIAL INHERITANCE OF LIBERTY THAT WE HAVE.

Man: MY FATHER THOUGHT THAT THE UNITED STATES WOULD BE LIKE PARADISE.

THERE WAS JOBS FOR EVERYONE.

THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET ACROSS.

Man: THE TOUGHEST PART WAS WHEN I LEFT MY MOM NOT KNOWING IF I'M GONNA SEE HER AGAIN.

Woman: HERE'S A MAN WHO'S SHED HIS BLOOD, AND YET HE CAN'T GET SOMETHING TO EAT.

Man: RECKLESS?

YES.

DANGEROUS?

EXTREMELY.

DID IT PAY OFF?

DAMN RIGHT.

Woman: THE FIRST EUROPEAN LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN WHAT WOULD BECOME THE UNITED STATES IS SPANISH.

Rita Moren: IMMIGRATION MEANS IT ALL GETS TO BE PART OF YOUR IDENTITY.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

Gloria Estefan: IT'S CRUCIAL THAT WE KNOW WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE COME FROM, AND WHAT IT'S BEEN LIKE.

I AM SO PROUD TO BE YOUR MAYOR.

I, SONIA SOTOMAYOR... Man: THERE'S SO MUCH AT STAKE FOR ALL AMERICANS IN HOW LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES DO.

Announcer: FUND Woman: IT WAS SUDDEN BECAUSE WE HAD TO LEAVE IN A HURRY.

MY FATHER WAS IN THE UNDERGROUND.

IT WAS KIND OF THRILLING BUT SCARY BECAUSE WE REALIZED THAT ADULTS WERE SO NERVOUS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW IF WE WERE GONNA MANAGE TO GET OUT.

THE PLANE KEPT GETTING DELAYED AND DELAYED.

PAPI THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THE SECRET POLICE WERE GONNA COME GET HIM, GET US.

Narrator: MIDSUMMER 1960, JULIA ALVAREZ AND HER FAMILY WERE ESCAPING THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND ONE OF THE MOST RUTHLESS DICTATORS IN THE HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA, GENERAL RAFAEL LEONIDAS TRUJILLO.

DR. EDUARDO ALVAREZ WAS ON HIS HIT LIST, AND THE AMERICANS WERE HELPING HIM AND HIS FAMILY TO LEAVE.

THE ALVAREZ FAMILY WAS PART OF A VAST CARIBBEAN MIGRATION-- PIONEERS OF A NEW DOMINICAN WAVE.

Julia Alvarez: WE HAD SOME AUNTS UP IN THE BRONX THAT HAD BEEN HERE FROM THE 1940S, BUT THAT WAS IT.

YOU KNOW, IT WAS MOSTLY PUERTO RICANS, SOME CUBANS, BUT VERY FEW DOMINICANS.

PEOPLE, WHEN WE FIRST CAME, THEY'D HEAR AN ACCENT, "WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

DOMINIQUE?

YOU MEAN DOMINIQUE?"

I, YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST-- I ENDED UP SOLVING IT BY SAYING I'M FROM THE CARIBBEAN.

HA HA!

THEY KNEW WHERE THAT WAS BECAUSE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHERE PEOPLE WENT FOR VACATION.

I'M FROM THE CARIBBEAN, YOU KNOW.

IT'S LIKE SAYING I'M FROM AFRICA, I'M FROM EUROPE, I'M FROM THE CARIBBEAN.

Narrator: AS THEY BUILT A LIFE IN NEW YORK CITY, THE FAMILY HELD ON TO THE INDELIBLE MEMORIES OF THE NATION THEY LEFT BEHIND.

Julia Alvarez: IMMIGRATION MEANS EVERYBODY CHANGES.

YOU HAVE TO BE FLEXIBLE, YOU KNOW, BUT CERTAIN THINGS ARE IMPORTANT TO HOLD ON TO BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THIS CULTURE NEEDS IT, THIS CULTURE NEEDS CERTAIN THINGS FROM US.

Narrator: IN THE YEARS AFTER WORLD WAR II, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS WOULD COME FROM CUBA, THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, PUERTO RICO, AND CREATE NEW LIVES IN AMERICA.

LIKE SO MANY IMMIGRANTS BEFORE THEM, THEY WOULD STRUGGLE, CONFRONT PREJUDICE, AND SEIZE OPPORTUNITY.

JULIA ALVAREZ WOULD BECOME AN IMPORTANT AMERICAN LITERARY VOICE OF HER GENERATION.

AN ORPHAN BOY FROM PUERTO RICO WOULD DEFY A SEGREGATED EDUCATION AND BECOME A U.S.

CONGRESSMAN.

A CUBAN MAN AND HIS TWO SONS WOULD SURVIVE A PERILOUS VOYAGE AT SEA AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN CITY.

AND THE DAUGHTER OF A SWEATSHOP WORKER WOULD WIN THE HIGHEST HONORS ON BROADWAY AND IN HOLLYWOOD.

Woman: IMAGINE COMING TO THIS COUNTRY WHEN YOU'RE 5 YEARS OLD, AND EVERYTHING IS NOT ONLY FREEZING COLD, BUT IT'S GRAY.

THERE WASN'T A TREE ANYWHERE, THERE WASN'T ANYTHING GREEN.

THERE WASN'T ANYTHING COLORFUL ANYWHERE.

IT'S AS THOUGH I HAD LEFT PARADISE AND SORT OF GONE TO A VERY COLD HELL.

Narrator: RITA MORENO AND HER MOTHER, ROSA MARIA, ARRIVED IN NEW YORK'S SPANISH HARLEM IN THE 1930s.

Rita Moreno: MY MOTHER DECIDED THAT, UH, SHE WANTED A BETTER LIFE FOR BOTH OF US.

AND SHE MADE IT SOUND LIKE WE WERE GONNA HAVE, YOU KNOW, THIS AMAZING NEW LIFE.

Narrator: RITA'S MOTHER WENT TO WORK AT A SWEATSHOP WHERE MANY OF THE NEW IMMIGRANTS WERE ABLE TO FIND JOBS FOR A MEAGER WAGE.

Moreno: MY MOM WORKED, YOU KNOW, VICIOUS HOURS FOR VERY LITTLE MONEY.

BUT AT THE TIME SHE WAS MAKING MONEY!

AND INITIALLY WE STAYED IN AN AUNT'S TENEMENT APARTMENT WITH 3 OTHER FAMILIES.

Narrator: RITA ALSO WENT TO WORK-- MAKING HER DANCE DEBUT AT A GREENWICH VILLAGE NIGHTCLUB.

SHE WAS ONLY 6 YEARS OLD.

YOU KNOW, WHEN I HEARD THAT APPLAUSE, I SAID, "WHO NEEDS SCHOOL?

THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE."

Narrator: SHE DREAMED OF BROADWAY AND HOLLYWOOD.

FOR ANY CHILD OF THE DEPRESSION THOSE WERE DISTANT DREAMS, MORE SO FOR RITA IN A PLACE THAT WAS FOREIGN AND IN A LANGUAGE NOT HER OWN.

Moreno: AND IT WAS REALLY AN UPHILL, UPSTREAM KIND OF SWIM.

Narrator: IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION, NEW YORK STILL OFFERED, FOR PUERTO RICANS, A WAY OUT OF THE MISERY OF THE ISLAND.

A U.S.

TERRITORY SINCE 1898, PUERTO RICO WAS HIT HARDER BY THE GREAT DEPRESSION THAN THE U.S. MAINLAND.

SUGAR, GROWN MOSTLY BY AMERICAN COMPANIES FOR THE AMERICAN MARKET, WAS THE ISLAND'S MAIN CROP.

WHEN SUGAR PRICES COLLAPSED DURING THE DEPRESSION, PUERTO RICANS WERE PLUNGED INTO DEVASTATING POVERTY THAT LASTED INTO THE 1940s.

IN 1947, THE PUERTO RICAN GOVERNMENT TOOK ACTION, IMPLEMENTING A HISTORIC OVERHAUL THAT WOULD TRANSFORM CENTURIES OF AGRICULTURAL DEPENDENCE INTO A MODERN INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY.

IT WAS CALLED OPERATION BOOTSTRAP.

Man: PUERTO RICO HELD OUT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CHEAP LABOR AND NO TAXES, AND THEY BEGAN WOOING AMERICAN COMPANIES TO COME TO PUERTO RICO, CLOSE THEIR OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES AND COME TO THE ISLAND.

SO, MANY COMPANIES DID SET UP SHOP IN PUERTO RICO IN THE 1950s, BUT NO MATTER HOW MANY COMPANIES SET UP SHOP, THERE WERE MORE AND MORE PUERTO RICANS THAT WERE COMING OFF THE LAND AND STILL UNEMPLOYED.

Narrator: A U.S. GOVERNMENT STUDY ESTIMATED THAT AT LEAST ONE MILLION PUERTO RICANS WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE THE ISLAND FOR OPERATION BOOTSTRAP TO SUCCEED.

AMONG THOSE WHO LEFT WAS JUANITA ORTIZ, WHO GREW UP ON A FARM, THE SIXTH OF 12 SIBLINGS.

Woman: I DIDN'T HAVE MONEY FOR THE TICKET, PLANE TICKET, BUT I BORROW FROM MY, ONE OF MY BEST BROTHERS, BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO ASK MY FATHER BECAUSE HE WOULD SAY, "NO, NO.

DON'T GO."

AND IT WAS VERY CHEAP, THE PLANE TICKET.

Narrator: IT WAS THE FIRST AIRBORNE MASS MIGRATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY; A DOZEN DAILY FLIGHTS FERRIED PUERTO RICANS FROM SAN JUAN TO IDLEWILD AND LaGUARDIA AIRPORTS.

AMERICAN CITIZENS SINCE 1917, PUERTO RICANS HAD NO BARRIERS TO TRAVEL TO THE MAINLAND, ONLY A LIMITED IDEA OF WHAT THEY WOULD ENCOUNTER.

Juanita Sanabria: SO I DIDN'T HAVE AGAIN A GOOD COAT, SO MY COUSIN GAVE ME AN OLD COAT, BUT BY THAT TIME WE DIDN'T WEAR NO PANTS.

NO HEAVY JACKET, NOTHING, JUST DRESSES AND LONG SKIRTS, AND I SAID, "UH-UH, I THINK I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO PUERTO RICO."

Narrator: THE PUERTO RICAN COMMUNITY, ESTABLISHED WITH FEWER THAN 20,000 PEOPLE IN 1917, SWELLED TO MORE THAN 300,000 BY THE TIME JUANITA ARRIVED IN 1952.

MOST SETTLED IN EAST HARLEM, "EL BARRIO," THE CULTURAL AND COMMERCIAL CENTER OF LATINO LIFE IN NEW YORK.

Woman: YOU COULD FEEL IT.

YOU COULD HEAR IT.

YOU COULD SMELL IT.

YOU COULD SMELL THE FOODS COMING OUT OF THE RESTAURANTS WHERE THEY WERE COOKING TRADITIONAL PUERTO RICAN FOOD.

YOU WOULD HEAR THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN THE STREETS.

YOU WOULD HEAR MOTHERS CALLING THEIR CHILDREN FROM THEIR FIFTH-STORY APARTMENT HOUSE WINDOWS DOWN TO THE STREETS.

Narrator: IT WAS A COMMUNITY THAT STUCK TOGETHER, BOUND BY THEIR ROOTS...

HELPING EACH OTHER THROUGH TOUGH TIMES AND CELEBRATING THE GOOD.

Virginia Sanchez Korrol: PUERTO RICAN PEOPLE ARE SO RESILIENT IN SO MANY WAYS.

[SALSA MUSIC PLAYING] THEY WOULD HAVE RENT PARTIES TO PAY THEIR RENT.

EVERY WEEKEND, THEY WOULD OPEN THEIR HOME, FOR MUSIC AND DANCING, AND CHARGE THE GUESTS IF THEY WERE ABLE TO AFFORD IT.

THAT WAY, THE HOSTESS WOULD EARN ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY THE RENT FOR THAT MONTH.

Narrator: EVERY NIGHT THOSE SOUNDS WOULD MAKE THEIR WAY FROM EL BARRIO TO MIDTOWN NIGHTCLUBS, FUELING A DANCE CRAZE THAT WOULD SWEEP THE COUNTRY.

AT THE PALLADIUM CLUB IN NEW YORK, A KID FROM EL BARRIO, NAMED TITO PUENTE, REIGNED AT THE TIMBALES.

ON THE FLOOR ANOTHER PUERTO RICAN, CUBAN PETE, DANCED THE MAMBO, MESMERIZING AUDIENCES FROM EVERY RACE AND WALK OF LIFE.

JUANITA WAS A REGULAR AT NEW YORK'S CASINO NIGHTCLUB, ALWAYS WITH A CHAPERONE IN TOW, AND ON THE NIGHT OF HER 24th BIRTHDAY, SHE MET A YOUNG MAN, JOE SANABRIA, A PUERTO RICAN WHO HAD RECENTLY RETURNED FROM SERVING OVERSEAS DURING THE KOREAN WAR.

Juanita Sanabria: MY FRIENDS INVITE HIM, BUT HE WAS AFTER ANOTHER GIRL.

YES!

NOT REALLY.

OH, YES, BECAUSE-- EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS NICE-LOOKING AND EVERYTHING, BUT SHE GAVE ME THE BRUSH OFF.

Juanita: SO HE STARTED DANCING WITH ME.

Joe Sanabria: IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.

Narrator: JOE AND JUANITA WERE MARRIED IN THE BASEMENT OF A LOCAL CHURCH.

HER DRESS RENTED FOR $75, MONEY SHE HAD SAVED EARNING $29 A WEEK AS A FLOOR GIRL IN A BRONX FACTORY.

Juanita Sanabria: I WENT TO WORK IN THIS FACTORY, HALF SLIPS FOR LADIES.

I USED TO SEPARATE THE GARMENTS, AND WHEN I FINISHED THAT BUNDLE, I TIE IT UP AND PUT A TICKET AND THEN I TAKE ANOTHER ONE LIKE THAT.

Narrator: WITH THEIR TWO YOUNG CHILDREN, JOE AND JUANITA MOVED THEIR FAMILY FROM THEIR CRAMPED TENEMENT APARTMENT INTO A MORE SPACIOUS ONE IN THE BRONX.

FAR FROM THE PUERTO RICAN COUNTRYSIDE OF THEIR CHILDHOOD, THE SANABRIAS WERE FINALLY FEELING AT HOME IN THE UNITED STATES.

Juan Gonzalez: THE PUERTO RICANS FELT AMERICAN.

THEY FELT THEY WERE U.S. CITIZENS.

BUT WHAT THEY ENCOUNTERED WHEN THEY GOT HERE WAS A DIFFERENT VIEW OF WHO THEY WERE.

Narrator: JUST AS AFRICAN AMERICANS HAD BEEN DENIED EQUAL RIGHTS AS CITIZENS, SO, TOO, WERE MOST PUERTO RICANS.

A PEOPLE OF MIXED SPANISH, INDIGENOUS, AND AFRICAN HERITAGE, THEY WERE VIEWED AS RACIALLY INFERIOR.

AND EVEN THE LIGHT-SKINNED JUANITA SANABRIA WOULD NOT BE SPARED.

Juanita Sanabria: AWFUL, IT WAS-- LET ME TELL YOU--AWFUL.

I TOOK THE BUS TO COME BACK HOME FROM MY JOB.

THIS LADY WAS SITTING IN THE FRONT, AND I TRIED TO SIT NEXT TO HER, AND SHE WAS CALLING ME DIRTY PUERTO RICAN, AND SHE WAS HITTING ME WITH THE ELBOW, AND SHE HIT ME WITH A CANE.

SHE HIT ME WITH THE CANE, AND SHE HIT ME UNDER MY LEGS.

AND A LOT OF TEENAGERS LAUGHING, "DIRTY PUERTO RICAN, GO BACK TO PUERTO RICO."

Narrator: RACE AND ETHNICITY INCREASINGLY BECAME A SOURCE OF CONFLICT FOR PUERTO RICANS IN NEW YORK.

AS THE PUERTO RICAN POPULATION DOUBLED, THEY PUSHED AGAINST THE EDGES OF EAST HARLEM, SPREADING OUT TO OTHER PARTS OF MANHATTAN, BROOKLYN, AND THE SOUTH BRONX.

THE JEWS, IRISH, AND ITALIANS WHO'D BEEN THERE FIRST PUSHED BACK.

TURF--SOMETIMES A MERE TWO-BLOCK STRETCH-- WAS FIERCELY DEFENDED BY ADOLESCENT BOYS IN GANGS LIKE THE LATIN CROWNS, THE SCORPIONS, THE DRAGONS, THE VAMPIRES IN HARLEM, HELL'S KITCHEN, THE LOWER EAST SIDE.

Juan Gonzalez: THE YOUTH WERE TRYING DESPERATELY TO COPE WITH BEING THRUST INTO THIS METROPOLIS WITH ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT GROUPS AND WITH NOT MUCH GUIDANCE.

WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING WAS A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE LOOKED AT THESE GANGS AS THEIR ONLY FAMILY OR THEIR ONLY WAY TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AGAINST A HOSTILE SOCIETY.

Narrator: THE NEW YORK PRESS GREW OBSESSED WITH THE GANG STORY... AND IN THE PUBLIC'S MIND, PUERTO RICANS WERE AT THE CENTER OF IT.

THEN A TRAGIC INCIDENT THAT ONLY REINFORCED THE PUBLIC IMAGE OF PUERTO RICANS.

Man: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT KILLING THOSE TWO BOYS?

I FEEL LIKE I ALWAYS FEEL.

Man: HOW'S THAT?

LIKE THIS, LIKE I AM.

Man: ARE YOU SORRY FOR THEM?

Different man: ARE YOU SORRY?

THAT'S FOR ME TO KNOW AND FOR YOU TO FIND OUT.

Narrator: 16-YEAR-OLD SALVADOR AGRON WAS ACCUSED OF MURDERING TWO TEENAGERS IN A HELL'S KITCHEN PLAYGROUND WHILE WEARING A LONG BLACK CAPE.

Sanchez Korrol: HE BECOMES THE FACE OF THIS THREATENING COMMUNITY THAT'S GROWING IN SIZE, THAT IS SPEAKING IN SPANISH.

THIS IS WHAT WE'RE ALLOWING INTO THE COUNTRY.

THIS IS HOW OUR--THIS IS HOW OUR SOCIETY IS DETERIORATING.

BUT FOR THE PUERTO RICAN COMMUNITY, I THINK THERE'S MORE OF A SADNESS CONNECTED WITH IT IN THE SENSE THAT...

HE IS ONE OF OUR KIDS AND LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENED TO HIM, AND I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN TO MINE.

Narrator: A FEW BLOCKS FROM WHERE THE CAPEMAN STRUCK, A MUSICAL WAS PLAYING ON BROADWAY, "WEST SIDE STORY."

IT WAS A POLISH ROMEO AND PUERTO RICAN JULIET SET IN A NEW YORK CITY WHERE ETHNIC HATRED SURGED THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS AND GANGS LURKED IN DEFENSE OF TURF.

THE FILM VERSION FOREVER ETCHED THE IMAGE OF THE KNIFE-WIELDING PUERTO RICAN IN THE AMERICAN CONSCIOUSNESS.

THE LEADING ROLE OF MARIA WENT TO NATALIE WOOD, THE DAUGHTER OF RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS, AND HER BROTHER BERNARDO WAS PLAYED BY GEORGE CHAKIRIS, THE SON OF GREEK IMMIGRANTS.

ONLY ONE PUERTO RICAN WAS ABLE TO SNATCH A SPEAKING ROLE.

RITA MORENO WAS CAST AS THE SPIRITED ANITA.

RITA HAD GOTTEN HER FIRST ROLE ON BROADWAY AT 13 AND SOON LEFT FOR HOLLYWOOD STILL A TEENAGER.

"A HISPANIC ELIZABETH TAYLOR," OBSERVED LOUIS B MAYER, AND SIGNED HER FOR MGM.

Moreno: IT WASN'T ELIZABETH TAYLOR, BUT THE--THE HISPANIC PART FOLLOWED ME EVERYWHERE.

I HAD PARTS THAT ONLY REQUIRED ACCENTS AND VERY.

VERY DARK MAKEUP BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW, EVERY HISPANIC IN THE WORLD IS VERY, VERY, VERY DARK.

- THEY WOULD HAVE... - I DO NOT BLAME THEM.

Narrator: MORENO WAS TYPECAST IN MOVIES SUCH AS "JIVARO," "LATIN LOVERS," AND "PAGAN LOVE SONG."

Moreno: I PLAYED MORE INDIAN MAIDENS THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE.

RARELY, RARELY DID I GET TO WEAR PRETTY COSTUMES; IT WAS ALMOST ALWAYS BUCKSKINS OR PEASANT'S SKIRTS AND PEASANT BLOUSES, LOOP EARRINGS.

Narrator: THE ROLE OF ANITA ALSO REQUIRED AN ACCENT, LOOP EARRINGS, AND DARK MAKEUP, BUT IN "WEST SIDE STORY," IT WAS DIFFERENT.

Moreno: I UNDERSTOOD THAT CHARACTER WITH MY EYES CLOSED.

THERE WAS NOTHING ABOUT THAT CHARACTER THAT PUZZLED ME.

EVEN A GREASEBALL'S GOT... Moreno: WHEN IT CAME TO THE CANDY STORE SCENE WHERE THE BOYS ARE CALLING ME THESE TERRIBLE NAMES... BERNARDO'S TRAMP.

BERNARDO'S PIG.

LYING SPIC!

DON'T DO THAT!

Moreno: IT OPENED A WOUND THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THERE THAT I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT, THAT I HAD WILLFULLY FORGOTTEN ABOUT FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS.

I LEARNED EARLY, VERY EARLY ON THAT I WAS A SPIC.

I WAS SOBBING FULL OUT, I COULDN'T STOP.

AND YOU KNOW, NOBODY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON, THEY WERE ALL TERRIFIED.

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THAT KIND OF RACIAL HATRED WAS DEPICTED IN A MOVIE IN A VERY REAL WAY.

Narrator: IT WAS ALSO THE FIRST TIME A PUERTO RICAN ACTRESS WAS NOMINATED FOR HOLLYWOOD'S HIGHEST HONOR: THE ACADEMY AWARD.

Man: THE NOMINEES FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ARE: JUDY GARLAND IN "JUDGMENT AT NUREMBURG" AND RITA MORENO... Moreno: MY HEART IS IN MY THROAT BECAUSE JUDY GARLAND, I THINK, IS GOING TO WIN IT FOR "JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG."

MAY I HAVE THE ENVELOPE PLEASE?

RITA MORENO FOR "WEST SIDE STORY"!

[MUSIC PLAYING] Moreno: AND WHEN THEY CALLED MY NAME, THE FIRST THING I SAID TO MYSELF WAS, "DON'T RUN," AND I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T.

OF COURSE I DIDN'T HAVE ANY SPEECH PREPARED.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

GOOD LORD!

I LEAVE YOU WITH THAT.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Man: MY FATHER PREPARE A BOAT.

A BOAT THAT WAS UNDER WATER.

HE TAKE IT OFF OF THE WATER, VERY OLD BOAT, AND HE TAKE TWO YEAR TO FIX IT.

FINALLY THE DAY ARRIVED.

WE'RE READY TO GO TO FREEDOM.

NOW THE DECISION COME.

MY FATHER HAVE TO LEFT BEHIND ONE SON IN PRISON, MY MOTHER WITH 3 LITTLE KIDS.

THE TOUGHEST PART ACTUALLY WAS WHEN I LEFT MY MY MOM.

AND I KISS HER, NOT KNOWING IF I'M GONNA SEE HER AGAIN.

SO AT THE MOMENT YOU GET INTO THE BOAT AND...AND GO.

Narrator: IN THE FALL OF 1966, MANUEL CAPO AND HIS TWO ELDEST SONS, CARLOS AND LUIS, SHOVED OFF THE SOUTHERN COAST OF CUBA UNDER THE COVER OF NIGHT... RISKING THEIR LIVES TO SAVE THEIR FUTURE.

AFTER 43 HOURS AT SEA, THEY ARRIVED ON THE BEACHES OF COZUMEL, MEXICO.

ALMOST 3 MONTHS LATER, THEY MADE THEIR WAY NORTH TO THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER NEAR BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS.

PEOPLE TOLD US THAT THERE WAS A FENCE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO.

AND THAT FENCE HAVE A MILE TO THE LEFT, A MILE TO THE RIGHT.

AFTER THAT MILE IS NO FENCE.

FORGET ABOUT IT, THAT FENCE NEVER FINISH.

Narrator: THEY JUMPED THE 8-FOOT FENCE INTO THE UNITED STATES.

BOUND FOR MIAMI, THEY WERE PULLED OFF A BUS, DETAINED AND INTERROGATED BY THE U.S. BORDER PATROL FOR SEVERAL HOURS.

IT WAS TOUGH.

IS A TOUGH INTERROGATION.

ONE-BY-ONE SCREAMING, MY FATHER WAS CRYING.

AT THAT TIME, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH US.

FINALLY, THIS OFFICER SAY, "I'M SORRY I TREAT YOU THAT THIS WAY, "BUT THAT'S PART OF MY JOB.

"I HAVE TO BE SURE YOU ARE CUBANS "AND YOU ARE THE LEGITIMATE REFUGEE.

WELCOME TO UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."

[CHEERING] Narrator: 7 YEARS EARLIER IN 1959, FIDEL CASTRO AND HIS BAND OF REVOLUTIONARIES MARCHED INTO HAVANA FOLLOWING AN ARMED REVOLT THAT ENDED IN THE OVERTHROW OF MILITARY DICTATOR FULGENCIO BATISTA.

SUPPORT FOR THE REVOLUTION WAS OVERWHELMING, FROM THE POOREST TO THE PROFESSIONAL AND MIDDLE CLASSES.

BUT NOT ALL CUBANS BACKED FIDEL CASTRO.

FIRST TO LEAVE WERE THE CLOSE ASSOCIATES OF THE OUSTED DICTATOR AND MEMBERS OF CUBA'S UPPER CLASS.

Man: ANYBODY WHO LEAVES HIS OR HER COUNTRY, THE DAY HE OR SHE LEFT IS REALLY EMBEDDED IN HIS MEMORY.

I LEFT 51 1/2 YEARS AGO.

AND I'VE REPLAYED THAT DAY OVER IN MY MEMORY MANY, MANY, MANY TIMES, ALMOST EVERY DAY.

IT WAS THE 24th OF OCTOBER OF 1960, AND WE CAME OVER ON A FERRY CALLED THE "CITY OF HAVANA."

AND THAT DAY I WAS 11 YEARS OLD, AND I COULD SENSE THAT SOMETHING WAS DIFFERENT FROM HEARING, OVERHEARING CONVERSATIONS AMONG THE GROWN-UPS.

Narrator: THE PEREZ FIRMAT FAMILY HAD TAKEN THIS FERRY TRIP TO MIAMI DOZENS OF TIMES BEFORE TO STOCK THEIR PROSPEROUS WHOLESALE STORE IN HAVANA.

BUT CASTRO HAD SEIZED THEIR PROPERTY, AND THE FAMILY FLED WITH WHATEVER THEY COULD CARRY.

OVER THE NEXT 3 YEARS, MORE THAN 200,000 CUBANS WOULD FLEE TO MIAMI.

AT FIRST, THEY WERE WELCOME... Man: IT WAS EASY FOR THE U.S. TO BE WELCOMING OF CUBANS WHO WERE LEAVING IN THE 1960s.

THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO WERE COMING FROM MIDDLE CLASSES, UPPER MIDDLE CLASSES, THE ELITE.

THEY WERE WHITE.

I MEAN THESE WERE GREAT IMMIGRANTS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF, YOU KNOW, PREJUDICES IN THE U.S. Narrator: AT THE HEIGHT OF THE COLD WAR, CUBANS WERE REFUGEES FROM A COMMUNIST REGIME AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY WEREN'T STAYING FOR LONG.

Gustavo Perez Firmat: FROM THE CUBAN EXILE POINT OF VIEW, THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT WILL NOT ALLOW A COMMUNIST REGIME 90 MILES OFF THE SHORES.

NOW, THEY HAD GOOD REASON TO THINK THAT BECAUSE UNITED STATES HAD INTERVENED IN CUBAN AFFAIRS, YOU KNOW, ANY NUMBER OF TIMES BEFORE, IT'S NOT AS IF UNITED STATES HAVE TAKEN A HANDS-OFF POLICY TOWARD CUBA.

Narrator: THE PEREZ FIRMAT FAMILY HAD COME TO MIAMI TO WAIT... FOR THE FALL OF FIDEL CASTRO AND FOR LIFE IN CUBA TO RETURN TO NORMAL.

DAYS OF WAITING GREW INTO MONTHS.

THEY LEFT THEIR HOTEL AND MOVED INTO A HOUSE IN WHAT WOULD SOON BECOME KNOWN AS LITTLE HAVANA.

GUSTAVO, SR. GOT INTO THE USED CAR BUSINESS, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, THEIR MOTHER GOT A JOB AS A SECRETARY AT HER CHILDREN'S SCHOOL.

Perez Firmat: IT WAS SORT OF EXHILARATING TO BE ABLE TO WALK TO SCHOOL BY MYSELF.

TO WALK TO THE BOY'S CLUB IN CUBA, I BASICALLY LIVED WITHIN THE CONFINES OF MY HOUSE AND MY GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WHICH WAS NEXT DOOR.

AND I WASN'T ALLOWED TO PLAY BY MYSELF ON THE STREETS, STUFF LIKE THAT.

IN MIAMI, MY MOTHER WAS TOO BUSY JUST, YOU KNOW, FINDING A JOB, ET CETERA, SO SHE COULDN'T LOOK AFTER US IN THE SAME WAY.

I ROAMED AROUND, AND IT WAS GREAT.

I FELT FREE.

Narrator: UNTIL THEY COULD GET THEIR BEARINGS, THE FAMILY RELIED ON U.S. GOVERNMENT RELIEF.

SPAM WAS BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER.

AT THE PEREZ FIRMAT TABLE, THE CONVERSATION INEVITABLY TURNED TO THE TOPIC OF CUBA.

THERE WAS THIS CONSTANT SORT OF BUZZ IN THE AIR, BECAUSE WE--WE WERE SURE THAT WE WERE GOING BACK AT ANY MOMENT.

AND EVERY DAY IN MY HOUSE, THE RADIO WAS TUNED TO THE CUBAN RADIO STATION CALLED LA RELOJ, WHICH HAD THE NEWS BY THE MINUTE.

Narrator: THE BUZZ WAS THAT EXILED FATHERS, UNCLES, AND SONS HAD GONE OFF TO TRAIN IN THE JUNGLES OF CENTRAL AMERICA.

AN INVASION WAS IN THE MAKING AND WOULD HAPPEN ANY DAY NOW.

ON APRIL 17, 1961, 1,400 U.S.-TRAINED CUBAN EXILES LANDED IN CUBA.

I WOKE UP THAT MORNING APRIL 17 AND THERE WAS MY FATHER AND MY UNCLE IN THE FLORIDA ROOM WHERE THE 3 OF US BROTHERS SLEPT, TUNING IN TO SHORTWAVE RADIO TRANSMISSIONS, AND THEY WERE CERTAIN THAT THE INVASION WOULD SUCCEED.

Narrator: FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS, THE LIVES OF CUBANS IN MIAMI HUNG IN THE BALANCE.

HUNDREDS CROWDED IN CHURCHES OR MET IN PARKS FOR CANDLELIGHT PRAYER VIGILS.

WITHIN 72 HOURS, CASTRO'S FORCES EASILY DEFEATED THE EXILE INVASION.

THE FAILURE OF THE BAY OF PIGS WAS A DEVASTATING BLOW TO CUBANS' HOPES OF RETURN.

IN MIAMI, IT WASN'T JUST CUBANS WHO WERE UNHAPPY ABOUT THEIR PROLONGED STAY.

NON-CUBAN LOCALS AIRED THEIR GRIEVANCES IN A MIAMI TELEVISION REPORT.

Newsreel narrator: AMERICAN ANTAGONISM IS GROWING NOT BECAUSE THE REFUGEES ARE CUBAN OR LOOK CUBAN, BUT BECAUSE THERE ARE LOTS OF THEM.

IF MIAMIANS ARE AGITATED, IT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE ASKED TO ACCEPT LATE-NIGHT SIDEWALK DISCUSSIONS AND LOUD-PLAYING RADIO... Woman: MANY OF THE LOCAL RESIDENTS FEAR THAT THEY SIMPLY CAN'T ACCOMMODATE THESE NEW ARRIVALS WHO ARE COMING IN IN SUCH LARGE NUMBERS AND AT SUCH A RAPID CLIP.

Newsreel narrator: WHICH MIAMIANS FEAR WILL CREATE SLUMS NOT UNLIKE NEW YORK'S PUERTO RICAN DISTRICT.

Maria Cristina Garcia: OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS CAN'T ACCOMMODATE THEIR CHILDREN.

WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH JOBS.

OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND OUR SERVICES ARE STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT, AND SO, THERE IS A LOT OF ANXIETY, A LOT OF RESENTMENT, FEAR.

Narrator: IN THE WAKE OF THE BAY OF PIGS, CUBANS SCRAMBLED TO JOIN THEIR COUNTRYMEN IN EXILE.

AFTER THE BAY OF PIGS, EVERYTHING GOES UP FOR GRABS.

THE EMBASSY IS CLOSED AT THAT POINT, IT'S VERY HARD TO GET A VISA TO GET OUT, REPRESSION IN CUBA IS INCREASING.

Narrator: MARIA DE LOS ANGELES TORRES-- NENA, AS SHE WAS CALLED-- WAS GROWING UP IN A FAMILY THAT SUPPORTED THE REVOLUTION UNTIL A CLOSE FRIEND WAS ARRESTED AND EXECUTED.

HE HAD JUST TURNED 17.

AND SO I THINK THAT, IN MY FAMILY, REALLY TURNED MY FAMILY AROUND AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN WE WENT FROM CELEBRATING FIDEL TO REALLY BEING SCARED.

Narrator: THEN A RUMOR BEGAN TO CIRCULATE; A NEW LAW WOULD STRIP PARENTS OF THEIR RIGHTS; CASTRO WOULD DECIDE WHERE AND WHAT THEIR CHILDREN WOULD LEARN, POSSIBLY EVEN IN THE SOVIET UNION.

Nena Torres: CLEARLY THIS WAS A PATTERN OF PROPAGANDA AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.

BUT AS ALL PROPAGANDA, THAT WHICH IS EFFECTIVE, ALWAYS CONTAINS A KERNEL OF TRUTH.

AND AS THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN THE SCHOOLS, BEGAN THE LITERACY PROGRAM WHERE THEY ENCOURAGED ADOLESCENTS TO TEACH PEASANTS HOW TO READ AND WRITE.

ALL THAT TENDED TO GIVE SOME CREDENCE TO THAT.

Narrator: FEARFUL OF LOSING THEIR CHILD, NENA'S PARENTS MADE AN AGONIZING DECISION.

A CLANDESTINE NETWORK INVOLVING CUBANS AND AMERICANS, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND THE CIA, PLANNED TO TRANSPORT THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN TO THE UNITED STATES.

NENA WOULD BE ONE OF THEM.

Nena Torres: I REMEMBER WE LEFT VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING.

AND AGAIN THERE WAS A LOT OF SILENCE AROUND THE TRIP, YOU KNOW.

WE HAD NEIGHBORS THAT I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO TELL THAT I WAS LEAVING.

THE LAST THING MY MOTHER TOLD ME, "TAKE A BATH BECAUSE AMERICANS DON'T BATHE EVERY DAY."

AND I DO REMEMBER AT SOME POINT GOING OUT TO THE PLANE AND THE GUARDS STOPPING ME, BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE WOULD PUT, YOU KNOW, FAMILY HEIRLOOMS INSIDE THE DOLLS, AND SO THE GUARD TRIED TO TAKE THE DOLL AWAY AND I GOT VERY ANGRY, AND SO I TOOK IT BACK, SO... Narrator: BETWEEN DECEMBER 1960 AND OCTOBER 1962, IN WHAT BECAME KNOWN AS OPERATION PETER PAN, 14,000 UNACCOMPANIED MINORS WERE TRANSPORTED TO MIAMI UNTIL THEY COULD BE REUNITED WITH THEIR PARENTS.

WHILE HALF WENT TO LIVE WITH RELATIVES AND FRIENDS, THE REST CAME TO A REFUGEE CAMP FOR CHILDREN UNDER THE CARE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO WAIT FOR THEIR PARENTS OR A FOSTER HOME.

NENA WOULD BE REUNITED WITH HER PARENTS WITHIN MONTHS.

Torres: I MEAN, IT SEEMED LONG BECAUSE 4 MONTHS TO A KID IS A LONG TIME.

THERE ARE FRIENDS I HAVE WHO NEVER SAW THEIR PARENTS AGAIN.

SO IN THAT SENSE, WE WERE LUCKY.

Narrator: IN 1962 U.S. RECONNAISSANCE PLANES DISCOVERED SOVIET MISSILES IN CUBA, TRAVEL TO AND FROM CUBA CEASED, AND THOUSANDS OF PETER PAN CHILDREN WERE STRANDED.

Torres: YOU HAVE 8,000 CHILDREN HERE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN REUNITED WITH THEIR PARENTS.

THEY CAN'T GO BACK BECAUSE CUBA WILL NOT LET THEM GO BACK AND THE UNITED STATES DOESN'T LET THEIR PARENTS IN.

Narrator: THE WORLD HAD BEEN BROUGHT TO THE BRINK OF NUCLEAR WAR.

THE SOVIETS REMOVED THE MISSILES, AND PRESIDENT KENNEDY AGREED TO NEVER INVADE CUBA AGAIN.

[SPEAKING SPANISH] Narrator: CASTRO WAS ENTRENCHED, AND NO ONE IN MIAMI WAS GOING HOME JUST YET.

SAN JUAN HILL IN NEW YORK CITY'S WEST MANHATTAN, WHERE SCENES FROM THE SEMINAL MOVIE "WEST SIDE STORY" WERE FILMED, WAS A TENEMENT SLUM UNTIL IT WAS TORN DOWN.

Gonzalez: THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT THE RAZING OF SOME TENEMENTS THAT WERE REALLY SUBSTANDARD HOUSING TO BEGIN WITH WAS NECESSARY FOR THE CITY TO PROGRESS.

MANY OF THEM WERE A HELLHOLE OF AN EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF DAILY LIFE.

THE RAT INFESTATION AND THE ROACH INFESTATION WAS ASTOUNDING AND THE INABILITY OF PEOPLE TO GET LANDLORDS TO REPAIR THEIR BUILDINGS PROPERLY, THAT THEY WERE CHARGING RENTS FOR, WAS A HUGE PROBLEM.

Narrator: IN THE SPAN OF 15 YEARS, HUNDREDS OF CITY BLOCKS WERE RAZED... THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES DISPLACED.

IN PLACE OF SAN JUAN HILL, THE CITY BUILT THE PERFORMING ARTS MECCA-- LINCOLN CENTER-- AND OVER 7,000 PUERTO RICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILIES WERE LEFT WITH NOWHERE TO GO.

ITS CRITICS DUBBED THE POLICY, "SPIC REMOVAL."

Sanchez Korrol: POLITICIANS PAY ATTENTION TO PEOPLE WHO VOTE, AND IF THERE ARE NOT BIG VOTING BLOCKS COMING OUT OF THOSE COMMUNITIES, THEN THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE LISTENED TO.

AS URBAN RENEWAL IS BEING PLANNED FOR THOSE AREAS, I DON'T THINK THAT THEIR POLITICAL POWER IS STRONG ENOUGH TO AVOID IT.

Narrator: FOR THE 600,000 PUERTO RICANS LIVING IN THE CITY, THE POLITICAL POWER THAT COULD IMPROVE EVERYDAY LIFE WAS STILL FAR FROM REACH.

IN NEW YORK, LIKE MOST THINGS, POLITICS CAME DOWN ALONG ETHNIC LINES.

Gonzalez: IF THE MAIN JOBS WERE THE MAYOR, THE CITY CONTROLLER, AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL, WHICH THEY USUALLY WERE, ONE HAD TO BE JEWISH, ONE HAD TO BE ITALIAN, AND ONE HAD TO BE IRISH.

PUERTO RICANS WERE AN AFTERTHOUGHT.

Narrator: FOR ONE YOUNG PUERTO RICAN LAWYER, SIDELINING HIS COMMUNITY WAS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE.

Man: WE ARE NOT HERE TO THREATEN OR TO BEG.

WE ARE HERE TO PARTICIPATE, AND THE POWER THAT WE SEEK IS ESSENTIALLY THE POWER TO PERSUADE AND THE POWER TO ELECT AND TO BE ELECTED.

[APPLAUSE] Narrator: IN 1960, HERMAN BADILLO WAS TAPPED BY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JOHN F. KENNEDY TO RUN HIS CAMPAIGN FOR LATINO VOTERS IN NEW YORK.

Gonzalez: KENNEDY INSPIRED LATINOS THROUGHOUT THE NATION, ALL OF THE LATINO POLITICIANS OF OUR ERA, THE PIONEERS, ALL STARTED OUT OF THE VIVA KENNEDY CLUBS, BADILLO IN NEW YORK WAS ABLE TO SKILLFULLY RIDE THE WAVE THAT WAS OCCURRING THEN AND SAW THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING PUERTO RICANS REGISTERED TO VOTE.

Narrator: HERMAN BADILLO ARRIVED IN NEW YORK IN 1941, AN ORPHAN SENT FROM PUERTO RICO TO LIVE WITH CLOSE RELATIVES AFTER BOTH OF HIS PARENTS DIED OF TUBERCULOSIS.

AS A STUDENT AT HAAREN HIGH, HE WROTE FOR THE SCHOOL NEWSPAPER, WHERE A FELLOW STUDENT WONDERED WHERE HE SPENT THE SCHOOL DAY.

Man: HE SAID "WELL, "HOW COME WE DON'T SEE YOU ANYWHERE?

"YOU OBVIOUSLY ARE VERY SMART BECAUSE YOU ARE A GOOD WRITER EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE A HEAVY ACCENT, BUT THEN YOU DISAPPEAR."

I SAID "NO, I DON'T DISAPPEAR, I GO TO MY CLASSES."

HE SAID "WHAT ARE THEY?"

I SAID "AIRPLANE MECHANICS."

HE SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN AIRPLANE MECHANICS?

THAT'S FOR BLACKS AND PUERTO RICANS."

Narrator: DEFYING THE SCHOOL'S PRACTICE OF RACE-BASED TRACKING, HERMAN SWITCHED TO A COLLEGE TRACK AND GRADUATED FROM CITY COLLEGE AND BROOKLYN LAW WITH TOP HONORS.

NOW HE SET HIS SIGHTS ON BREAKING UP THE EXCLUSIVE CLUB OF NEW YORK CITY POLITICS.

Herman Badillo: THE DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION, THEY WERE WORRIED THAT THEY'D BE THROWN OUT OF OFFICE.

SO, UH, THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING.

IN FACT, THEY DISCOURAGED PUERTO RICANS FROM BEING INVOLVED IN POLITICS.

THE PROBLEM WAS THAT IN THOSE DAYS THERE WAS A LITERACY TEST WHICH MADE IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR PUERTO RICANS TO REGISTER AND TO VOTE.

Sanchez Korrol: MY MOTHER WAS TERRIFIED TO REGISTER TO VOTE BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT THAT SHE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO READ THE ENGLISH PARAGRAPH THAT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO READ.

AND I REMEMBER TAKING HER AND GOING WITH HER AND TELLING HER, "YEAH.

YOU CAN READ IT.

"YOU CAN READ IT, MA, YOU CAN READ IT.

"IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.

YOU CAN READ IT."

AND SHE DID.

AND STILL I REMEMBER HER HAND SHAKING AS SHE SIGNED HER NAME TO BE PUT ON THE VOTING RECORDS.

Narrator: YET, FOR LOCAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY BOSSES LITERACY TESTS WEREN'T ENOUGH TO KEEP PUERTO RICANS FROM VOTING.

AT ONE POINT, I WENT TO A POLLING PLACE, AND THE GUY SAYS TO ME, "WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT GUY BADILLO.

SEE, HE'S BEEN BRINGING ALL THIS GARBAGE TO REGISTER AND VOTE."

SO I SAID, "WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?"

HE SAID, "I'M GOING TO CLOSE THE POLLING PLACE AT 9:00 IN THE EVENING INSTEAD OF KEEPING IT OPEN TILL 10:00."

SO I SAID "GOOD IDEA."

Narrator: THE YOUNG LAWYER STAYED AND COLLECTED THE NAMES OF 14 PUERTO RICANS WHO HAD COME ON TIME BUT COULD NOT REGISTER.

ON THEIR BEHALF, BADILLO SUED THE NEW YORK BOARD OF ELECTIONS FOR DISCRIMINATION.

I WON THE COURT VICTORY, WE HAD A HUGE INCREASE IN REGISTRATION AND A HUGE TURNOUT, AND THAT CERTAINLY HELPED KENNEDY TO BE ELECTED.

Narrator: PUERTO RICANS HAD VOTED IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND WOULD SOON SEE ONE OF THEIR OWN BREAK THROUGH THE BARRIERS OF NEW YORK CITY POLITICS.

[BADILLO SPEAKING SPANISH] Sanchez Korrol: WHEN HERMAN BADILLO BECAME BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT, I AM ALMOST SURE THAT EVERYONE IN NEW YORK KNEW THAT A PUERTO RICAN HAD BECOME BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT.

HUGE.

IT WAS HUGE.

Narrator: HERMAN BADILLO WENT ON TO WASHINGTON AS THE FIRST PUERTO RICAN U.S.

CONGRESSMAN.

THERE HE HELPED CREATE AND PASS LANDMARK LEGISLATION TO SUPPORT BILINGUAL EDUCATION AND GUARANTEE VOTING RIGHTS FOR ALL AMERICANS.

BY 1966, WHEN MANUEL CAPO AND HIS TWO TEENAGE SONS, LUIS AND CARLOS, FINALLY REACHED MIAMI FROM CUBA, THEY WERE GREETED BY THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS, AND PEOPLE FROM HOME.

WE WANT TO WORK; WE WANT TO MAKE SOME MONEY BECAUSE WE HAVE THE FAMILY BEHIND AND ALL THE TIME MY FATHER WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS IS A GREAT COUNTRY, THIS IS A COUNTRY OF OPPORTUNITY.

Narrator: IN LESS THAN A WEEK, THEY WERE EARNING MINIMUM WAGE, $1.25 AN HOUR, 50-60 HOURS A WEEK DOING WHAT THEY KNEW BEST.

Luis Capo: MY GRANDFATHER, MY FATHER, MY UNCLES, YOU KNOW, THE ONLY BUSINESS THAT WE HAVE IS FURNITURE IN CUBA.

I THINK THE FIRST TOY I GOT WAS A HAMMER.

MY FATHER GIVE ME A HAMMER TO MAKE FURNITURE.

Narrator: THE BUSINESS WAS IN THEIR BLOOD, SO THEY SET OUT TO ESTABLISH THEIR OWN FURNITURE SHOP ON THE SIDE.

Luis Capo: WE WORK 8 HOURS IN THE FACTORY, AND WE LEFT THERE AND GO TO THE SHOP AND WORKING 8, 10 HOURS.

WE WAS WORKING MAYBE 15, 16, 17 HOURS A DAY FOR A LONG TIME.

Narrator: THEY HAD THE TALENT, THEY HAD THE SKILLS.

WHAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE WAS CAPITAL, COLLATERAL, OR CREDIT.

Luis Capo: PEOPLE SAY ABOUT CREDIT, "WHAT IS CREDIT?

DO YOU HAVE CREDIT?

WHAT DID CREDIT MEAN?"

MY FATHER ONLY HAD THIRD-- ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WE WENT--CARLOS AND MYSELF WENT UNTIL SIXTH GRADE.

Narrator: THE CAPOS BROUGHT THEIR GOOD REPUTATION FROM CUBA, AND A CUBAN FRIEND AT A BANK PERSONALLY VOUCHED FOR THEM.

THEY BORROWED $600 AND THEN ANOTHER 1,500 AND OPENED THEIR FIRST STORE, EL DORADO.

Luis Capo: THAT DAY WAS 1967, JUNE 27.

THE SAME DAY THAT WE OPENED THE FIRST EL DORADO DOOR, THAT DAY, MY MOTHER AND MY 3 LITTLE BROTHERS ARRIVE FROM CUBA.

Narrator: THEIR STORE WAS ON CALLE OCHO IN LITTLE HAVANA, THE HEART OF THE CUBAN ENCLAVE.

LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER THEIR ARRIVAL, THE CAPOS' ENTERPRISING ACCOUNTANT SUGGESTED GOING AFTER BIGGER FISH, A FEDERAL LOAN FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION EARMARKED FOR CUBAN BUSINESSES.

WHO WANT TO GIVE US SOME MONEY?

WE HAVE NO CREDIT, WE DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH, WE DON'T KNOW THE SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, WE JUST LEARNING.

HE SAID, "LET'S MAKE THE APPLICATION AND LOOK SEE WHAT'S HAPPEN."

3, 4 MONTHS LATER, WE WAS APPROVED FOR $10,000.

I CANNOT SLEEP AT NIGHT JUST THINKING THAT WE HAVE TO PAY $197.00 A MONTH.

ONE NIGHT I ASKED MY FATHER, "WHAT IF THEY SEND US BACK TO CUBA BECAUSE WE CANNOT PAY?"

YOU KNOW?

Luis Capo: $10,000 FOR US IS LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS TODAY.

THAT LOAN PUT US IN THE-- ON THE MARKET.

Narrator: THE CAPOS INCREASED THEIR ANNUAL EARNINGS FROM $8,000 TO $250,000 IN A SINGLE YEAR, SELLING FURNITURE TO CUBANS NOW ARRIVING IN MIAMI AT A RATE OF 1,000 A WEEK.

IN TIME, EL DORADO WOULD BECOME ONE OF THE LARGEST BUSINESSES IN MIAMI.

Man: THE TRADITIONAL ASSIMILATION THEORY RAN INTO TROUBLE IN MIAMI.

THE CUBANS ENDED UP A FAIRLY SUCCESSFUL GROUP WITHOUT SHOWING A GREAT DEAL OF THE TENDENCY TO ASSIMILATE.

Narrator: MIAMI WOULD COME A LONG WAY, TOO.

BUILDING ON THE CUBAN SUCCESS, A RESORT TOWN WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A MAJOR AMERICAN CITY, A HUB OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE.

BUT FOR ALL THEIR SUCCESS AS IMMIGRANTS, CUBANS LOST WHAT WAS MOST DEAR TO THEM.

Carlos Capo: MY FATHER SAY HIS DREAM ACTUALLY WAS TO GO BACK TO CUBA AND GO AROUND THE ISLAND AND STOP IN EVERY PORT... AND SEE THE TOWNS, SEE THE PEOPLE, SEE PLACES THAT HE NEVER SAW.

Narrator: MANUEL CAPOÓ WOULD NEVER SET SIGHT ON CUBA AGAIN.

THERE WAS THIS PROMISE THAT WAS BEING MADE TO US EVERY DAY THAT WE WOULD GO BACK, AND AS THE YEARS WENT BY, THE PROMISE DIDN'T COME TRUE, AND WE'LL GET TOGETHER EVERY YEAR, THE WHOLE FAMILY IN MIAMI, AND THE TOAST WOULD BE "EL AÑO QUE VIENE ESTAMOS EN CUBA," "NEXT YEAR IN CUBA".

BUT EVERY YEAR, THAT TOAST BECAME A LITTLE MORE BITTER, IT BECAME A LITTLE MOURNFUL.

Man: THE PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNISM ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE PRINCIPALS OF THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM...

THIS IS WHAT OUR BELOVED PRESIDENT, JOHN F. KENNEDY, MEANT WHEN LESS THAN A WEEK BEFORE HIS DEATH HE TOLD US... WE MUST USE EVERY RESOURCE AT OUR COMMAND TO PREVENT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ANOTHER CUBA IN THIS HEMISPHERE.

Narrator: IN APRIL 1965, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE COLD WAR, 42,000 U.S.

TROOPS INVADED THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

EVENTS LEADING TO THE U.S.

INVASION DATED BACK TO 1961 TO THE UNREST TRIGGERED BY THE ASSASSINATION OF DICTATOR RAFAEL LEONIDAS TRUJILLO, GUNNED DOWN BY THE OPPOSITION IN A CIA-BACKED PLOT.

FROM EXILE IN NEW YORK WHERE THEY HAD SETTLED AFTER NARROWLY ESCAPING TRUJILLO'S WRATH, JULIA ALVAREZ AND HER FAMILY WATCHED WITH GREAT ANTICIPATION.

Alvarez: PAPI FELT HOPEFUL, AND HE WENT BACK ON A SCOUTING TRIP, AND PAPI SAW ALL THE UNREST, AND THEN THE CIVIL WAR CAME, AND HE SAID NO.

IT'S LIKE HE SAID, "WE'RE NOT GOING BACK."

Narrator: IN THE 3 YEARS FOLLOWING THE ASSASSINATION OF TRUJILLO, 5 PRESIDENTS CAME AND WENT, AND THE COUNTRY'S POLITICAL CRISIS ESCALATED INTO CIVIL WAR.

THE AMERICAN MILITARY OCCUPATION SUCCEEDED IN PREVENTING THE FEARED COMMUNIST TAKEOVER.

BUT THE NEW PRESIDENT, JOAQUIN BALAGUER, WAS A FORMER ADVISOR OF THE DICTATOR TRUJILLO, AND MANY DOMINICANS WERE LEFT FEELING UNEASY.

THE LIFE OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WAS NOT SAFE AT THAT TIME.

UNLESS YOU THINK LIKE THE GOVERNMENT.

SO I WAS ONE OF THOSE WHO DIDN'T THINK LIKE THE GOVERNMENT.

Narrator: A YOUNG DOMINICAN STUDENT, ELIGIO PENA, WAS AMONG THOSE WHO DECIDED TO FLEE.

[CHANTING] Narrator: HE HAD NO PROBLEM GETTING A VISA.

THE UNITED STATES WAS USING IMMIGRATION AS A SAFETY VALVE TO PREVENT FURTHER UNREST BY GETTING RID OF THE OPPOSITION.

MOST DOMINICANS CAME TO NEW YORK.

BUT THE CITY THAT HAD ATTRACTED PUERTO RICANS ALMOST 25 YEARS EARLIER HAD MUCH LESS TO OFFER NOW.

JOBS WERE DISAPPEARING FAST, AND NEW YORK WAS ON THE VERGE OF BANKRUPTCY.

Cristina Garcia: THEY'RE MOVING INTO THIS AREA JUST AS THE ECONOMY WAS CHANGING, SO THEY HAVE TO EITHER FIND JOBS IN OTHER NON-TRADITIONAL INDUSTRIES OR CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEMSELVES THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

Narrator: THE 20 YEAR-OLD ELIGIO WAS UNDETERRED.

HE WORKED AT A PUERTO RICAN BODEGA FOR A YEAR, AND THEN WITH THE HELP OF AN UNCLE, BOUGHT IT.

Gonzalez: THERE WAS NO OUTSIDE SUPPORT, THERE WAS NO GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES.

THE DOMINICAN COMMUNITY HAS BEEN VERY RESOURCEFUL IN COMING UP WITH NEW STRATEGIES FOR POOLING CAPITAL IN A WAY TO BE ABLE TO BUILD UP INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS.

Narrator: AT THE END OF EACH WORKDAY, ELIGIO DROVE A TAXI FOR AN ENTIRE SHIFT, BUT SOON HE CONCLUDED THE FUTURE OF HIS FAMILY WAS HERE IN THIS COUNTRY, IN THIS CITY, NOT BACK HOME.

MY FATHER COME WITH THE ARGUMENT THAT, "WE HAVE OUR OWN BUSINESS, WE HAVE A LOT OF LAND."

I SAID, "POP, WHATEVER YOU HAVE, IT'S GOOD FOR YOU AND MOM.

"BUT IF YOU DIVIDE WHAT YOU HAVE INTO 17, "WE DON'T GET ENOUGH TO STAY IN THE ISLAND.

"SO ALLOW ME TO BRING THE OTHER BROTHERS INTO UNITED STATES "BECAUSE THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS."

Narrator: IN THE DECADE FOLLOWING THE U.S.

OCCUPATION, 150,000 DOMINICANS CAME STRAIGHT TO NEW YORK.

THEY WOULD BUILD THEIR OWN COMMUNITY ON THE BANKS OF THE HUDSON RIVER, A NEW CULTURAL HOME ON THE NORTH END OF MANHATTAN ISLAND.

JULIA ALVAREZ WOULD HAVE TO CREATE HER OWN HOME AWAY FROM HOME.

AS HER PARENTS SETTLED THE FAMILY IN A NEW YORK SUBURB, JULIA WOULD CUT HER OWN PATH THROUGH THE CULTURAL MAZE OF 1960s AMERICA.

Alvarez: A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WHEN WE GOT HERE, YOU KNOW, THE KIND OF, SORT OF LOCKDOWN IN OUR BUNKER KIND OF ATTITUDE.

NO, WE COULDN'T HAVE GIRLFRIENDS OVER.

NO, WE COULDN'T TALK ON THE PHONE, NO WE COULDN'T, YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST SORT OF-- THEY WERE STILL IN TRAUMA.

YOU GET OUT OF THE DICTATORSHIP, BUT THE DICTATORSHIP IS STILL INSIDE YOU.

Narrator: AT 13, SHE WAS SENT TO BOARDING SCHOOL IN NORTHERN MASSACHUSETTS.

ABOUT 4 HOURS FROM NEW YORK CITY, THE ABBOT ACADEMY WAS A WORLD APART.

Alvarez: THAT WAS THE OLD MODEL OF IMMIGRATION TO-- YOU CAME TO THE UNITED STATES, YOU CUT OFF YOUR TIES TO THE PAST, AND THAT WAS THE PRICE YOU PAID FOR BEING AN AMERICAN CITIZEN.

WE WERE SO HOMESICK.

WE WANTED TO GO BACK.

Narrator: THE STORIES OF JULIA'S DOMINICAN CHILDHOOD WOULD FILL THE PAGES OF HER NOTEBOOKS.

Alvarez: AS THE LEAVES FELL AND THE AIR TURNED GREY AND THE COLD SET IN, I WOULD REMEMBER THE BIG HOUSE IN BOCA CHICA, THE WAVES TELLING ME THEIR SECRETS, THE COUSINS SLEEPING SIDE BY SIDE IN THEIR COTS, AND I WOULD WONDER... Alvarez: AND IT WAS ONLY AS I GREW OLDER, I WOULD JUST GO BACK HOME TO THE D.R., TO MY TIO'S AND TIA'S.

YOU KNOW, AND GET MY SHOT OF HOME, AND THEN GO BACK INTO MY NORTH AMERICAN LIFE.

IT CREATED A KIND OF CULTURAL SCHIZOPHRENIA.

AS MAMI WOULD SAY, "EL PAPEL LO AGUANTA TODO," PAPER HOLDS ANY THING, SO I PUT EVERYTHING IN THERE, AND IT BECAME FOR ME A PLACE WHERE I COULD BE INTEGRATED.

Narrator: THE TUG OF WAR BETWEEN HER DOMINICAN AND AMERICAN SELVES WOULD PLAY OUT ON THE PAGES OF HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS.

Alvarez: IT'S LIKE YOU HAVE TO REINVENT YOUR SELF, BUT IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO DEEPER AND DISCOVER MAYBE YOUR CALLING OR YOUR PASSION.

Narrator: JULIA'S FIRST NOVEL WOULD LAUNCH HER CAREER AS AN IMPORTANT LITERARY VOICE OF HER GENERATION.

Alvarez: YOU KNOW, THAT IMMIGRATION; I WOULD NEVER HAVE BECOME A WRITER IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR-- FOR THAT EXPERIENCE.

THOSE MIXTURES ARE PART-- IT'S LIKE YOUR FINGERPRINT.

IT ALL GETS TO BE PART OF YOUR IDENTITY.

Announcer: NEXT TIME ON "LATINO AMERICANS"...

THE WORKERS WERE LITERALLY LIKE SLAVES.

Man: THEY'RE TREATED LIKE ANIMALS, AND WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE IT.

CESAR NEVER GOT PAST THE EIGHTH GRADE, AND YET HE WAS BRILLIANT.

Announcer: FROM THE FARMS TO THE SCHOOLS... Man: WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SCHOOLS BETTER, TRYING TO MAKE THE COUNTRY BETTER.

THE MOVEMENT'S MOMENTUM CREATES MAYHEM.

Man: PEOPLE BEING CLUBBED BECAUSE THEY WANTED AN EDUCATION.

NEXT TIME ON "LATINO AMERICANS."

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