When John and Abigail Adams were apart they continued a steady conversation through letter writing, and kept every letter. These letters are a priceless treasure of American history. Today, over 230 years later, we can listen to their conversation, share in their thoughts and desires, and get to know them as real people, not just as names in a history book.

Maybe you won’t be the next John and Abigail Adams, but here’s how you can put your name in our Latino oral history collection. Latinos began immigrating to Rhode Island in small numbers as far back as the 1920s and in greater numbers in the 50s, 60s and 70s. According to census population records, Latinos continue to move here today in even greater numbers. No doubt, letters were written by many of you who immigrated here during this time, especially those of you who moved to R.I. in the early years.

We are interested in reading and getting copies of any letters that were exchanged between someone who moved to Rhode Island at any time in their lives and a family members, friend or colleague back home in any of the Latino American countries and Puerto Rico where you came from. Did you miss someone in particular, such as parent, spouse, child or best friend? Did you miss tasting home cooking, reading your local paper or the weather? How did you feel about this new, strange country, city and state where you were now living?

We are not trying to pry into your personal life, but we are interested in preserving the history of our Spanish-speaking community so that our descendants and future generations of Latinos can learn from and better appreciate their Latino heritage.

Contact us if you want to share a copy of your letter(s), or type an excerpt that especially means something to you in an email or in the section at the bottom of this page.

Please write a comment below, or send an E-Mail to Marta V. Martínez via this link
To mail copies of your letter, send them to: P.O. Box 25118, ProvidenceRI 02905