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Maldonado (Estefana) Watts Letters
SPC.2022.030
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Table of contents
1964-1965
Language of Material: English, Spanish; Castilian.
This series of letters was written between July 20, 1964 and December 25, 1965. While the themes of the collection remain
consistent throughout, the majority of the letters in this collection were written in this time period. Immediately after
Demetrio went away, Estefana was the most active in her writing because it was the first time she ever had to say goodbye
to any of her immediate family. As a result of her extremely active writing, many of the letters speak on overlapping topics.
The first two letters referencing the Watts Riots are in this series:
- August 21, 1965: She briefly mentions what she saw first hand after the Watts Riots of '65. The looting, the stealing, the destruction, and the closed down stores all around the city.
- August 22, 1965: She speaks on the effects of the Watts Riots and expresses how she feels about the events and the people involved. Scared, shocked, worried, etc.
1966
Language of Material: English, Spanish; Castilian.
This series of letters was written between January 25, 1966 and December 27, 1966. The amount of letters written in this time
period begins to decrease for two reasons. First, Demetrio is taking much longer to reply to Estefana and as a result, she
grows frustrated. So much so that she begins to question how much he cares about his family.
Second, Demetrio makes a trip back home after being away and there are no letters written during that time. The last two letters
referencing the Watts Riots are in this series:
- May 25, 1966: She expresses that there are rumors of another riot happening in Watts. She feels a sense of unease and states it is not safe, detailing an incident where Chicano kids harassed her husband.
- June 4, 1966: Estefana believes tensions are calming down in Watts and hopes rioters think differently next time. She also describes her own personal understanding of the events that caused the Watts riots. She mentions the fact that the police officer was set free and how that has caused anger, sparking thoughts of another riot in Los Angeles.
1967
Language of Material: English, Spanish; Castilian.
This series of letters was written between January 3, 1967 and August 10, 1967. This series contains the least amount of letters
in the collection and while Demetrio is still away, it is unclear why the letters ended abruptly. The topics in the letters
continue to revolve around family events, financial struggles, and Estefana's health.