Interview with Noemi Lugo, November 22, 2009

Interview Summary

She introduces herself and states her agreement to the interview. She talks about how she came to Kentucky after accepting an offer for a position at UK. She talks about being a musician and what art is to her. She talks about arriving in the US and about learning English. She talks about how she had to do her undergraduate again in Wisconsin and Utah and started her PhD program at the University of Colorado. She talks about learning English and taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. She also talks about how much English she speaks versus the amount of Spanish she speaks and seeking out opportunities to practice her Spanish whenever she can. She says that it has been important to her to teach her daughter Spanish, pass on her culture, and talks about her daughter?s feelings on the subject. She talks about the culture shock she had when she moved to Lexington from Boulder, Colorado and Madison, Wisconsin and the difficulties she had. She speaks about an experience in asking about other Latin American professors at the Office of Minority Affairs and the shock of learning that the office was solely for African Americans. She discusses the process of finding all the services and things she needed through a professor at the university. She talks about how she and her daughter were able to find things for themselves because of church, her daughter?s ballet classes, and other places where she and her daughter would find other mothers and daughters, especially in college towns. She talks about how her collaboration with the community helps in the understanding of the Hispanic culture. She feels that music is a guide to help understand a culture. She feels that the community has grown a lot, both in population and as a community, helping the people feel that they have a community. She feels that the community needs to be united to face the problems of the Hispanic community, that people need to remember that they are representing the community. She thinks that some people do not learn English because they have to work hard and they do not have time, plus they do not always have access to education. She gives her opinion on the inclusion of Spanish as a language used for medical care, emergency calls, etc. She points out that other countries also have a second language like English as an option for emergency situations. She talks about the support available to learn and keep up her hereditary language. Mainly it was the Spanish classes available at the time, which were not very good. She talks about the things that have changed the most in her time here. She feels that discrimination/racism is worse, people are more superficial, and, on the positive side, there are more foreigners living here. She talks of the Latino contributions to American popular culture. Some examples include food, music, and ways of conducting business. She talks of the Latino professors at the university level. She also briefly talks about the cultural differences between American students and those of other countries. The passion that Latino professors have is emphasized. She talks about how she thinks the Hispanic community will grow in the future. She hopes that it will gain leaders that will represent the community and make changes that will be beneficial. She talks about how she feels living in Lexington now versus how she felt that she wanted to move a while ago. She talks about how she could move later but it would likely be in the United States. She feels that there is a lonely feeling to the U.S. and that this is more of a country for young people, not so much for elders.

Interview Keyword

Discrimination. Discriminaci Universities and colleges--Faculty. Las universidades y escuelas--Facultad. English language. Idioma en Ingl?s. Communities. Las comunidades. Spanish language. Lengua espa?ola. Musicians M?sicos

Interview LC Subject

University of Kentucky Universities and colleges Lexington (Ky.) Minorities--Kentucky--Lexington. Hispanic Americans--Kentucky. Immigrants--Kentucky Education Culture Emigration and immigration

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.