Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Emiliano Martinez Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0176
Creators:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Community Life
Ahlborn, Richard E., 1933-2015
Martinez, Emiliano
Martin, Juana
Dates:
1984
Languages:
Interview conducted in
Spanish
.
Physical Description:
0.15 Cubic feet
1 box
Repository:
Papers, oral history, and transcripts relating to Emiliano Martinez, a Cuban immigrant.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Papers and photographs related to the immigration experience of Cuban refugee Martinez: a story from the Washington Post, March 12, 1984; a 45-minute cassette recording of an interview (in Spanish) by Richard E. Ahlborn with Martinez; a transcription in Spanish of the interview; six photographs of the hut taken by a zoo photographer; a covering memorandum from Ahlborn; a copy of Martinez's earnings from the sale of cans; and a diagram of his hut. Ahlborn, a curator in the Division of Community Life, was assisted by Juana Martin, a social worker.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
The story of Emiliano Martinez, a Cuban refugee, was publicized as an example of the ingenuity and survival skills of recent immigrants to this nation. Martinez fled Cuba in one of the freedom flotillas of 1980. After a year in a refugee camp at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, he arrived in Washington, D.C. in April 1981. He shared apartments with other Cuban refugees until October 1982. Using his carpentry skills, he constructed a hut on undeveloped land at the National Zoo, where he lived from December 1982 until March 1984. He then moved into a boarding house in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood. He made his livelihood by selling aluminum cans to a Safeway grocery store for an average of sixty-five dollars a month.

Administration

Author
Robert S. Harding
Custodial History
Interview made for museum, 1984.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Emilio Martinez.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Robert Harding, 1985
Custodial History
Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Community Life(now Division of Cultural and Community Life).

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Emiliano Martinez Collection, 1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Audiocassettes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audiotapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carpentry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Emigration and immigration Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fort Chaffee (Ark.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hispanic Americans -- 1950-2000 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Homelessness Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Housing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews -- 1980-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oral history Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1980-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Political refugees Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Poverty Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Transcripts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu