with Yuleysy Ortiz and Alana Cordero-Montesinos

Less than 40 miles away from El Centro de Oro in Philadelphia is a town with a deep and fraught history for Puerto Rican migrants & undocumented workers: Kennett Square…aka The Mushroom Capital of the World. In this episode, we hear the gripping testimony of Margarita who reflected on her experience waking at 3am each night to help her husband fill his quota as a mushroom worker facing appalling conditions during the growing season.

This is episode two of CENTRO Out Loud: The Unheard Tapes of Frank Espada, a new podcast illuminating often forgotten histories, curating stories from our archives and bringing them to the public. From the stacks to the streets!

Founded in 1973 by a coalition of students, faculty, and activists, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO) is the largest university-based research institute, library, and archive dedicated to the Puerto Rican experience in the United States. Learn more at centropr.hunter.cuny.edu

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The first season of CENTRO Out Loud, “The Unheard Tapes of Frank Espada,” was made possible with support from the Diaspora Solidarities Lab Projects, the Mellon Foundation Higher Learning Projects, Michigan State University, Johns Hopkins University, Hunter College at CUNY, and The Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, with special thanks to the Espada Family for their support.