Laughter and tears mark the history of Hispanics, recorded as part of a new project to capture Hispanic voices in Miami and across the nation.
Gustavo Mestas walked 57 blocks a day to medical school because he didn't have the money for the bus. But he still saved up enough money to buy his daughter a Barbie doll to replace the roomful of dolls she left behind when the family fled Cuba.
His daughter's voice breaks as she recounts the story as part of a new initiative by the oral history project, StoryCorps, to record and preserve the life stories of Hispanics across the United States and Puerto Rico.
``I want you to know that you have had the greatest influence in my life of anyone and I love you and I respect you and admire you,'' Ileana Smith tells Mestas of Georgetown, Del.
StoryCorps has recorded 30,000 interviews since its start in 2003 and launched other initiatives, including one in 2007 to record stories of African Americans. But David Isay, who started the national effort to get people talking -- and listening -- said the response from the Hispanic community has been unprecedented for the program called Historias. READ FULL STORY
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