United States

Eliseo Cremar

When Eliseo Cremar removed his boots after weeks of frigid combat on the Manchurian border during the Korean conflict, his toenails came off along with his socks.

The men of Cremar’s unit, 2nd Infantry Division, 37th Field Artillery Battalion, were advised to put ice on their frostbitten feet or faces instead of warm water. They were given dry clothes to replace their frozen wet uniforms. Some men lost their ears and noses to frostbite.

Maria R. Garcia

By the time her husband began pushing the idea of greater participation by Mexican Americans in her small South Texas town, Maria Ramirez Garcia had developed a strong and broad network of contacts who could support the effort.

Garcia was born July 2, 1940, in Taft, Texas, 136 miles southeast of San Antonio. She and her sisters worked in a segregated movie theater while her mother, father and five older brothers were migrant workers in the cotton fields.

Jennifer Reyna

By: Voces Staff

Jennifer Reyna is a 30-year-old tech worker who lives in Portland, Oregon. She was born and raised in El Monte, California. She has lived in Portland since 2016 and works for a tech company called Squarespace. Before COVID, she had a very normal routine that included going to the gym daily and walking to and from work, but with the work and gym closures, she wasn’t able to do that anymore.

Richard Villa Jr.

By: Voces Staff

Richard Villa is a 27-year old licensed investment broker born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He is planning a carrer change into law and ultimately wants to be able to prosecute injustice, especially injustice at the hands of police, such as police brutality and deaths that result from police violence. He also wants to help provide public defender assistance to those who can’t afford it, especially to minorities and those who are in poverty.

Rosana Resende

By: Voces Staff

Rosana Resende, a resident of Florida, is a post-secondary instructor transitioning into a job with the federal government in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is dealing with challenges as an instructor during a time of distance learning as well as the risk factors that come with traveling out of state to relocate for work. 
 

Sandra Gonzalez

By: Voces Staff

Sandra Gonzalez is a registered nurse based in San Antonio. Her focus is on pregnant women, new mothers and their newborns. However, COVID-19 has brought changes to her work environment that affect how she practices health care. She uses the same preventive measures outside of the workplace to continue as a mother and mariachi musician in the age of distance learning and social distancing. 

Tony Pena

By: Voces Staff

Tony Pena is 29 years old from Phoenix, Arizona, who currently lives in Portland, Oregon. He works at Squarespace, an internet domain tech company, where he has worked as a senior customer advisor for three years. He also works as an employee resources group co-chair for the Queer Resource Group. He first heard about coronavirus back in October 2019, after reading about this virus in Wuhan, China in the BBC or NPR. He didn’t think it was going to impact his life all that much at first, given how far away it was all happening and spreading. 

Elizabeth Villa

By: Voces Staff

Elizabeth Villa is a 51-year-old kindergarten teacher and mother of six. She has five sons and one daughter and is also a grandmother to two girls. She has been teaching for 20 years and has lived all over the country, but mostly in Phoenix. Villa discusses the challenges she has faced during the pandemic and the impact COVID-19 has had on her family. As an educator, she also discusses how COVID-19 will affect the education system and what the future holds for teachers and students. 
 

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