Miguel Canto e Castro Interview
Item
Title
Miguel Canto e Castro Interview
Description
Miguel Canto e Castro was born in the island of Pico, Azores and came to the US as a teenager. He has the oldest Portuguese language radio program in the US, broadcasting continuously for over 60 years. A dedicated member of the Portuguese-American community, Miguel has spent most of his life promoting the Portuguese-American experience in Central California.
Creator
Canto e Castro, Miguel
McCoy, Kelley
Relation
Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute
Identifier
SCUAD_pbbi_00007
Date
07-11-2019
extracted text
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Miguel Canto e Castro: My full name is Miguel
Amaran Canto e Castro. Amaran, my mother's.
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Canto e Castro, my father's.
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Kelley McCoy: When were you born?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: I was born 14 of November
1931 in the Azores.
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Kelley McCoy: What island?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Island Pico, the tallest,
the highest.
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Kelley McCoy: And when did your family immigrate
to the United States?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: First, my mother came
in 1945. She was an American citizen. She
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was born in Providence, Rhode Island. She
went back when she was a year old, or maybe
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13 months, something like that. And then in
1945, she decided to come back to her country.
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She came in '45 and to California. She had
a cousin that lived close to Stanford University.
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And then two years later, I came. She sent
for me, my father, and my brother. The three
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of us came in 1947, July. And then we, we
left the two girls there, Vicky and Josie,
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in the Azores, in a convent with sisters,
so they had to take them to a bigger island,
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San Miguel, where they had a convent. And
then they slept there, they ate there, and
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they studied there. And they stayed one year
in other words because we were trying to get
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enough money to send for them, too. They came
in '48. And then it was kind of cute because
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you see, my father was born in three, so he
was in his forties. My mother was born in
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'07, so she was 40 years old in 1947. So they
had a second honeymoon. They had been apart
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two years. The second honeymoon produced Tina,
which was born in Pacific Grove, and lives
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now in Santa Cruz, and she had three girls.
So now it's three girls and two boys.
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Kelley McCoy: So how old were you then when
you came to the-23
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Miguel Canto e Castro: I was 15 and a half.
I came in July, and then I turned 16 in November.
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And my first year of high school was in Pacific
Grove. My mother put me right in, in a high
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school. I couldn't speak English. So it was
like, "Miguel, let's go. Let's go play ball."
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So I kicked a ball, yeah. Oh! Okay, play ball.
But then picked up a word, another word. Then
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my brother and I, we used to go to the movies
in Pacific Grove. We'd see the movie two28
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three times. We go on weekends. And then we'd
see them talking, and doing things like knock
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on the door. Come in! Oh, entre, come in,
okay. Sit down! Sit down at the
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table. Pass me the sugar, pass me the bread.
olla pão e açúcar pão yeah , you associate because you
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see them doing the things. So that way, within
six months I was already saying a few things.
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I had some cute things, too because after
school, I worked in the gas station, Shell,
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to help, you know, and my brother too. He
worked in a furniture store, helped deliver
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stuff. And then one time a lady came and said,
"Would you please check my front and rear
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tires?" And I said, "Front or--? I no speak
English very good. I know front. I don't know
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rear." So she said, "Oh, that's the back tires."
So I know front not back, that's all I knew.
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So stuff like that, it was funny, learning,
you know, learning.
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Kelley McCoy: So, so why, so your mother wanted,
she was born in the United States, and she
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wanted the rest of the family to come. Why,
why in the United States? Why not go back
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to the Azores and, and build a life with you
all there?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: No, my mother. The
reason my mother came here in 1945, first
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she was born here. But it was just that. It
was financial. My father worked for the government.
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But it wasn't very much. My mother taught
piano. She had a one time, as far as 25 peoples.
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Tried to help him, too. But even then I went
to high school there. High school there is
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paid. It's different than here. There it's
four years of grammar school, and then seven
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years high school. So I had three years of
high school. My brother, it was already--didn't
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have much money to pay, so my brother kind
of used to make little altars, you know. And
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we were Catholic and go to church and all
that. So he wanted to be a priest. I told
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my mom, I said, "He is not a priest. He likes
girls." So she didn't like that. But he, he
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went to the seminary. He was a one year, and
he came, came out. He didn't stay. And he
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got married and had five children. So I knew
because we were brothers, you know? Within
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18 months younger, he's younger than me. So
the thing was not enough money to, to, for
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education. So let's go to America. And there
was a, the war was on of course until 1945.
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That's why she didn't come before. She came
by ship. We flew in '47, TWA, four engine,
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not jet. Took 12 hours from the Azores to
New York. Now it's like four. But my mother
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came, so many, about a week, and then they
had some kind of a storm, so they had to go
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south, and came up. Eventually got to either
Boston or New York. But that was the reason
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to, to give us an education. And an opportunity
to--there is limited, Azores are very small
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and if you don't, if you're not a rich person,
that you were blessed with family that had
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land and blah blah, then fine. But if you
don't, then it's, it's difficult. So that
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was the reason, and she came in '45 like I
told you. And away from her husband for two
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years, and all of us there, waiting, you know?
And then she said we can--but that was the
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reason, to give us an opportunity. Everyone
went to school here. Everybody had nice jobs,
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you know? So very different.
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Kelley McCoy: So you landed and started out
in Pacific Grove. You and your brother learned
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English watching movies.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, yeah, yeah, and
school too. I went to high school.
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Kelley McCoy: And school.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, my first year
of high school was in Pacific Grove, and then
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we moved to San Jose. About in 1948. San Jose
was even 100,000, 90-some thousand. Now it's
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over a million. I went to San Jose High School.
I graduated from San Jose High School, 1951.
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That's when I went into the service. Then
I was 20. San Jose High, Lincoln High. We
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were the bulldogs, they were the lions. I
went there until I graduated. And then went
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in the service from '51 to '55. Then came
here, but you were asking me something else
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besides that. No?
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Kelley McCoy: This was all good.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Okay. I came here to
Los Banos because. The girlfriend, my first
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girlfriend was from here. So it was, came
over here, and I actually got married to her,
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and went to a 17-year marriage. Didn't work
out too good, so I remarried afterwards.
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Kelley McCoy: So let's talk a little bit more
about your childhood. Because coming here
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to the United States when you're a teenager,
you certainly have memories of your life in
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the Azores. What did you miss when you came
here?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: The ocean! The ocean
is the thing we miss a lot. I used to go fishing.
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I used to go hunting with my slingshot. That
kind of stuff. You know, I was 13, 14, 15.
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Then I came, but nothing else. You know, we
missed the ocean. And that's why most of the
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Portuguese, you know, whether they live in
Tulare, Fresno, Hanford, over here. They all
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want to go to Monterrey, Pacific Grove, Carmel,
Santa Cruz. As long as we can see the ocean.
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Because you miss it. You're on an island.
Every time you turn around, your feets are
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in the ocean. Yeah. And it's small. They're
very small islands. So that, that I miss a
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lot. And when I go for a drive, over the hill.
And then they say, "But you never of up into
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the mountain?" Oh, yeah. I go. I've gone to
Yosemite, places like that. I've got to have
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water, so I'd rather see a lake or a river
running because if there's water, I want to
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go. I don't want nothing dry, you know? Something
that I can-- you know.
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Kelley McCoy: So as far as, in addition to
missing the ocean, and having a bit of a language
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barrier initially, what other adjustments
did you and your family make when you came
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here to the United States?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, the thing was working,
all of us working in order to help. My mother
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was teaching in Douglas school because if
you go, it was a private school of ladies
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with money that had their daughters. And she
was teaching piano and also French because
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she had taken, not French. She had taken English
from Mills College. She was there a little
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over a year. Because the cousin that she knew,
knew someone there, and they, she worked like
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a trade. She taught piano and French in Mills
College for I think 18 months. And then they
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taught her English. But she still, to the
day she died, and she died, she was going
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to be 101. Imagine. It was the others (french accent), not
the others. She never lost some of the accent,
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you know? And a lot of the French, too, that
she had, you know, which was Portuguese from
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the family was Portuguese. But her pronunciation
was more like French, and stuff
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like, you know? But there was to help, to
help like I told you, I was in a gas station.
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My brother was in a furniture store, trying
to bring in money to help. Because he was
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starting a life. We never bought a home, we
rented in Pacific Grove. And I moved to San
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Jose, 1393 Short Ridge Avenue, almost across
from the Portuguese church, five rooms. And
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rented, yeah. Eventually we had a house given
to us. The priest for the Porto from the five-rooms
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church. They wanted to build a new house for
the priest, so he told my mother, "I'd like
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to give you the house for you and your family.
But you assume the responsibility of moving
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the house." So my mother had some friends,
and they loan us the money to buy a lot and
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to move the house. I have even pictures of
that, you know? And then we moved the house
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into 34th street. They built a new rectory
for the priest, yeah. But it was given to us.
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Kelley McCoy: And what city was this in?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Pardon me?
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Kelley McCoy: What city was this in?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: San Jose. [Inaudible]
The moved the new [inaudible], and then they
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donated the house to my mother, and then we
moved the house, and then we moved there.
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Today the house is still there, but they made
a duplex. It's 242 North 34th, and 34th Street.
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They left and sold it. They didn't even buy
a house.
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Kelley McCoy: So these places where you lived,
Miguel, were there Portuguese?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: A lot of, lot of Portuguese.
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Kelley McCoy: So there were already communities
there?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, in Pacific Grove,
and then we, my father started, my mother,
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they started a radio, a radio program. And
this was kind of cute because we're living
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in Pacific Grove, and a man who had a program
in Watsonville, KHUB, gone, it's already gone.
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But it was there. You went to the middle of
Watsonville, and there was a church on the
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left, and then there's a street that goes
up that way. And there was the station, KHUB.
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This man wanted to retire, and they knew my
parents because they were newspaper people,
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you know? They wrote articles and, so they,
he thought of them. Went and talked to my
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dad. My dad says, "Yeah, we'll do the program."
So then we started doing the--one year at
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KHUB, and then when we moved to San Jose,
then we got a program in KLOK, and so that
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was 18 different nationalities. We had Italian,
we had even Chinese, Portuguese. Altogether
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was 18 different nationality. Had KLOK for
years! Year! People here in the Valley used
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to listen to KLOK because it reached over
here. I think it was 5000 watts. But we did
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that, and I collaborated, you know? My father
would write sketches, and we'd interpret them,
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like a family. Like you see on the TV, that
type of thing, and people liked it.
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Kelley McCoy: So quick question, if I can
clarify with you. You said the very first
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time that your parents were offered an opportunity
-- you mentioned a newspaper. Had they written
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things for the newspaper? Where did the newspaper
--?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: In Portugal. We were
talking about Portugal.
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Kelley McCoy: Oh, OK.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: And they still over
here, they started doing for, the Portuguese
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from Oakland, the Portuguese paper, my mom
and dad, they did a lot of articles for it.
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Yeah, they were newspaper people. They had
the newspaper there in the old country. But
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it was not enough, not enough, you know? A
lot of stuff is free. Not like here, here
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it's a business, you know? That's why coming
over here, everything here is business, you
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know? Over there it's--. It's like for the
love of thing.
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Kelley McCoy: So even here in the United States,
wherever you lived, you were part of a strong
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local Portuguese community?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, we had Festas,
and then we did, we also promoted Festas was
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a radio. And in Pacific Grove, very much.
And then they used to come from Monterrey
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to get together, and then even from Santa
Cruz, some Portuguese. Then we moved to San
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Jose, big community there. That was Little
Portugal at that time, you know? The place
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was always--they still had a couple of restaurants,
couple of stores. They sell the [Portuguese],
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fish, you know, all that stuff, but it not
like before. Before it was a lot of, now I
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think it's more, mostly Oriental. They kind
of took over, you know? It was very predominantly
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Portuguese.
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Kelley McCoy: So when, when you married and
you had children, was it important to you,
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Miguel Canto e Castro, that your children
also kind of retain a similar passion for
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Portuguese customs?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Very difficult, very
difficult for the first and the second one,
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yeah. They, lot of, they go once in a while
they, but they don't, they do not as much
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as we would like them to. But at least the
language, my son speaks Portuguese fluently.
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My daughter, too, Michelle, and Louis. The
language is what we wanted you know keep the
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language. But the customs, see, they like
different kind of music. They all need, the
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people from the little villages, you know,
that they had cow. We never had cow, they
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had cows and the pigs, and they --. Those
kind, those people, they get together and
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they enjoy them because they live there, you
know? I went to the movies to see Charles
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[inaudible] and Humphrey Bogart. I used to
go to movies all the time, see American movies.
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I was already falling in love with America
there! Seeing, you know, the thing I admire
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so much here, the teachers would, with people
would [inaudible]. Not, you know, over there,
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the kids, we all sit down, okay? This is high
school. We're all sitting down. The teacher
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comes in everybody goes, "Good morning, [foreign
language]." And then, "You may sit down,"
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and we sit down. When I went to high school
in Pacific Grove, it was a [inaudible] and
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they look at my funny. [Laughter]
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[ Inaudible ]
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Here I liked the way the teachers talked to
the people, very --.
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Kelley McCoy: Informal.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Informal, very informal.
Over there, it's all more, yeah.
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Kelley McCoy: If I could return for just one
minute, you said that all three of your children
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speak Portuguese, and that's what you wanted,
right?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Well, yeah, because
it's good to know more than one language.
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Because I came here from Portugal with two
years of French, and I can still [foreign
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language] you know? [Inaudible] because of
that. And I think that's good! You go to France,
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you go to Italy, you go to Spain, I have no
problems going to Portugal. I went to Spain
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in 1965, a tour, and I took 18 people. But
I was in charge because I, it was one of my
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sponsors. [Inaudible] we promoted that. I
had a ball because language, French, and then
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my basic knowledge of Portuguese too helped
me with the Spanish. I had no problems talking
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to, you know, [hablando Espanol con quien sea] you know?
So I think that's, knowledge is good. And
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then if you travel, it's much easier.
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Kelley McCoy: Was there also an identity component
though? The fact that it is Portuguese?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: I kind of like my language.
I think it's a very rich language. Do you
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know what I mean? The Spanish might be a little
bit more suave, a little bit more romantic
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because Portuguese is a little bit stronger,
like we say, “[foreign language].” “Close
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the door.” And Spanish, “[cierra la puerta].”
It's very soft, very nice, [cierra la puerta].
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[ venga para aca ]
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Very soft, very pretty. Portuguese is more,
a lot of "oosh, oosh" because [foreign language]
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and "sh, sh." I'll never forget this. I was
talking at KLOK, and it was in Portuguese,
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of course. In those days, here, I do everything.
There I just talked, and then I wait for him
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to put the record, you know? Like an engineer.
He was on the other side of the glass, so
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pretty soon, he takes his--.
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[ Inaudible ] put the-- record guy, "what?"
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"You're spitting all over the place! [Laughter]
Clean the microphone off! You're going woosh,
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woosh, woosh, woosh." But again, it sounds
like that, you know?
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[ Foreign Language ]
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But it was funny, but it's different. It's
a little harsh. But it's an old language.
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It's an old language, you know? It's a country,
the oldest, 1100s, founded in 1143. A little
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strip, you know? A little garden planted by
the [inaudible], you know? And now it's fantastic!
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Everybody went from Germany, from France,
from whatever, from the north, from the Netherlands.
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They all want to go. So many beautiful -- it's
very pretty. It's like a garden! You know?
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And good food and cheap, cheaper than all
the other countries. If you go to Spain, higher
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and higher. You go to France, higher yet.
Italy, all those countries, more, yeah. So
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more [laughter]. I told you to stop me because
I can go forever.
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Kelley McCoy: Let's talk more about radio.
So you got out of the, you, at some point
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you were in the military.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, '51 to '54.
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Kelley McCoy: Right, so tell me a little bit
kind of about your career trajectory. Did
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you go into radio full time at some point
after the military?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Never.
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Kelley McCoy: What happened?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Never, never, never.
The radio -- I've already told you that I
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did radio with my parents. OK, then I went
in the service, came out in '55. In 1961,
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they, the started the station over here in
Los Banos. The antenna's out there, the studio's
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in downtown. And in 1961, some people that
were in San Jose, they had moved over here,
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two families, that knew me and my family of
the radio in San Jose. So when the radio station
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went on the air, I guess a month, maybe less,
they went to see John McAdam, was his name,
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the owner. Oh, we know him, a friend of ours.
He was a radio man in San Jose with his brother
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and his parents. Because you know a lot of
Portuguese, and we'd like to have a Portuguese
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program. So I go and talk to him. He right
away said, "Whenever you want to start." So
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I started on a Sunday. It didn't last three
months. I went every day. Three months on
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Sunday, it became so popular, you know, and
people, because I have [inaudible] those days
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there were a lot of dairies. And they needed
milkers. They needed people to work the land
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or to take care of the dairy. So I [inaudible],
not charge, it was free. This was service
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to the community, right? A dairyman calls
me. "I need a milker. I need a herdsman. I
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need this, I need --." Okay. Gave me the phone
number and then I go in Portuguese and I would
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[inaudible]. I got hundreds and thousands
over the years, thousand jobs. But then we,
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we didn't expect, but we hoped that those
people went to the sponsors. The advertisement,
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selling car, selling tractors, selling cows,
everything. Selling that were advertising
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on the radio station during my program, that's
what I would say. Please, you know, go to
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this thing or groceries here, a car over there,
cars and motor company. So it would help,
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but it was all just part-time. I worked, my
first job, when I came out of the service
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in 1955, It was Bank of America, the old building
in Los Banos. Beautiful building. I was there
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from '55 to '57 and a half, two and a half
years. I became a vault teller, okay? So that
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was my first job. And after two and a half
years, I --$225 a month, a wife and two kids,
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and I better get something else. So then an
opportunity came on the [inaudible] auto electric,
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and he sold tires, refrigerators, stoves and
all that, appliances. So I left the Bank of
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America, and I went to work for Bressler's.
Made a little bit more money. I wasn't there
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even a year. Papa Tom, the owner of Car and
Motor Company, Armenians from Fresno, but
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they had been here years and years, come over
here. "Kid! Come and work for us! Come and
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sell cars! You can make a lot of money! You
speak Portuguese, you speak Spanish! You're
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going to --. Oh, a lot of Mexicans and these
things, and farms, a lot of Portuguese!" He
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just said all this stuff, so after a year--I
went and sold cars. I sold cars for 20 years
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for this company. And then back to the bank.
I worked for State Savings a couple of years,
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and then American Savings gobbled up State
Savings, and I worked 11 years, for American
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Savings. And then Washington Mutual gobbled
up American City. That's when I said no more.
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Because it became so big, very impersonal.
When I worked for State Savings, it was like
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400 employees. And then I had meetings in
Merced, it was the headquarters. And when
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I got done the president said, "Hey, Castro!
Come here! How's things in [inaudible]? Hey,
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Fidel, come here!" Fidel Castro, yeah? He
calls me Castro. "How's things in Los Banos?"
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You know, very nice. Then American Savings
already, 11--, 1200 people. You know two or
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three, and no more. And then Mutual, I said
no more. And then I left. Then teaching because
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I had taught Portuguese over here at Merced
College. I taught for about two semesters
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with Gene Vieda. He was teaching English.
That's when we started Merced campus here,
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and the building today is a church across
from the DMV. And he was English, and I was
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teaching Portuguese conversation, and I loved
it. I had 30 something of students. Then
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I tried later, and I had students who didn't
have the money. So I had to, you know, I had
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my position paper so people know that I was
going to teach again. And then I had 35, I
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only use 15. And but no money at the time.
It was a crunch, you know, in money, so I
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didn't do it no more. But then an opportunity
came for ESL, and I started part-time, I started
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part-time, and like twice a week at night,
and then they had some deal with some kind
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of thing from the working, workman's, whatever.
And so they had to teach every day. So that
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was nice for me because then instead of just
two times a week at night, I started teaching
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every day, part-time, from 8:30 to noon. And
then now I have a retirement from there, which
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I wouldn't have had before.
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Kelley McCoy: So these ESL classes now that
you were teaching, that you were getting all
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these hours, was that Merced College?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, the satellite
campus.
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Kelley McCoy: Right, the satellite campus,
so what is going on? Are you still volunteering
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with radio? Or is that completely not on your
radar.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: No, no, no, no, no, I'm still doing
radio.
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Kelley McCoy: You're still doing it?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Once a week. Saturday
from 10 to noon, Internet. Internet now,
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so now I have people who listen to me in Canada,
in the old country, all over because you know
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if you have Internet, you can hear.
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Kelley McCoy: Can you tell me what the programming
is like?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Music and about four
sponsors. They pay for the time, and I read
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old stories from the Azores. I had a lot of
books with old stories. They like that, so
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I read them, five minutes. At 10:30 I read
one, and then at 11:30 I read another one.
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But I have it all taped. The stories, I taped
them with the background music starting, you know?
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Kelley McCoy: Is this back then, or is that
how you do it now?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: I do it now. Yeah,
but I did it before. I taped it before, and
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I can, I do it now because now I'm going,
other people never heard the stories before,
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see?
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Kelley McCoy: So how do you decide what music
to play, and is it Portuguese from Portugal?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Portuguese, but I'll
play a little bit of English. The other day
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I was playing Glen Miller. It came about because
I was talking about what holiday we had before,
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American. And then I want to put on some American
music, so I put on Glen Miller. I love Glen
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Miller. And yeah, once in a while I'll put
that. I have already a couple of albums for
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Sunday. I'm going to do a posthumous homage,
homage? To a great musician, a great singer,
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[inaudible]. Same year: he was born 1931.
So I'm -- I'm -- and Ross Perot is 89. He's
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just [inaudible]. I've got to put my [inaudible].
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[ Inaudible ]
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Anyway, I have those I want to play, talk
about him, you know, because he's -- he was
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a popular bossanova.
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Kelley McCoy: So do you engage very much with
your listeners? Do you hear from them? Are
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they emailing you?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Email or they do, they
put it on the thing, you know.
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Kelley McCoy: So what is the appeal--obviously
listening to you talk during it. So, Miguel,
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what is it about radio that attracts you?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: The music in particular
because I love music, so playing the music,
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and I have to be honest with you, a little
bit of selfishness too, because when I started,
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in the back of my mind was not just doing
the things for them. A little bit for me because
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when I, when I worked at the bank, I got savings
like American City and [inaudible] savings.
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I went out and got money because people knew
me and they trust me, and I went out and write
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them up and bring the money in. So that was,
helped me too. When I sold cars, it helped
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me too. So there was a little bit of, to help
me, my family, you know my children, not just
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the thing of I enjoy it, I love it, I love
music, and I love to talk as you can see [laughter].
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Kelley McCoy: But you established a reputation?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah.
I, when I sold cars, I sold cars in Modesto.
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I'm living in Los Banos. Modesto. All of this
area around here. Gustine, Newman, Patterson,
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Livingston, Turlock. Come over here and buy,
you know, buy a car from Miguel Canto e Castro,
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a car from Miguel Canto e Castro, see, because
they knew me. They trust me. I helped them.
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Then lot of them have difficulty with the
language. [Inaudible] I helped them to getting
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license. I used to go and translate and help
for them. And I translate all the signs so
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they could study. In Portuguese. And insurance.
I would take them, they didn't understand,
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I explain, so they, you know, you want to
know what the coverage is. You want to buy,
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you know, potatoes in a sack. You want to
know what you're getting. That's an old Portuguese
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saying, we say in Portugal, [inaudible].
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Kelley McCoy: So.
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[Inaudible]
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Kelley McCoy: Yeah, there's a few. It only
happened like twice though.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, okay. Yeah, you're
being, you know, if you tie a Portuguese's
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hands, we can't talk. [Laughter] Got to move
the hands!
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Kelley McCoy: So I understand, I've heard
that you have the longest-running Portuguese
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show in North America.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh yeah, yeah.
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Kelley McCoy: So do you see yourself giving
it up?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: No! No, no, no. No.
I want to beat everybody! [Laughter] When
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they say I should, I've been at this thing
longer than Johnny Carson and [inaudible],
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00:33:36,390 --> 00:33:42,720
everybody! Everybody that's been in the news
and in radio and TV. Nobody has gone--some
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00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:50,680
of them 30, 37, 40 years. Johnny Carson, I
think around 30 years. Thirty, 35, 40? Here,
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when I started my own program, 1961 to now,
it's going to be 58. It's already 58, the
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second of July. I started July 2, 1961, so
that's 58 years, and then I had three years
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over there at San Jose, so 58 and three, over
60.
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Kelley McCoy: I also understand that you have
helped a lot of people get their American
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citizenship.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh yeah, well I did,
you know, had the things in Portuguese so
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they could study. And then I have classes.
I did classes when I was working for State
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00:34:29,779 --> 00:34:35,769
Savings, State Savings? Yeah. Because it was
a building, they let me use upstairs. They
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had like a little -- free. And then I didn't
have to pay. I said well I'm not charging
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anything for the teaching. So then Gustine
they also at the library, they let me use
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the library. So I'd go to Gustine, and then
they'd come, and then I'd, you know, help
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them to--so they would learn what they had
to answer for --. It was all part of, you
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know, helping. That's part of me, you know.
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Kelley McCoy: As you know, the United States
has a long-standing history of not being especially
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welcoming of newcomers. Given your own experience
as an immigrant to this country, as well as
361
00:35:14,970 --> 00:35:19,749
working with other people, helping them to
become citizens of this country, what do you
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00:35:19,749 --> 00:35:26,900
wish that most Americans born in this country
knew about immigrants, and those who sought
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to become citizens?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: That's a difficult
question. I had no problems, see, I'm going
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by me. I know some people now have problems.
And I had no problems, it was so easy. But
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then it was a different day. We're talking
about the fifties. I came in '47 and go to
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school there. Then '50-'51, San Jose. Now
I know there is a lot of. I believe that some
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00:36:11,390 --> 00:36:20,231
of the Portuguese also came without, not legally.
Some of them. Not too many, because it was
369
00:36:20,231 --> 00:36:28,119
more difficult for that way. It was much easier
this way, here, with the border and all that.
370
00:36:28,119 --> 00:36:32,099
But most of them, for me, it was different.
My mother was born here. Then she comes and
371
00:36:32,099 --> 00:36:40,690
she sends for her family. A different set-up
altogether. And then that was, I never felt
372
00:36:40,690 --> 00:36:47,930
an outsider at school. They all made a big
fuss over me, because you know I was so cute.
373
00:36:47,930 --> 00:36:53,230
"Miguel Canto e Castro, say something!" They'd
say, "Oh, aren't you funny and so cute. Say
374
00:36:53,230 --> 00:36:56,961
something else!" They weren't making fun of
me, they just enjoyed it, you know? Because
375
00:36:56,961 --> 00:37:02,380
I had an accent, because I didn't speak fluently.
I still don't, I still have an accent, and
376
00:37:02,380 --> 00:37:08,230
I've been here 72 years. I still have an accent,
but the guys don't care because they understand
377
00:37:08,230 --> 00:37:14,930
me, you know what I mean? But the answer,
I just have situation now where I've been
378
00:37:14,930 --> 00:37:24,635
following it on television. It's so sad. Some
people are so bitter, you know? And but others,
379
00:37:24,635 --> 00:37:30,619
they want to help, and, but then they accuse
people of doing something that they're not
380
00:37:30,619 --> 00:37:36,720
doing, and then the other way around. It's,
it's really difficult to, because what I'm
381
00:37:36,720 --> 00:37:45,140
witnessing now, I'm not --. I know there's
people that, they want to help, but then there's
382
00:37:45,140 --> 00:37:49,960
a lot of people, "They have to be here legally!"
Well, there's a lot of people who came here,
383
00:37:49,960 --> 00:38:02,700
you know. My, my grandfather, my great grandfather,
OK? Just to go back, my great grandfather
384
00:38:02,700 --> 00:38:13,890
was 17 years old, swam from the smallest island
in the Azores, Corvo, C-o-r-v-o, smallest,
385
00:38:13,890 --> 00:38:25,630
17 kilometers, to an American whaler. Went
down whaling, the Atlantic, went around the
386
00:38:25,630 --> 00:38:35,599
horn, came up this way. I have pictures of
him in San Francisco. Then my grandfather
387
00:38:35,599 --> 00:38:44,340
was born here, the father of my mother. And
then he went back and got to, to Portugal.
388
00:38:44,340 --> 00:38:53,930
My mother was born there, and my mother was
born here. So there's two, two already, but
389
00:38:53,930 --> 00:39:00,180
he jumped ship! He didn't come through legally.
[Laughter] Lot of those people, the whalers,
390
00:39:00,180 --> 00:39:06,930
they got to San Francisco, they got out of
the ship [inaudible]. But it was three years.
391
00:39:06,930 --> 00:39:12,140
Three years enough to save money. He and another
guy from [inaudible]. My mother has wrote
392
00:39:12,140 --> 00:39:20,000
all the story. They bought a piece of land
in Santa Rosa, by San Francisco. They raised
393
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:29,180
horses and cattle. Then my grandfather was
born here, [inaudible]. Then went back. My
394
00:39:29,180 --> 00:39:36,980
mother was born, so but that wasn't legal,
you see what I mean? So somewhere along the
395
00:39:36,980 --> 00:39:43,569
line, the only ones that were legal were Indians,
they were born here, you know? And some of
396
00:39:43,569 --> 00:39:46,980
them, as I say, they came from someplace else,
yeah? So yeah.
397
00:39:46,980 --> 00:39:53,099
Kelley McCoy: Did you, did you notice though
that when the, the people, the men and the
398
00:39:53,099 --> 00:39:57,079
women that you were working with, to help
them get citizenship, did they all seem to
399
00:39:57,079 --> 00:39:58,380
have the same dream and aspiration?
400
00:39:58,380 --> 00:40:04,019
Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, most of them loved
it here. Most of the Portuguese -- see, most
401
00:40:04,019 --> 00:40:10,299
of these Portuguese, I can't even explain
this. Most of these people are very poor.
402
00:40:10,299 --> 00:40:17,180
I mean, even worse than us. We were in difficult,
difficulties, but not poor like them. My mother
403
00:40:17,180 --> 00:40:25,450
was, had language, was educated. My father,
too. These people, most of them illiterate.
404
00:40:25,450 --> 00:40:34,109
Nice people, honest as the day is long. But
illiterate, no schooling, no knowledge. And
405
00:40:34,109 --> 00:40:41,660
even the history of Portugal, nothing. They
come over here with a couple of books. You
406
00:40:41,660 --> 00:40:52,450
see them, most of them fortunes in dairy,
in farming, in other, lot of other things.
407
00:40:52,450 --> 00:41:01,551
Hard workers. Like to save, but save to, to
start a life. You know, these people, I know
408
00:41:01,551 --> 00:41:08,299
here in Los Banos, half a dozen of them came
from St. George and [inaudible], they were
409
00:41:08,299 --> 00:41:15,970
milking. And then they became like the foreman.
And then a little longer, then they start
410
00:41:15,970 --> 00:41:22,220
buying little heifers, and then a little piece
of land. Before you know it, they have their
411
00:41:22,220 --> 00:41:29,079
own dairy, and then they're hiring somebody
else. Now they're hiring most Mexicans. All
412
00:41:29,079 --> 00:41:35,900
the Portuguese that came during those years,
most of them now have dairies. They're pretty
413
00:41:35,900 --> 00:41:41,869
well off, and they hire because a lot of these
Portuguese born here now don't want to milk
414
00:41:41,869 --> 00:41:49,289
cows. A lot of them go to college. Go to school,
at least high school. It's different. As the
415
00:41:49,289 --> 00:41:54,289
years go by, very different. But these people
came from there, very poor. Come over here,
416
00:41:54,289 --> 00:42:01,549
this is all God Bless America. You know, they
have a couple of freezers in a garage full
417
00:42:01,549 --> 00:42:09,751
to the top. Over there, they kill a pig once
a year and have a little pig meat. The regular
418
00:42:09,751 --> 00:42:13,329
meat from the cow? The Holy Ghost Festival.
That was it. A lot of these people never ate
419
00:42:13,329 --> 00:42:20,220
meat except for Holy Ghost. Once a year. Killed,
they'd kill a cow, very religious, pay, pay
420
00:42:20,220 --> 00:42:26,820
a promise. They promise if their son was sick
or the wife was sick or whatever, I'll make
421
00:42:26,820 --> 00:42:35,089
a promise to the Holy Ghost to help. So they
come over here, there is abundance and there's,
422
00:42:35,089 --> 00:42:42,430
they work hard, but they see results. You
work hard over there? You never see nothing.
423
00:42:42,430 --> 00:42:46,400
You work for some money, they work all their
lives to never have anything. So they're different,
424
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:47,990
see? There's a difference there.
425
00:42:47,990 --> 00:42:53,930
Kelley McCoy: So I just have a couple more
questions that are going to kind of get at
426
00:42:53,930 --> 00:42:58,259
a little bit more of issues of identity. So
to what extent, Miguel, do
427
00:42:58,259 --> 00:43:04,950
you think that being Portuguese-American has
shaped how you move through the world, professionally
428
00:43:04,950 --> 00:43:07,079
as well as personally?
429
00:43:07,079 --> 00:43:18,829
Miguel Canto e Castro: I think some of the,
some of my old country values, you know. What
430
00:43:18,829 --> 00:43:27,630
I was brought up with. And I'm not even talking
about religion because I was brought up going
431
00:43:27,630 --> 00:43:36,869
to church every Sunday, and I brought, and
we baptized all of our kids. And my son still
432
00:43:36,869 --> 00:43:47,380
goes, I don't think my daughters go. [Inaudible]
But, but that helps, you know? Base of, a
433
00:43:47,380 --> 00:43:54,809
foundation of something that you have to believe
in. Then for years, I didn't go, and now I
434
00:43:54,809 --> 00:44:02,579
go every Sunday because I have a friend, I'm
going to be 88. He's going to be 84 the 25th
435
00:44:02,579 --> 00:44:11,220
of this month. Gene Viero, a lawyer, with
MS. Can hardly walk. He's got a thing. I've
436
00:44:11,220 --> 00:44:17,480
got to help him. Doesn't see in one eye, very
little vision in the other one, practically
437
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:26,259
blind. Had prostate problems, had valley fever,
all this. And I take him to church every Sunday.
438
00:44:26,259 --> 00:44:31,231
I go, I pick him up, take him to church, then
we'll go to Pancake House and eat. I have
439
00:44:31,231 --> 00:44:34,710
French toast, he has--what do you call the
other one with the little squares?
440
00:44:34,710 --> 00:44:35,859
Kelley McCoy: Waffles.
441
00:44:35,859 --> 00:44:42,369
Miguel Canto e Castro: Waffle, there you go.
He has a waffle, a couple of eggs, some bacon.
442
00:44:42,369 --> 00:44:51,960
I like French toast. It's got egg anyway.
And I tell the girl, they know now, "I don't
443
00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:56,390
want any of the little plates. I'm you know,"
citizen stuff, you know. You put it on a little
444
00:44:56,390 --> 00:45:00,150
plate, so you think you eat a lot of food,
no. Bring me a platter, because I have to
445
00:45:00,150 --> 00:45:06,700
cut it. I cut it for him because he can't
see. I cut the waffle, I cut the eggs and
446
00:45:06,700 --> 00:45:09,859
put on top. And see what I mean?
447
00:45:09,859 --> 00:45:15,220
Kelley McCoy: So when you talk about one of
the ways that shapes you by those old world
448
00:45:15,220 --> 00:45:19,720
values, do you mean old world values in that
context--like friendship?
449
00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:24,819
Miguel Canto e Castro: Friendship and helping,
yeah. If somebody needs help. People say,
450
00:45:24,819 --> 00:45:29,930
well--. Hey, who used to tell me that six
months from now, or a year from now, I might
451
00:45:29,930 --> 00:45:37,410
need somebody to help me. You always do to
others the way you want them to do to you.
452
00:45:37,410 --> 00:45:42,530
Be good to, because if something happens to
somebody, maybe might be good to you.
453
00:45:42,530 --> 00:45:45,719
you know?
454
00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:48,920
[ Inaudible ]
455
00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:57,289
We say in Portuguese, [amore con amore se paga].
Love with love is paid. You do for others,
456
00:45:57,289 --> 00:46:02,309
they do for you. There's people that don't,
[laughs] you know? They just, you know what
457
00:46:02,309 --> 00:46:07,490
I mean, they, they're selfish. They just want
you to do everything. But I'm not selfish,
458
00:46:07,490 --> 00:46:09,670
I mean not in that respect.
459
00:46:09,670 --> 00:46:15,359
Kelley McCoy: So my last question, Miguel,
is this: What does being Portuguese-American
460
00:46:15,359 --> 00:46:18,660
mean to you?
461
00:46:18,660 --> 00:46:30,200
Miguel Canto e Castro: I might just say I'm
Portuguese. I wouldn't even say I'm Portuguese-American.
462
00:46:30,200 --> 00:46:33,910
I might say it to somebody, "I was born in
the Azores, I came here, I am an American
463
00:46:33,910 --> 00:46:39,980
citizen, and I'm very proud of that." You
knoow, and let me tell you about, just for
464
00:46:39,980 --> 00:46:48,759
a, I joined the service at 20 years old. First
I tried the Navy because you know me, islands,
465
00:46:48,759 --> 00:46:58,230
water, ships! So Navy! I go to the Navy, they
wouldn't take me. Well, you had to be a citizen.
466
00:46:58,230 --> 00:47:05,099
The reason I did not go in the Army because
I had to do readings, and my mother told me,
467
00:47:05,099 --> 00:47:08,920
because I was on a little vacation. "Come
home because you got this card." So I went
468
00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:14,299
straight to San Francisco, and they send me
to Oakland. So I went to the Navy, they wouldn't
469
00:47:14,299 --> 00:47:21,230
take me. But then I saw a nice guy who said,
"Try the Air Force. I think you can apply
470
00:47:21,230 --> 00:47:27,039
for your first papers, apply, and they'll
take you." I went to the Air Force. They took
471
00:47:27,039 --> 00:47:36,109
me. I applied, now this is 1951, and Miguel
is 20 years old. They took me by train from
472
00:47:36,109 --> 00:47:43,249
there to Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio,
Texas. For the boot training, the training.
473
00:47:43,249 --> 00:47:50,430
And then they somehow found out that I had,
that I would be good probably with electronics.
474
00:47:50,430 --> 00:47:55,769
You know, they have you test this and test
that. I used to take clocks apart and that’s
475
00:47:55,769 --> 00:47:59,869
the only thing I’ve tried. Anyway, they
send me to [inaudible] first place, Biloxi,
476
00:47:59,869 --> 00:48:06,269
Mississippi because it was radar. Then I became
an interpreter. First I had to take a course,
477
00:48:06,269 --> 00:48:11,450
radar course, and then I became an interpreter
a few months later, and then all these people
478
00:48:11,450 --> 00:48:18,440
came from Brazil and Portugal and even Spain,
too. And then from China, and even Germany
479
00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:26,130
to learn radar. They would come here, learn,
and then go back and teach radar. GCI, gun
480
00:48:26,130 --> 00:48:31,579
control interception, GCA, gun control approach
and airborne sets which is the planes. So
481
00:48:31,579 --> 00:48:45,880
I did that. But I mean, this was 1951. You
know when I became a citizen? In 1954, June
482
00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:54,220
11, 1954. Three years I was a Portuguese citizen
in the American, U.S. Air Force. Twice my
483
00:48:54,220 --> 00:48:59,829
name came up to go to Cheyenne, Wyoming to
go to Korea. No! We cannot. He's the only
484
00:48:59,829 --> 00:49:05,010
Portuguese interpreter we have! No, no, no.
He stays. So they pulled me off, they let
485
00:49:05,010 --> 00:49:12,669
me go. But I only became a citizen when I
was.
486
00:49:12,669 --> 00:49:13,799
[ Inaudible ]
487
00:49:13,799 --> 00:49:25,650
In 1954, that's when I got my second papers,
and we went to a, went to a port, Gulf Port,
488
00:49:25,650 --> 00:49:38,190
yeah Gulf Port, raise your arm, and all that.
That's three years. In other words, if, what
489
00:49:38,190 --> 00:49:44,059
I'm trying to say with this is, if they had
shipped you overseas and I got shot like some
490
00:49:44,059 --> 00:49:48,890
of the kids did who had training with me,
and said they'll never get back. I would have
491
00:49:48,890 --> 00:49:53,869
died, I wouldn't have been an American citizen.
Even though I love the country, I would have
492
00:49:53,869 --> 00:49:54,869
been Portuguese.
493
00:49:54,869 --> 00:49:55,869
Kelley McCoy: Right.
494
00:49:55,869 --> 00:50:00,119
Miguel Canto e Castro: Somehow it took four--but
now, now I think within a month or two months
495
00:50:00,119 --> 00:50:05,099
you become, you know? They give you the citizenship
right away.
496
00:50:05,099 --> 00:50:10,259
Kelley McCoy: So then being Portuguese-American,
you are saying when I asked, you know, what
497
00:50:10,259 --> 00:50:14,529
it means to you, you were saying that you
identify more as American?
498
00:50:14,529 --> 00:50:15,849
Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
499
00:50:15,849 --> 00:50:17,410
Kelley McCoy: So where does the Portuguese
come in?
500
00:50:17,410 --> 00:50:21,989
Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, the Portuguese,
if somebody asks me, you know what I mean?
501
00:50:21,989 --> 00:50:25,180
Because of my accent, "Miguel Canto e Castro,
where do you come from?" Hey, I was born in
502
00:50:25,180 --> 00:50:32,910
the Azores! Close to Portugal, yeah. I was
born. I came here, it was 1947. I was 15 and
503
00:50:32,910 --> 00:50:40,970
a half. [Inaudible] I feel American, yeah.
I became--no, this is, when my wife was alive,
504
00:50:40,970 --> 00:50:50,039
we went back several times with the kids.
My son, he's 42, 43. Louis is 43. He was six
505
00:50:50,039 --> 00:50:58,869
months old first time we took him. My arms,
I almost died [laughter] it was tiresome.
506
00:50:58,869 --> 00:51:02,609
And then ever since we went when they were
teenagers and everything. We went all the
507
00:51:02,609 --> 00:51:08,820
time. We had a home there. And when she died,
I sold the house, gave the money to the kids,
508
00:51:08,820 --> 00:51:14,049
and that's it. I haven't gone back. Last time
was 1995. But you know, but I enjoyed going
509
00:51:14,049 --> 00:51:21,180
back with my wife and my kids, you know. You
see the ocean, you go fishing, and swimming
510
00:51:21,180 --> 00:51:28,033
in a place where I learned how to swim. Pools,
natural pools in the rocks, you know? I love that see that511
00:51:28,033 --> 00:51:30,162
Kelley McCoy: But now, no more?
512
00:51:30,162 --> 00:51:34,940
Miguel Canto e Castro: No, no more. No more,
no more. No more. My brother lives in Boston,
513
00:51:34,940 --> 00:51:40,180
Raymond, he goes all the time. It's only three,
four hours from there to the Azores. I've
514
00:51:40,180 --> 00:51:48,180
got to cross this country. It's ten hours
between here and the Azores. Last time it
515
00:51:48,180 --> 00:51:53,710
was already tiresome. Oh, but then he says,
"Come here! Spend a couple, two, three days
516
00:51:53,710 --> 00:51:57,950
here, rest. And then we'll go." He's trying
to convince me.
517
00:51:57,950 --> 00:52:02,559
Kelley McCoy: So if there anything that I
didn't ask you that you think is--?
518
00:52:02,559 --> 00:52:05,140
Miguel Canto e Castro: I can't think of anything.
519
00:52:05,140 --> 00:52:08,009
Kelley McCoy: Well, I deeply appreciate your
time.
520
00:52:08,009 --> 00:52:09,069
Miguel Canto e Castro: I love to.
521
00:52:09,069 --> 00:52:13,700
Kelley McCoy: You're so warm and engaging
and I mean, seriously. Just a joy to listen
522
00:52:13,700 --> 00:52:14,700
to.
523
00:52:14,700 --> 00:52:19,053
Miguel Canto e Castro: You know, but no, this
country, it's my country.
524
00:52:19,053 --> 00:52:20,304
Kelley McCoy: This country?
525
00:52:20,304 --> 00:52:25,650
Miguel Canto e Castro: This country, and believe
me, I get very upset with anybody that burns
526
00:52:25,650 --> 00:52:32,700
the flag or doesn't want to kneel, you know
what I mean? Clearly, I was in the service,
527
00:52:32,700 --> 00:52:37,910
and I mean it's my country, you know? It's
-- it hurts me when people don't respect her,
528
00:52:37,910 --> 00:52:44,599
you know? I mean, there's a flag, it's our
flag. Some people are just, they don't care.
529
00:52:44,599 --> 00:52:45,599
Yeah.
530
00:52:45,599 --> 00:52:47,900
Kelley McCoy: Well, thank you so much for
your time.
531
00:52:47,900 --> 00:52:49,700
Miguel Canto e Castro: My pleasure!
00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:13,490
Miguel Canto e Castro: My full name is Miguel
Amaran Canto e Castro. Amaran, my mother's.
2
00:00:13,490 --> 00:00:15,810
Canto e Castro, my father's.
3
00:00:15,810 --> 00:00:17,900
Kelley McCoy: When were you born?
4
00:00:17,900 --> 00:00:23,818
Miguel Canto e Castro: I was born 14 of November
1931 in the Azores.
5
00:00:24,226 --> 00:00:26,176
Kelley McCoy: What island?
6
00:00:26,176 --> 00:00:29,520
Miguel Canto e Castro: Island Pico, the tallest,
the highest.
7
00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,470
Kelley McCoy: And when did your family immigrate
to the United States?
8
00:00:33,470 --> 00:00:39,530
Miguel Canto e Castro: First, my mother came
in 1945. She was an American citizen. She
9
00:00:39,530 --> 00:00:44,019
was born in Providence, Rhode Island. She
went back when she was a year old, or maybe
10
00:00:44,019 --> 00:00:52,620
13 months, something like that. And then in
1945, she decided to come back to her country.
11
00:00:52,620 --> 00:01:03,760
She came in '45 and to California. She had
a cousin that lived close to Stanford University.
12
00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:11,789
And then two years later, I came. She sent
for me, my father, and my brother. The three
13
00:01:11,789 --> 00:01:23,530
of us came in 1947, July. And then we, we
left the two girls there, Vicky and Josie,
14
00:01:23,530 --> 00:01:31,360
in the Azores, in a convent with sisters,
so they had to take them to a bigger island,
15
00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:36,539
San Miguel, where they had a convent. And
then they slept there, they ate there, and
16
00:01:36,539 --> 00:01:41,020
they studied there. And they stayed one year
in other words because we were trying to get
17
00:01:41,020 --> 00:01:47,659
enough money to send for them, too. They came
in '48. And then it was kind of cute because
18
00:01:47,659 --> 00:01:53,689
you see, my father was born in three, so he
was in his forties. My mother was born in
19
00:01:53,689 --> 00:02:01,470
'07, so she was 40 years old in 1947. So they
had a second honeymoon. They had been apart
20
00:02:01,470 --> 00:02:08,280
two years. The second honeymoon produced Tina,
which was born in Pacific Grove, and lives
21
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now in Santa Cruz, and she had three girls.
So now it's three girls and two boys.
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Kelley McCoy: So how old were you then when
you came to the-23
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Miguel Canto e Castro: I was 15 and a half.
I came in July, and then I turned 16 in November.
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And my first year of high school was in Pacific
Grove. My mother put me right in, in a high
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school. I couldn't speak English. So it was
like, "Miguel, let's go. Let's go play ball."
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So I kicked a ball, yeah. Oh! Okay, play ball.
But then picked up a word, another word. Then
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my brother and I, we used to go to the movies
in Pacific Grove. We'd see the movie two28
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three times. We go on weekends. And then we'd
see them talking, and doing things like knock
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on the door. Come in! Oh, entre, come in,
okay. Sit down! Sit down at the
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table. Pass me the sugar, pass me the bread.
olla pão e açúcar pão yeah , you associate because you
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see them doing the things. So that way, within
six months I was already saying a few things.
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I had some cute things, too because after
school, I worked in the gas station, Shell,
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to help, you know, and my brother too. He
worked in a furniture store, helped deliver
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stuff. And then one time a lady came and said,
"Would you please check my front and rear
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tires?" And I said, "Front or--? I no speak
English very good. I know front. I don't know
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rear." So she said, "Oh, that's the back tires."
So I know front not back, that's all I knew.
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So stuff like that, it was funny, learning,
you know, learning.
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Kelley McCoy: So, so why, so your mother wanted,
she was born in the United States, and she
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wanted the rest of the family to come. Why,
why in the United States? Why not go back
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to the Azores and, and build a life with you
all there?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: No, my mother. The
reason my mother came here in 1945, first
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she was born here. But it was just that. It
was financial. My father worked for the government.
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But it wasn't very much. My mother taught
piano. She had a one time, as far as 25 peoples.
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Tried to help him, too. But even then I went
to high school there. High school there is
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paid. It's different than here. There it's
four years of grammar school, and then seven
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years high school. So I had three years of
high school. My brother, it was already--didn't
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have much money to pay, so my brother kind
of used to make little altars, you know. And
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we were Catholic and go to church and all
that. So he wanted to be a priest. I told
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my mom, I said, "He is not a priest. He likes
girls." So she didn't like that. But he, he
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went to the seminary. He was a one year, and
he came, came out. He didn't stay. And he
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got married and had five children. So I knew
because we were brothers, you know? Within
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18 months younger, he's younger than me. So
the thing was not enough money to, to, for
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education. So let's go to America. And there
was a, the war was on of course until 1945.
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That's why she didn't come before. She came
by ship. We flew in '47, TWA, four engine,
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not jet. Took 12 hours from the Azores to
New York. Now it's like four. But my mother
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came, so many, about a week, and then they
had some kind of a storm, so they had to go
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south, and came up. Eventually got to either
Boston or New York. But that was the reason
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to, to give us an education. And an opportunity
to--there is limited, Azores are very small
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and if you don't, if you're not a rich person,
that you were blessed with family that had
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land and blah blah, then fine. But if you
don't, then it's, it's difficult. So that
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was the reason, and she came in '45 like I
told you. And away from her husband for two
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years, and all of us there, waiting, you know?
And then she said we can--but that was the
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reason, to give us an opportunity. Everyone
went to school here. Everybody had nice jobs,
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you know? So very different.
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Kelley McCoy: So you landed and started out
in Pacific Grove. You and your brother learned
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English watching movies.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, yeah, yeah, and
school too. I went to high school.
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Kelley McCoy: And school.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, my first year
of high school was in Pacific Grove, and then
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we moved to San Jose. About in 1948. San Jose
was even 100,000, 90-some thousand. Now it's
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over a million. I went to San Jose High School.
I graduated from San Jose High School, 1951.
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That's when I went into the service. Then
I was 20. San Jose High, Lincoln High. We
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were the bulldogs, they were the lions. I
went there until I graduated. And then went
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in the service from '51 to '55. Then came
here, but you were asking me something else
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besides that. No?
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Kelley McCoy: This was all good.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Okay. I came here to
Los Banos because. The girlfriend, my first
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girlfriend was from here. So it was, came
over here, and I actually got married to her,
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and went to a 17-year marriage. Didn't work
out too good, so I remarried afterwards.
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Kelley McCoy: So let's talk a little bit more
about your childhood. Because coming here
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to the United States when you're a teenager,
you certainly have memories of your life in
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the Azores. What did you miss when you came
here?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: The ocean! The ocean
is the thing we miss a lot. I used to go fishing.
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I used to go hunting with my slingshot. That
kind of stuff. You know, I was 13, 14, 15.
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Then I came, but nothing else. You know, we
missed the ocean. And that's why most of the
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Portuguese, you know, whether they live in
Tulare, Fresno, Hanford, over here. They all
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want to go to Monterrey, Pacific Grove, Carmel,
Santa Cruz. As long as we can see the ocean.
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Because you miss it. You're on an island.
Every time you turn around, your feets are
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in the ocean. Yeah. And it's small. They're
very small islands. So that, that I miss a
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lot. And when I go for a drive, over the hill.
And then they say, "But you never of up into
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the mountain?" Oh, yeah. I go. I've gone to
Yosemite, places like that. I've got to have
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water, so I'd rather see a lake or a river
running because if there's water, I want to
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go. I don't want nothing dry, you know? Something
that I can-- you know.
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Kelley McCoy: So as far as, in addition to
missing the ocean, and having a bit of a language
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barrier initially, what other adjustments
did you and your family make when you came
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here to the United States?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, the thing was working,
all of us working in order to help. My mother
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was teaching in Douglas school because if
you go, it was a private school of ladies
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with money that had their daughters. And she
was teaching piano and also French because
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she had taken, not French. She had taken English
from Mills College. She was there a little
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over a year. Because the cousin that she knew,
knew someone there, and they, she worked like
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a trade. She taught piano and French in Mills
College for I think 18 months. And then they
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taught her English. But she still, to the
day she died, and she died, she was going
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to be 101. Imagine. It was the others (french accent), not
the others. She never lost some of the accent,
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you know? And a lot of the French, too, that
she had, you know, which was Portuguese from
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the family was Portuguese. But her pronunciation
was more like French, and stuff
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like, you know? But there was to help, to
help like I told you, I was in a gas station.
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My brother was in a furniture store, trying
to bring in money to help. Because he was
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starting a life. We never bought a home, we
rented in Pacific Grove. And I moved to San
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Jose, 1393 Short Ridge Avenue, almost across
from the Portuguese church, five rooms. And
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rented, yeah. Eventually we had a house given
to us. The priest for the Porto from the five-rooms
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church. They wanted to build a new house for
the priest, so he told my mother, "I'd like
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to give you the house for you and your family.
But you assume the responsibility of moving
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the house." So my mother had some friends,
and they loan us the money to buy a lot and
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to move the house. I have even pictures of
that, you know? And then we moved the house
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into 34th street. They built a new rectory
for the priest, yeah. But it was given to us.
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Kelley McCoy: And what city was this in?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Pardon me?
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Kelley McCoy: What city was this in?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: San Jose. [Inaudible]
The moved the new [inaudible], and then they
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donated the house to my mother, and then we
moved the house, and then we moved there.
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Today the house is still there, but they made
a duplex. It's 242 North 34th, and 34th Street.
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They left and sold it. They didn't even buy
a house.
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Kelley McCoy: So these places where you lived,
Miguel, were there Portuguese?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: A lot of, lot of Portuguese.
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Kelley McCoy: So there were already communities
there?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, in Pacific Grove,
and then we, my father started, my mother,
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they started a radio, a radio program. And
this was kind of cute because we're living
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in Pacific Grove, and a man who had a program
in Watsonville, KHUB, gone, it's already gone.
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But it was there. You went to the middle of
Watsonville, and there was a church on the
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left, and then there's a street that goes
up that way. And there was the station, KHUB.
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This man wanted to retire, and they knew my
parents because they were newspaper people,
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you know? They wrote articles and, so they,
he thought of them. Went and talked to my
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dad. My dad says, "Yeah, we'll do the program."
So then we started doing the--one year at
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KHUB, and then when we moved to San Jose,
then we got a program in KLOK, and so that
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was 18 different nationalities. We had Italian,
we had even Chinese, Portuguese. Altogether
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was 18 different nationality. Had KLOK for
years! Year! People here in the Valley used
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to listen to KLOK because it reached over
here. I think it was 5000 watts. But we did
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that, and I collaborated, you know? My father
would write sketches, and we'd interpret them,
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like a family. Like you see on the TV, that
type of thing, and people liked it.
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Kelley McCoy: So quick question, if I can
clarify with you. You said the very first
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time that your parents were offered an opportunity
-- you mentioned a newspaper. Had they written
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things for the newspaper? Where did the newspaper
--?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: In Portugal. We were
talking about Portugal.
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Kelley McCoy: Oh, OK.
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00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,689
Miguel Canto e Castro: And they still over
here, they started doing for, the Portuguese
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from Oakland, the Portuguese paper, my mom
and dad, they did a lot of articles for it.
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Yeah, they were newspaper people. They had
the newspaper there in the old country. But
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it was not enough, not enough, you know? A
lot of stuff is free. Not like here, here
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it's a business, you know? That's why coming
over here, everything here is business, you
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know? Over there it's--. It's like for the
love of thing.
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Kelley McCoy: So even here in the United States,
wherever you lived, you were part of a strong
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local Portuguese community?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, we had Festas,
and then we did, we also promoted Festas was
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a radio. And in Pacific Grove, very much.
And then they used to come from Monterrey
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to get together, and then even from Santa
Cruz, some Portuguese. Then we moved to San
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Jose, big community there. That was Little
Portugal at that time, you know? The place
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was always--they still had a couple of restaurants,
couple of stores. They sell the [Portuguese],
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fish, you know, all that stuff, but it not
like before. Before it was a lot of, now I
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think it's more, mostly Oriental. They kind
of took over, you know? It was very predominantly
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Portuguese.
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Kelley McCoy: So when, when you married and
you had children, was it important to you,
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Miguel Canto e Castro, that your children
also kind of retain a similar passion for
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Portuguese customs?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Very difficult, very
difficult for the first and the second one,
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yeah. They, lot of, they go once in a while
they, but they don't, they do not as much
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as we would like them to. But at least the
language, my son speaks Portuguese fluently.
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My daughter, too, Michelle, and Louis. The
language is what we wanted you know keep the
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language. But the customs, see, they like
different kind of music. They all need, the
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people from the little villages, you know,
that they had cow. We never had cow, they
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had cows and the pigs, and they --. Those
kind, those people, they get together and
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they enjoy them because they live there, you
know? I went to the movies to see Charles
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[inaudible] and Humphrey Bogart. I used to
go to movies all the time, see American movies.
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I was already falling in love with America
there! Seeing, you know, the thing I admire
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so much here, the teachers would, with people
would [inaudible]. Not, you know, over there,
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the kids, we all sit down, okay? This is high
school. We're all sitting down. The teacher
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comes in everybody goes, "Good morning, [foreign
language]." And then, "You may sit down,"
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and we sit down. When I went to high school
in Pacific Grove, it was a [inaudible] and
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they look at my funny. [Laughter]
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[ Inaudible ]
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Here I liked the way the teachers talked to
the people, very --.
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Kelley McCoy: Informal.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Informal, very informal.
Over there, it's all more, yeah.
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Kelley McCoy: If I could return for just one
minute, you said that all three of your children
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speak Portuguese, and that's what you wanted,
right?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Well, yeah, because
it's good to know more than one language.
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Because I came here from Portugal with two
years of French, and I can still [foreign
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language] you know? [Inaudible] because of
that. And I think that's good! You go to France,
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you go to Italy, you go to Spain, I have no
problems going to Portugal. I went to Spain
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in 1965, a tour, and I took 18 people. But
I was in charge because I, it was one of my
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sponsors. [Inaudible] we promoted that. I
had a ball because language, French, and then
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my basic knowledge of Portuguese too helped
me with the Spanish. I had no problems talking
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to, you know, [hablando Espanol con quien sea] you know?
So I think that's, knowledge is good. And
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then if you travel, it's much easier.
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Kelley McCoy: Was there also an identity component
though? The fact that it is Portuguese?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: I kind of like my language.
I think it's a very rich language. Do you
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know what I mean? The Spanish might be a little
bit more suave, a little bit more romantic
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because Portuguese is a little bit stronger,
like we say, “[foreign language].” “Close
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the door.” And Spanish, “[cierra la puerta].”
It's very soft, very nice, [cierra la puerta].
200
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[ venga para aca ]
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Very soft, very pretty. Portuguese is more,
a lot of "oosh, oosh" because [foreign language]
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and "sh, sh." I'll never forget this. I was
talking at KLOK, and it was in Portuguese,
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of course. In those days, here, I do everything.
There I just talked, and then I wait for him
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to put the record, you know? Like an engineer.
He was on the other side of the glass, so
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pretty soon, he takes his--.
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[ Inaudible ] put the-- record guy, "what?"
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"You're spitting all over the place! [Laughter]
Clean the microphone off! You're going woosh,
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woosh, woosh, woosh." But again, it sounds
like that, you know?
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[ Foreign Language ]
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But it was funny, but it's different. It's
a little harsh. But it's an old language.
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It's an old language, you know? It's a country,
the oldest, 1100s, founded in 1143. A little
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strip, you know? A little garden planted by
the [inaudible], you know? And now it's fantastic!
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Everybody went from Germany, from France,
from whatever, from the north, from the Netherlands.
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They all want to go. So many beautiful -- it's
very pretty. It's like a garden! You know?
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And good food and cheap, cheaper than all
the other countries. If you go to Spain, higher
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and higher. You go to France, higher yet.
Italy, all those countries, more, yeah. So
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more [laughter]. I told you to stop me because
I can go forever.
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Kelley McCoy: Let's talk more about radio.
So you got out of the, you, at some point
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you were in the military.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, '51 to '54.
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Kelley McCoy: Right, so tell me a little bit
kind of about your career trajectory. Did
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you go into radio full time at some point
after the military?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Never.
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Kelley McCoy: What happened?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Never, never, never.
The radio -- I've already told you that I
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did radio with my parents. OK, then I went
in the service, came out in '55. In 1961,
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they, the started the station over here in
Los Banos. The antenna's out there, the studio's
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in downtown. And in 1961, some people that
were in San Jose, they had moved over here,
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two families, that knew me and my family of
the radio in San Jose. So when the radio station
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went on the air, I guess a month, maybe less,
they went to see John McAdam, was his name,
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the owner. Oh, we know him, a friend of ours.
He was a radio man in San Jose with his brother
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and his parents. Because you know a lot of
Portuguese, and we'd like to have a Portuguese
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program. So I go and talk to him. He right
away said, "Whenever you want to start." So
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I started on a Sunday. It didn't last three
months. I went every day. Three months on
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Sunday, it became so popular, you know, and
people, because I have [inaudible] those days
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there were a lot of dairies. And they needed
milkers. They needed people to work the land
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or to take care of the dairy. So I [inaudible],
not charge, it was free. This was service
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to the community, right? A dairyman calls
me. "I need a milker. I need a herdsman. I
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need this, I need --." Okay. Gave me the phone
number and then I go in Portuguese and I would
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[inaudible]. I got hundreds and thousands
over the years, thousand jobs. But then we,
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we didn't expect, but we hoped that those
people went to the sponsors. The advertisement,
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selling car, selling tractors, selling cows,
everything. Selling that were advertising
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on the radio station during my program, that's
what I would say. Please, you know, go to
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this thing or groceries here, a car over there,
cars and motor company. So it would help,
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but it was all just part-time. I worked, my
first job, when I came out of the service
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in 1955, It was Bank of America, the old building
in Los Banos. Beautiful building. I was there
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from '55 to '57 and a half, two and a half
years. I became a vault teller, okay? So that
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was my first job. And after two and a half
years, I --$225 a month, a wife and two kids,
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and I better get something else. So then an
opportunity came on the [inaudible] auto electric,
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and he sold tires, refrigerators, stoves and
all that, appliances. So I left the Bank of
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America, and I went to work for Bressler's.
Made a little bit more money. I wasn't there
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even a year. Papa Tom, the owner of Car and
Motor Company, Armenians from Fresno, but
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00:25:03,890 --> 00:25:09,290
they had been here years and years, come over
here. "Kid! Come and work for us! Come and
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sell cars! You can make a lot of money! You
speak Portuguese, you speak Spanish! You're
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going to --. Oh, a lot of Mexicans and these
things, and farms, a lot of Portuguese!" He
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just said all this stuff, so after a year--I
went and sold cars. I sold cars for 20 years
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for this company. And then back to the bank.
I worked for State Savings a couple of years,
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and then American Savings gobbled up State
Savings, and I worked 11 years, for American
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Savings. And then Washington Mutual gobbled
up American City. That's when I said no more.
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Because it became so big, very impersonal.
When I worked for State Savings, it was like
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400 employees. And then I had meetings in
Merced, it was the headquarters. And when
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I got done the president said, "Hey, Castro!
Come here! How's things in [inaudible]? Hey,
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Fidel, come here!" Fidel Castro, yeah? He
calls me Castro. "How's things in Los Banos?"
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You know, very nice. Then American Savings
already, 11--, 1200 people. You know two or
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three, and no more. And then Mutual, I said
no more. And then I left. Then teaching because
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I had taught Portuguese over here at Merced
College. I taught for about two semesters
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with Gene Vieda. He was teaching English.
That's when we started Merced campus here,
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and the building today is a church across
from the DMV. And he was English, and I was
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teaching Portuguese conversation, and I loved
it. I had 30 something of students. Then
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I tried later, and I had students who didn't
have the money. So I had to, you know, I had
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my position paper so people know that I was
going to teach again. And then I had 35, I
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00:27:04,170 --> 00:27:10,880
only use 15. And but no money at the time.
It was a crunch, you know, in money, so I
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didn't do it no more. But then an opportunity
came for ESL, and I started part-time, I started
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part-time, and like twice a week at night,
and then they had some deal with some kind
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of thing from the working, workman's, whatever.
And so they had to teach every day. So that
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was nice for me because then instead of just
two times a week at night, I started teaching
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every day, part-time, from 8:30 to noon. And
then now I have a retirement from there, which
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I wouldn't have had before.
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Kelley McCoy: So these ESL classes now that
you were teaching, that you were getting all
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these hours, was that Merced College?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, the satellite
campus.
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Kelley McCoy: Right, the satellite campus,
so what is going on? Are you still volunteering
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with radio? Or is that completely not on your
radar.
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Miguel Canto e Castro: No, no, no, no, no, I'm still doing
radio.
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Kelley McCoy: You're still doing it?
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00:28:14,730 --> 00:28:21,120
Miguel Canto e Castro: Once a week. Saturday
from 10 to noon, Internet. Internet now,
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so now I have people who listen to me in Canada,
in the old country, all over because you know
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if you have Internet, you can hear.
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Kelley McCoy: Can you tell me what the programming
is like?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Music and about four
sponsors. They pay for the time, and I read
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old stories from the Azores. I had a lot of
books with old stories. They like that, so
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I read them, five minutes. At 10:30 I read
one, and then at 11:30 I read another one.
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But I have it all taped. The stories, I taped
them with the background music starting, you know?
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Kelley McCoy: Is this back then, or is that
how you do it now?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: I do it now. Yeah,
but I did it before. I taped it before, and
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I can, I do it now because now I'm going,
other people never heard the stories before,
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00:29:13,380 --> 00:29:14,380
see?
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Kelley McCoy: So how do you decide what music
to play, and is it Portuguese from Portugal?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Portuguese, but I'll
play a little bit of English. The other day
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I was playing Glen Miller. It came about because
I was talking about what holiday we had before,
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American. And then I want to put on some American
music, so I put on Glen Miller. I love Glen
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Miller. And yeah, once in a while I'll put
that. I have already a couple of albums for
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Sunday. I'm going to do a posthumous homage,
homage? To a great musician, a great singer,
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[inaudible]. Same year: he was born 1931.
So I'm -- I'm -- and Ross Perot is 89. He's
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just [inaudible]. I've got to put my [inaudible].
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[ Inaudible ]
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00:30:15,730 --> 00:30:23,690
Anyway, I have those I want to play, talk
about him, you know, because he's -- he was
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a popular bossanova.
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Kelley McCoy: So do you engage very much with
your listeners? Do you hear from them? Are
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they emailing you?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: Email or they do, they
put it on the thing, you know.
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00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:41,250
Kelley McCoy: So what is the appeal--obviously
listening to you talk during it. So, Miguel,
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what is it about radio that attracts you?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: The music in particular
because I love music, so playing the music,
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and I have to be honest with you, a little
bit of selfishness too, because when I started,
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in the back of my mind was not just doing
the things for them. A little bit for me because
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when I, when I worked at the bank, I got savings
like American City and [inaudible] savings.
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I went out and got money because people knew
me and they trust me, and I went out and write
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them up and bring the money in. So that was,
helped me too. When I sold cars, it helped
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me too. So there was a little bit of, to help
me, my family, you know my children, not just
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the thing of I enjoy it, I love it, I love
music, and I love to talk as you can see [laughter].
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Kelley McCoy: But you established a reputation?
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00:31:46,740 --> 00:31:51,710
Miguel Canto e Castro: Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah.
I, when I sold cars, I sold cars in Modesto.
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I'm living in Los Banos. Modesto. All of this
area around here. Gustine, Newman, Patterson,
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00:32:02,470 --> 00:32:06,730
Livingston, Turlock. Come over here and buy,
you know, buy a car from Miguel Canto e Castro,
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00:32:06,730 --> 00:32:12,070
a car from Miguel Canto e Castro, see, because
they knew me. They trust me. I helped them.
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Then lot of them have difficulty with the
language. [Inaudible] I helped them to getting
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00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:22,700
license. I used to go and translate and help
for them. And I translate all the signs so
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they could study. In Portuguese. And insurance.
I would take them, they didn't understand,
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00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:35,080
I explain, so they, you know, you want to
know what the coverage is. You want to buy,
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00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:40,580
you know, potatoes in a sack. You want to
know what you're getting. That's an old Portuguese
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saying, we say in Portugal, [inaudible].
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Kelley McCoy: So.
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[Inaudible]
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Kelley McCoy: Yeah, there's a few. It only
happened like twice though.
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00:33:00,750 --> 00:33:09,460
Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, okay. Yeah, you're
being, you know, if you tie a Portuguese's
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hands, we can't talk. [Laughter] Got to move
the hands!
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Kelley McCoy: So I understand, I've heard
that you have the longest-running Portuguese
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00:33:19,420 --> 00:33:20,730
show in North America.
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00:33:20,730 --> 00:33:22,080
Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh yeah, yeah.
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Kelley McCoy: So do you see yourself giving
it up?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: No! No, no, no. No.
I want to beat everybody! [Laughter] When
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they say I should, I've been at this thing
longer than Johnny Carson and [inaudible],
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00:33:36,390 --> 00:33:42,720
everybody! Everybody that's been in the news
and in radio and TV. Nobody has gone--some
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00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:50,680
of them 30, 37, 40 years. Johnny Carson, I
think around 30 years. Thirty, 35, 40? Here,
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00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:57,010
when I started my own program, 1961 to now,
it's going to be 58. It's already 58, the
347
00:33:57,010 --> 00:34:05,140
second of July. I started July 2, 1961, so
that's 58 years, and then I had three years
348
00:34:05,140 --> 00:34:10,169
over there at San Jose, so 58 and three, over
60.
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00:34:10,169 --> 00:34:16,679
Kelley McCoy: I also understand that you have
helped a lot of people get their American
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00:34:16,679 --> 00:34:17,679
citizenship.
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00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:23,720
Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh yeah, well I did,
you know, had the things in Portuguese so
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they could study. And then I have classes.
I did classes when I was working for State
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00:34:29,779 --> 00:34:35,769
Savings, State Savings? Yeah. Because it was
a building, they let me use upstairs. They
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had like a little -- free. And then I didn't
have to pay. I said well I'm not charging
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anything for the teaching. So then Gustine
they also at the library, they let me use
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the library. So I'd go to Gustine, and then
they'd come, and then I'd, you know, help
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them to--so they would learn what they had
to answer for --. It was all part of, you
358
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know, helping. That's part of me, you know.
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Kelley McCoy: As you know, the United States
has a long-standing history of not being especially
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welcoming of newcomers. Given your own experience
as an immigrant to this country, as well as
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00:35:14,970 --> 00:35:19,749
working with other people, helping them to
become citizens of this country, what do you
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00:35:19,749 --> 00:35:26,900
wish that most Americans born in this country
knew about immigrants, and those who sought
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to become citizens?
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Miguel Canto e Castro: That's a difficult
question. I had no problems, see, I'm going
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by me. I know some people now have problems.
And I had no problems, it was so easy. But
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then it was a different day. We're talking
about the fifties. I came in '47 and go to
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school there. Then '50-'51, San Jose. Now
I know there is a lot of. I believe that some
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of the Portuguese also came without, not legally.
Some of them. Not too many, because it was
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more difficult for that way. It was much easier
this way, here, with the border and all that.
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But most of them, for me, it was different.
My mother was born here. Then she comes and
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she sends for her family. A different set-up
altogether. And then that was, I never felt
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an outsider at school. They all made a big
fuss over me, because you know I was so cute.
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"Miguel Canto e Castro, say something!" They'd
say, "Oh, aren't you funny and so cute. Say
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something else!" They weren't making fun of
me, they just enjoyed it, you know? Because
375
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I had an accent, because I didn't speak fluently.
I still don't, I still have an accent, and
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I've been here 72 years. I still have an accent,
but the guys don't care because they understand
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me, you know what I mean? But the answer,
I just have situation now where I've been
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00:37:14,930 --> 00:37:24,635
following it on television. It's so sad. Some
people are so bitter, you know? And but others,
379
00:37:24,635 --> 00:37:30,619
they want to help, and, but then they accuse
people of doing something that they're not
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00:37:30,619 --> 00:37:36,720
doing, and then the other way around. It's,
it's really difficult to, because what I'm
381
00:37:36,720 --> 00:37:45,140
witnessing now, I'm not --. I know there's
people that, they want to help, but then there's
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00:37:45,140 --> 00:37:49,960
a lot of people, "They have to be here legally!"
Well, there's a lot of people who came here,
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you know. My, my grandfather, my great grandfather,
OK? Just to go back, my great grandfather
384
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was 17 years old, swam from the smallest island
in the Azores, Corvo, C-o-r-v-o, smallest,
385
00:38:13,890 --> 00:38:25,630
17 kilometers, to an American whaler. Went
down whaling, the Atlantic, went around the
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00:38:25,630 --> 00:38:35,599
horn, came up this way. I have pictures of
him in San Francisco. Then my grandfather
387
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was born here, the father of my mother. And
then he went back and got to, to Portugal.
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My mother was born there, and my mother was
born here. So there's two, two already, but
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he jumped ship! He didn't come through legally.
[Laughter] Lot of those people, the whalers,
390
00:39:00,180 --> 00:39:06,930
they got to San Francisco, they got out of
the ship [inaudible]. But it was three years.
391
00:39:06,930 --> 00:39:12,140
Three years enough to save money. He and another
guy from [inaudible]. My mother has wrote
392
00:39:12,140 --> 00:39:20,000
all the story. They bought a piece of land
in Santa Rosa, by San Francisco. They raised
393
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:29,180
horses and cattle. Then my grandfather was
born here, [inaudible]. Then went back. My
394
00:39:29,180 --> 00:39:36,980
mother was born, so but that wasn't legal,
you see what I mean? So somewhere along the
395
00:39:36,980 --> 00:39:43,569
line, the only ones that were legal were Indians,
they were born here, you know? And some of
396
00:39:43,569 --> 00:39:46,980
them, as I say, they came from someplace else,
yeah? So yeah.
397
00:39:46,980 --> 00:39:53,099
Kelley McCoy: Did you, did you notice though
that when the, the people, the men and the
398
00:39:53,099 --> 00:39:57,079
women that you were working with, to help
them get citizenship, did they all seem to
399
00:39:57,079 --> 00:39:58,380
have the same dream and aspiration?
400
00:39:58,380 --> 00:40:04,019
Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, most of them loved
it here. Most of the Portuguese -- see, most
401
00:40:04,019 --> 00:40:10,299
of these Portuguese, I can't even explain
this. Most of these people are very poor.
402
00:40:10,299 --> 00:40:17,180
I mean, even worse than us. We were in difficult,
difficulties, but not poor like them. My mother
403
00:40:17,180 --> 00:40:25,450
was, had language, was educated. My father,
too. These people, most of them illiterate.
404
00:40:25,450 --> 00:40:34,109
Nice people, honest as the day is long. But
illiterate, no schooling, no knowledge. And
405
00:40:34,109 --> 00:40:41,660
even the history of Portugal, nothing. They
come over here with a couple of books. You
406
00:40:41,660 --> 00:40:52,450
see them, most of them fortunes in dairy,
in farming, in other, lot of other things.
407
00:40:52,450 --> 00:41:01,551
Hard workers. Like to save, but save to, to
start a life. You know, these people, I know
408
00:41:01,551 --> 00:41:08,299
here in Los Banos, half a dozen of them came
from St. George and [inaudible], they were
409
00:41:08,299 --> 00:41:15,970
milking. And then they became like the foreman.
And then a little longer, then they start
410
00:41:15,970 --> 00:41:22,220
buying little heifers, and then a little piece
of land. Before you know it, they have their
411
00:41:22,220 --> 00:41:29,079
own dairy, and then they're hiring somebody
else. Now they're hiring most Mexicans. All
412
00:41:29,079 --> 00:41:35,900
the Portuguese that came during those years,
most of them now have dairies. They're pretty
413
00:41:35,900 --> 00:41:41,869
well off, and they hire because a lot of these
Portuguese born here now don't want to milk
414
00:41:41,869 --> 00:41:49,289
cows. A lot of them go to college. Go to school,
at least high school. It's different. As the
415
00:41:49,289 --> 00:41:54,289
years go by, very different. But these people
came from there, very poor. Come over here,
416
00:41:54,289 --> 00:42:01,549
this is all God Bless America. You know, they
have a couple of freezers in a garage full
417
00:42:01,549 --> 00:42:09,751
to the top. Over there, they kill a pig once
a year and have a little pig meat. The regular
418
00:42:09,751 --> 00:42:13,329
meat from the cow? The Holy Ghost Festival.
That was it. A lot of these people never ate
419
00:42:13,329 --> 00:42:20,220
meat except for Holy Ghost. Once a year. Killed,
they'd kill a cow, very religious, pay, pay
420
00:42:20,220 --> 00:42:26,820
a promise. They promise if their son was sick
or the wife was sick or whatever, I'll make
421
00:42:26,820 --> 00:42:35,089
a promise to the Holy Ghost to help. So they
come over here, there is abundance and there's,
422
00:42:35,089 --> 00:42:42,430
they work hard, but they see results. You
work hard over there? You never see nothing.
423
00:42:42,430 --> 00:42:46,400
You work for some money, they work all their
lives to never have anything. So they're different,
424
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:47,990
see? There's a difference there.
425
00:42:47,990 --> 00:42:53,930
Kelley McCoy: So I just have a couple more
questions that are going to kind of get at
426
00:42:53,930 --> 00:42:58,259
a little bit more of issues of identity. So
to what extent, Miguel, do
427
00:42:58,259 --> 00:43:04,950
you think that being Portuguese-American has
shaped how you move through the world, professionally
428
00:43:04,950 --> 00:43:07,079
as well as personally?
429
00:43:07,079 --> 00:43:18,829
Miguel Canto e Castro: I think some of the,
some of my old country values, you know. What
430
00:43:18,829 --> 00:43:27,630
I was brought up with. And I'm not even talking
about religion because I was brought up going
431
00:43:27,630 --> 00:43:36,869
to church every Sunday, and I brought, and
we baptized all of our kids. And my son still
432
00:43:36,869 --> 00:43:47,380
goes, I don't think my daughters go. [Inaudible]
But, but that helps, you know? Base of, a
433
00:43:47,380 --> 00:43:54,809
foundation of something that you have to believe
in. Then for years, I didn't go, and now I
434
00:43:54,809 --> 00:44:02,579
go every Sunday because I have a friend, I'm
going to be 88. He's going to be 84 the 25th
435
00:44:02,579 --> 00:44:11,220
of this month. Gene Viero, a lawyer, with
MS. Can hardly walk. He's got a thing. I've
436
00:44:11,220 --> 00:44:17,480
got to help him. Doesn't see in one eye, very
little vision in the other one, practically
437
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:26,259
blind. Had prostate problems, had valley fever,
all this. And I take him to church every Sunday.
438
00:44:26,259 --> 00:44:31,231
I go, I pick him up, take him to church, then
we'll go to Pancake House and eat. I have
439
00:44:31,231 --> 00:44:34,710
French toast, he has--what do you call the
other one with the little squares?
440
00:44:34,710 --> 00:44:35,859
Kelley McCoy: Waffles.
441
00:44:35,859 --> 00:44:42,369
Miguel Canto e Castro: Waffle, there you go.
He has a waffle, a couple of eggs, some bacon.
442
00:44:42,369 --> 00:44:51,960
I like French toast. It's got egg anyway.
And I tell the girl, they know now, "I don't
443
00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:56,390
want any of the little plates. I'm you know,"
citizen stuff, you know. You put it on a little
444
00:44:56,390 --> 00:45:00,150
plate, so you think you eat a lot of food,
no. Bring me a platter, because I have to
445
00:45:00,150 --> 00:45:06,700
cut it. I cut it for him because he can't
see. I cut the waffle, I cut the eggs and
446
00:45:06,700 --> 00:45:09,859
put on top. And see what I mean?
447
00:45:09,859 --> 00:45:15,220
Kelley McCoy: So when you talk about one of
the ways that shapes you by those old world
448
00:45:15,220 --> 00:45:19,720
values, do you mean old world values in that
context--like friendship?
449
00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:24,819
Miguel Canto e Castro: Friendship and helping,
yeah. If somebody needs help. People say,
450
00:45:24,819 --> 00:45:29,930
well--. Hey, who used to tell me that six
months from now, or a year from now, I might
451
00:45:29,930 --> 00:45:37,410
need somebody to help me. You always do to
others the way you want them to do to you.
452
00:45:37,410 --> 00:45:42,530
Be good to, because if something happens to
somebody, maybe might be good to you.
453
00:45:42,530 --> 00:45:45,719
you know?
454
00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:48,920
[ Inaudible ]
455
00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:57,289
We say in Portuguese, [amore con amore se paga].
Love with love is paid. You do for others,
456
00:45:57,289 --> 00:46:02,309
they do for you. There's people that don't,
[laughs] you know? They just, you know what
457
00:46:02,309 --> 00:46:07,490
I mean, they, they're selfish. They just want
you to do everything. But I'm not selfish,
458
00:46:07,490 --> 00:46:09,670
I mean not in that respect.
459
00:46:09,670 --> 00:46:15,359
Kelley McCoy: So my last question, Miguel,
is this: What does being Portuguese-American
460
00:46:15,359 --> 00:46:18,660
mean to you?
461
00:46:18,660 --> 00:46:30,200
Miguel Canto e Castro: I might just say I'm
Portuguese. I wouldn't even say I'm Portuguese-American.
462
00:46:30,200 --> 00:46:33,910
I might say it to somebody, "I was born in
the Azores, I came here, I am an American
463
00:46:33,910 --> 00:46:39,980
citizen, and I'm very proud of that." You
knoow, and let me tell you about, just for
464
00:46:39,980 --> 00:46:48,759
a, I joined the service at 20 years old. First
I tried the Navy because you know me, islands,
465
00:46:48,759 --> 00:46:58,230
water, ships! So Navy! I go to the Navy, they
wouldn't take me. Well, you had to be a citizen.
466
00:46:58,230 --> 00:47:05,099
The reason I did not go in the Army because
I had to do readings, and my mother told me,
467
00:47:05,099 --> 00:47:08,920
because I was on a little vacation. "Come
home because you got this card." So I went
468
00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:14,299
straight to San Francisco, and they send me
to Oakland. So I went to the Navy, they wouldn't
469
00:47:14,299 --> 00:47:21,230
take me. But then I saw a nice guy who said,
"Try the Air Force. I think you can apply
470
00:47:21,230 --> 00:47:27,039
for your first papers, apply, and they'll
take you." I went to the Air Force. They took
471
00:47:27,039 --> 00:47:36,109
me. I applied, now this is 1951, and Miguel
is 20 years old. They took me by train from
472
00:47:36,109 --> 00:47:43,249
there to Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio,
Texas. For the boot training, the training.
473
00:47:43,249 --> 00:47:50,430
And then they somehow found out that I had,
that I would be good probably with electronics.
474
00:47:50,430 --> 00:47:55,769
You know, they have you test this and test
that. I used to take clocks apart and that’s
475
00:47:55,769 --> 00:47:59,869
the only thing I’ve tried. Anyway, they
send me to [inaudible] first place, Biloxi,
476
00:47:59,869 --> 00:48:06,269
Mississippi because it was radar. Then I became
an interpreter. First I had to take a course,
477
00:48:06,269 --> 00:48:11,450
radar course, and then I became an interpreter
a few months later, and then all these people
478
00:48:11,450 --> 00:48:18,440
came from Brazil and Portugal and even Spain,
too. And then from China, and even Germany
479
00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:26,130
to learn radar. They would come here, learn,
and then go back and teach radar. GCI, gun
480
00:48:26,130 --> 00:48:31,579
control interception, GCA, gun control approach
and airborne sets which is the planes. So
481
00:48:31,579 --> 00:48:45,880
I did that. But I mean, this was 1951. You
know when I became a citizen? In 1954, June
482
00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:54,220
11, 1954. Three years I was a Portuguese citizen
in the American, U.S. Air Force. Twice my
483
00:48:54,220 --> 00:48:59,829
name came up to go to Cheyenne, Wyoming to
go to Korea. No! We cannot. He's the only
484
00:48:59,829 --> 00:49:05,010
Portuguese interpreter we have! No, no, no.
He stays. So they pulled me off, they let
485
00:49:05,010 --> 00:49:12,669
me go. But I only became a citizen when I
was.
486
00:49:12,669 --> 00:49:13,799
[ Inaudible ]
487
00:49:13,799 --> 00:49:25,650
In 1954, that's when I got my second papers,
and we went to a, went to a port, Gulf Port,
488
00:49:25,650 --> 00:49:38,190
yeah Gulf Port, raise your arm, and all that.
That's three years. In other words, if, what
489
00:49:38,190 --> 00:49:44,059
I'm trying to say with this is, if they had
shipped you overseas and I got shot like some
490
00:49:44,059 --> 00:49:48,890
of the kids did who had training with me,
and said they'll never get back. I would have
491
00:49:48,890 --> 00:49:53,869
died, I wouldn't have been an American citizen.
Even though I love the country, I would have
492
00:49:53,869 --> 00:49:54,869
been Portuguese.
493
00:49:54,869 --> 00:49:55,869
Kelley McCoy: Right.
494
00:49:55,869 --> 00:50:00,119
Miguel Canto e Castro: Somehow it took four--but
now, now I think within a month or two months
495
00:50:00,119 --> 00:50:05,099
you become, you know? They give you the citizenship
right away.
496
00:50:05,099 --> 00:50:10,259
Kelley McCoy: So then being Portuguese-American,
you are saying when I asked, you know, what
497
00:50:10,259 --> 00:50:14,529
it means to you, you were saying that you
identify more as American?
498
00:50:14,529 --> 00:50:15,849
Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
499
00:50:15,849 --> 00:50:17,410
Kelley McCoy: So where does the Portuguese
come in?
500
00:50:17,410 --> 00:50:21,989
Miguel Canto e Castro: Oh, the Portuguese,
if somebody asks me, you know what I mean?
501
00:50:21,989 --> 00:50:25,180
Because of my accent, "Miguel Canto e Castro,
where do you come from?" Hey, I was born in
502
00:50:25,180 --> 00:50:32,910
the Azores! Close to Portugal, yeah. I was
born. I came here, it was 1947. I was 15 and
503
00:50:32,910 --> 00:50:40,970
a half. [Inaudible] I feel American, yeah.
I became--no, this is, when my wife was alive,
504
00:50:40,970 --> 00:50:50,039
we went back several times with the kids.
My son, he's 42, 43. Louis is 43. He was six
505
00:50:50,039 --> 00:50:58,869
months old first time we took him. My arms,
I almost died [laughter] it was tiresome.
506
00:50:58,869 --> 00:51:02,609
And then ever since we went when they were
teenagers and everything. We went all the
507
00:51:02,609 --> 00:51:08,820
time. We had a home there. And when she died,
I sold the house, gave the money to the kids,
508
00:51:08,820 --> 00:51:14,049
and that's it. I haven't gone back. Last time
was 1995. But you know, but I enjoyed going
509
00:51:14,049 --> 00:51:21,180
back with my wife and my kids, you know. You
see the ocean, you go fishing, and swimming
510
00:51:21,180 --> 00:51:28,033
in a place where I learned how to swim. Pools,
natural pools in the rocks, you know? I love that see that511
00:51:28,033 --> 00:51:30,162
Kelley McCoy: But now, no more?
512
00:51:30,162 --> 00:51:34,940
Miguel Canto e Castro: No, no more. No more,
no more. No more. My brother lives in Boston,
513
00:51:34,940 --> 00:51:40,180
Raymond, he goes all the time. It's only three,
four hours from there to the Azores. I've
514
00:51:40,180 --> 00:51:48,180
got to cross this country. It's ten hours
between here and the Azores. Last time it
515
00:51:48,180 --> 00:51:53,710
was already tiresome. Oh, but then he says,
"Come here! Spend a couple, two, three days
516
00:51:53,710 --> 00:51:57,950
here, rest. And then we'll go." He's trying
to convince me.
517
00:51:57,950 --> 00:52:02,559
Kelley McCoy: So if there anything that I
didn't ask you that you think is--?
518
00:52:02,559 --> 00:52:05,140
Miguel Canto e Castro: I can't think of anything.
519
00:52:05,140 --> 00:52:08,009
Kelley McCoy: Well, I deeply appreciate your
time.
520
00:52:08,009 --> 00:52:09,069
Miguel Canto e Castro: I love to.
521
00:52:09,069 --> 00:52:13,700
Kelley McCoy: You're so warm and engaging
and I mean, seriously. Just a joy to listen
522
00:52:13,700 --> 00:52:14,700
to.
523
00:52:14,700 --> 00:52:19,053
Miguel Canto e Castro: You know, but no, this
country, it's my country.
524
00:52:19,053 --> 00:52:20,304
Kelley McCoy: This country?
525
00:52:20,304 --> 00:52:25,650
Miguel Canto e Castro: This country, and believe
me, I get very upset with anybody that burns
526
00:52:25,650 --> 00:52:32,700
the flag or doesn't want to kneel, you know
what I mean? Clearly, I was in the service,
527
00:52:32,700 --> 00:52:37,910
and I mean it's my country, you know? It's
-- it hurts me when people don't respect her,
528
00:52:37,910 --> 00:52:44,599
you know? I mean, there's a flag, it's our
flag. Some people are just, they don't care.
529
00:52:44,599 --> 00:52:45,599
Yeah.
530
00:52:45,599 --> 00:52:47,900
Kelley McCoy: Well, thank you so much for
your time.
531
00:52:47,900 --> 00:52:49,700
Miguel Canto e Castro: My pleasure!