Antonio Santos and Naomi Love

[00:00] ANTONIO SANTOS: Good afternoon. My name is Antonio Santos. Everybody knows me as Tony. I'm 48 years old. Today's day is January 14, 2023. We're here in El Paso, Texas, and my interview partner is Naomi. She's my new friend.

[00:16] NAOMI LOVE: And. Hi, I'm Naomi love. I'm 27 years old. Today is January 14, 2023. We're here in El Paso, Texas, and I'm here with my new friend, Tony. So, Tony, we're in El Paso now, but where were you born? Where did you grow up?

[00:32] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yes, I was born here in El Paso. And actually here, where we're located is called South El Paso. We all know South El Paso people also call it Segundo barrio. And this is a 7990, one zip code. I mentioned the zip code because this neighborhood has been one of the poorest in the country recently. Well, I don't know if still recently, but at one time it was doctor poorest in the nation.

[01:00] NAOMI LOVE: Oh, wow.

[01:00] ANTONIO SANTOS: And this is where I was born. I was born a couple of blocks from here at a maternity clinic called Newark. It's no longer there, but it used to be there. I'm a first generation american. My parents, they're from Mexico. My dad, Claudio Santos he was from San Altos Zacatecas My mom and Amparo Santos, she's from Mexicali, Baja California.

[01:27] NAOMI LOVE: Very cool. And how did your parents meet?

[01:31] ANTONIO SANTOS: I don't know really how they met. The only thing that I knew is that my dad used to travel in trains. So we just hop on the train and just travel all over the country.

[01:41] NAOMI LOVE: Wow.

[01:42] ANTONIO SANTOS: So I don't know if he met my mom doing one of those travels. I just noted that he met my mom, they got married, moved to Juarez, and then they came here to El Peso, so they could be born here in the US and, you know, take advantage of the opportunities that this country has to offer.

[02:04] NAOMI LOVE: And what was it like growing up here in Segundo de Barrio?

[02:09] ANTONIO SANTOS: I guess. Interesting. Yeah, yeah, part of it, I guess poverty. I mean, we grew up poor, and not just me, but like I mentioned, this is a poor neighborhood. But I guess when I was a little kid, you really didn't thought about poverty. I mean, I really didn't know that I came from a poor family until later on in my years. I guess I had a happy childhood. Like, for example, my dad was a construction worker, so when he came home, he brought sometimes big empty boxes of something that he bought, pieces of wood. And with those pieces of wood, I mean, he would make little toys for us, or sometimes we would take the big empty cardboard boxes and make toys sometimes, like a little rocket ship and stuff like that. And I bring that up because today's kids, I believe that they lack imagination. I mean, they don't have a tablet, a smartphone, or. I mean, it's like, I cannot live with my tablet or with my iPhone or smartphone. But for us, I mean, we had a lot of imagination. I mean, we would just play happily with whatever, you know, toys we had. Like I said, I really didn't realize that we were bored, basically, until now.

[03:30] NAOMI LOVE: Sure. And so did you have siblings?

[03:33] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yes, I'm the oldest.

[03:34] NAOMI LOVE: Gotcha.

[03:35] ANTONIO SANTOS: I have siblings. So I have a brother, Ismael Santos, and then I have my sister, Ariana Santos, and then my little brother, Omar Santos. So we're a total of six.

[03:45] NAOMI LOVE: Nice. And so what kinds of games would you guys play? I know you said, you know, you would make things with some of the cardboard. Do you remember any specific games or favorite toys?

[03:54] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah, like, for example, we would get a cardboard and then paint them, pretend it was like a spaceship. So my brother and I, we will get into that cardboard box, and we were pretending. We would blast stuff into space, visit, you know, planets, going, explore, you know, looking for alien life, life forms. Like I said, my dad would bring, like, wooden blocks. So then we will do, like, little cars, little trucks. We have a little canicas at home, and we will play Las Escondidas, you know, high income.

[04:25] NAOMI LOVE: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[04:26] ANTONIO SANTOS: So those were some of the games that we used to play as little, little kids.

[04:34] NAOMI LOVE: Nice. And what was your home like growing up? Like the house and, you know, life there?

[04:39] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah, it was a small house. I mean, my brother and I had to share bedrooms, and then, of course, my other brother and sister, they had to share bedrooms. So it was a small house, but it was very cozy. It was homey, even though it was a board. I mean, it was always clean. I met my mom every day, would clean the house, close the trash, mop the floors. It was a very clean, clean home. I guess my dad believed that even though we were poor, that doesn't mean that we had to be dirty. You always had to have price. So, I mean, we would always clean.

[05:22] NAOMI LOVE: Nice. And what were your parents like when you were growing up?

[05:28] ANTONIO SANTOS: One of the memories that I have, which I share with some other people, and that's why they told me, hey, you need to tell your story. I didn't went to pre K. Well, actually, I didn't went to head start. I didn't went to pre K. And I didn't went to k. Actually, Hester pre K. And K was my mom. Yeah, they are Shitami, Harari and. Right. There's some local stores here, mom and pop shops, plaza grocery. Actually, they're really close, but plaza grocery, Ridoso and Silva supermarket. Silva's already close. But every week, like on Sunday, they will send a little flyer with the specials of the week, you know, la Leche, Tanelo or Cleveland. I mean, difference between specials. So then my mom would take that little flyer and she would have me trace the letters, and then she would say, look, this is an estes on a vocale. Or she would say, look, this is a b. This is a c, a d. So basically, she told me how to read, how to write, and then. Yeah, so then my mom taught me how to rein. Right? We also had. My mom also told me to help her with cleaning the beans. So she would tell me, look, one bean, two beans, three beans, five beans, plus three beans on eight beans. So she also taught me basic math. It might not seem something like, oh, wow. But you have to remember, my mom came from Mexico, and she only went, like, to second or third grade in Mexico. So she wasn't an educator. I mean, she didn't really have any formal education, but with her creativity, with her imagination, I mean, she gave me that head start in education. So when I went to first grade, estepos, I was already ahead of all the students.

[07:27] NAOMI LOVE: Wow.

[07:28] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah. So, I mean, first grade for me, I went to one of the schools here, ao elementary school. I was a top student in first grade. I mean, it was very, very easy. But then here comes the interesting part. When I went to second grade, my grades, michaelificaciones, they went down, they took a dip. And people were like, why did grades went down? So there was actually a parent teacher conference. So the principal was there, the teacher was there, my dad was there. And this is kind of interesting because I guess in our culture. But my dad was different. I mean, he was actually involved in my education. So he was present at that meeting. So it was the principal, the counselor, my dad, the teacher, and myself. So then they were talking to my dad and they said, so he might need some additional help. He might need to be almost like in a special ed class. And actually, that wasn't the issue. I didn't have a learning disability. And the t shirt that I had.

[08:47] NAOMI LOVE: No blava espanol, that would be a problem.

[08:49] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah, so that would be a problem. I mean, how am I supposed to communicate? So I expect them, I mean, when you're a little kid, but you don't think about stuff. I mean, you just stand up and talk. So, yomi paradigm, I got a big reganada. It was worth it, because at the end, I wasn't placing in special ed. It was. Of course. I mean, eventually I picked up the language.

[09:23] NAOMI LOVE: Yeah.

[09:24] ANTONIO SANTOS: Now, I shared that story because, I mean, it might sound kind of weird, but I thought Spanish was the only language in the world.

[09:31] NAOMI LOVE: Yeah.

[09:32] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah. Why? Because my mom was. She used to watch novellas and espanol me papa la nostiza and espanol when my mom was cleaning poster radio and everything was in Spanish. I mean, the neighbors pose Espanol. So, I mean, as Spanish was the only language in the world. So when I found out quesnotlos sidiomas, not only did I pick up English, but I started learning a little bit of Latin.

[09:58] NAOMI LOVE: Oh, yeah.

[09:59] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah. It was. I mean, some english words or the roots, you know, they come from Latin. And then because I know Spanish, I started learning French and a little bit Italian and Portuguese because they're very, you know, very similar. Very similar. So I went from knowing one language to multiple language. It was. I shared a story, because now I look back and I think, how many students were placed in special ed? They really didn't belong in special aid. Really, the problem was the language barrier. And not only do I think about that, the other thing that comes to mind is why does school administrators decide to put whether counselors, whether principals or teachers in a community, no monolingual professionals, english speakers in a community. I mean, their primary language is Spanish. And the reason that there was a counselor in that meeting, the counselor was the interpreter. The principal couldn't speak English, real Spanish, and the teacher couldn't speak Spanish. So it's like, why do you have, you know, a principal, teachers and so on, but they don't speak Spanish in a predominantly, predominantly spanish speaking community. So, I mean, that didn't make sense to me. That's why today I look back and think, but how many students were in special ed that really didn't belong in special ed?

[11:28] NAOMI LOVE: It is a very good question. Yeah, yeah.

[11:31] ANTONIO SANTOS: And I imagine it still happens.

[11:33] NAOMI LOVE: Yeah. Unfortunately, I think you hope things are getting better with that.

[11:40] ANTONIO SANTOS: So that was one of the stories that I wanted to share in regards to education. The barrier, the language barrier, the other thing. I always believe that teachers are supposed to inspire students. They're supposed to help them achieve their goals, you know, make their dreams a reality. I have very good teachers, but at the same time, as I have teachers that I guess they shouldn't really be in the teaching field. Like for example, I remember in high school when I was about to complete high school, I told my dad, I want to go to college. And my dad said, hey, but that's a good decision. I mean, that's a good goal. But how are you gonna go to college if we don't have the money to pay for your education? And then I told my dad, I mean, you have good grades, you can get financial aid, you can get scholarships and so on. And there are those programs like, such as work studies. And my dad, he used to say, and I guess that was, he told me that because again, he grew up in Mexico. And my dad, as well as my mom, I mean, they just went to second or third grade. So not only they didn't have the educational experience, they were not exported to the schools. But then the educational system in Mexico is different from the educational system here in the US. So then I'm saying I don't have an older brother or sister that I can ask. And then, plus I couldn't ask my parents, so that means I had to depend on the school. I mean, would it be the counselor, the grand counselor and so on. So we used to ask the teacher, we used to ask the counselors, hey, I wanna go to college. I mean, what are the steps that I need to take? And they said, religion school is not really, or college is not really for you. I mean, after high school you're either gonna be a construction worker like your dad, or you're just gonna go to vocational school. So I was like, yeah, or sometimes we will say, hey, I wanna be an engineer, but that's not really for you. I mean, that's a very difficult career. So, I mean, some other teacher, sometimes I wonder, I mean, what are they doing in the teaching field? I mean, they're supposed to help you. They're supposed to inspire. Yeah. Inspire you. Yeah. So, I mean, a lot of times when we talk about racism, a lot of times when we talk about discrimination, we think there is something that happened like in the past, like maybe back in the fifties, sixties and so on, not really. I mean, it's still going on, even today, even to this moment, and with.

[14:17] NAOMI LOVE: A really big impact too. Because if, you know, you're not told that you can do something, how are you going to realize the potential you.

[14:25] ANTONIO SANTOS: Have talking about education? A story that I wanted to share. So my mom, she taught me how to read, how to write. And actually to my dad, he taught me other lessons that are important as well. Like I mentioned, my dad was a construction worker, so that's when he was driving. We would go and buy stuff quite before the house or food or. Mira quele di fisio pinte. Because my dad told me he was a painter. He did mention he did electrical, plumbing, shira roofing. So listen. But the way he said it, lucia contantor ruyo, he will always tell me, you're gonna do something, do it, right? If not, don't do it. Yeah, I believe that those are also very important lessons. It's not just the academic, but those life lessons, they're important as well. Like, for example, when my dad was working, sometimes he would get paid in cash, but other times he would get a check, a paycheck. So he would go to the bank, of course, cash it. And then he would use to say, mir este di nero se amucio, se poquito este nu importante. Logan and I mentioned that because, I mean, growing in the poor community, sometimes very easy to fall or become prayer of. Could it be drugs? Could it be gangs? Could it be, you know, illicit activities, you know, selling drugs and stuff like that? I remember those words, and I think those are our lessons, that very important lessons. Lessons as well.

[16:22] NAOMI LOVE: Definitely. No, it sounds like from both your parents, you got a lot of lessons in education.

[16:27] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah, and only that, but also from my grandmother. I never met my grandparents from my father's side, because if I'm not mistaken, my dad, when he got married, his parents already passed away. He got married at a later, later age, actually. My dad was almost like 30 years older than my mom. My diary passed away. He passed away 20 years ago. And so we used to visit my grandparents and my mother's side. One of the stories I like to share, my grandma used to have a machete. And I always say, I used to have porque my grandma, but I repasted with. She always used to have a machete. Lisa yomi grandma. Oh, yeah, grandma. Este me regalas to machete immigrant. Never forget from where you came from. But not only that, you need to always stand up and fight for what's right. So I said machete for me was very special. It was symbolic protest for me, that stood for social justice is to. For, you know, fighting for what's right. You know, standing up for other people, standing up for your community. Fighting for your community. We need to stand up and speak out. I mean, a lot of the activists 1960s and back then, I mean, various Personas can lucia and I think now it's our responsibility to continue with that fight. Como essen le Lucia to aveno no terminado. I mentioned the story about my grandma porque. In high school, I started an organization called Bui Latino Sonidos. And the organization with Latinos Unidos later on became bui Mexia MEChA It stands for movimentos to the Atel Chicanoslan. Imesia has been around for many years. I think it's been around since the sixties, but it's been only at the university level. So when I started mesh in high school, it was the first mesh chapter in high school.

[18:45] NAOMI LOVE: Wow.

[18:46] ANTONIO SANTOS: Talking about high school, I went to boy high school. That's where I graduated from. I graduated from Boyd 1993.

[18:51] NAOMI LOVE: So what inspired you to start a chapter at your high school and kind of be the first in that way?

[18:58] ANTONIO SANTOS: I think first again has to do with education, because I don't want to mention names, but in one of my english class, I had a question. We were studying Shakespeare because we were kind of stuff like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet. I don't remember the other one, but I remember I had a question. So then the bell rang, so it was time to go to their class. I'll go after school. So then after school, I saw her in the hallway. So I went, eh, misse, I have a question. But instead of her helping me, she actually almost, like, ran to her classroom. She went to the classroom, took her. Well, she entered the classroom. That classroom had a door with a window almost like that one. And then she said, behind the door, she said, go away or I'll call the police. So I was like, huh? And this is a t shirt. I mean, like I said, a t shirt. They're supposed to help you. They're supposed to, you know, assist you in reaching your goals, your dreams, and so on. But here's a teacher saying, go away or I'll call the police.

[19:59] NAOMI LOVE: Right? To. To a high school student.

[20:01] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah, to a high school.

[20:01] NAOMI LOVE: Just with a school question.

[20:03] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah. Not only that, but I had another teacher, a math teacher, that she used to say, let's say, for example, read chapter five and then do proverbs one through 25. And that was the lesson for the day. Then she would sit on her desk, and sometimes she would talk to herself, and sometimes she would even laugh to herself. And we were like, what's that? And then suddenly, one day, she didn't went to class, so she was out. And then she was out the second day, the third day, and so on. So we had a substitute teachers later on. I found out that the reason that she was out because she had a drinking problem. And I guess that day, she makes alcohol with some type of drug and pushing the hospital. So then what we decided to do is, okay, you're good at math, you're good at English, you're good at the science. So we actually developed a Lisa students where the strength was. So let's. You need help with math? Okay, you need help with math. Mira, I know somebody that can help you, or you need help with English. I know somebody that can help you. So basically, what we started, there was a student, like a student helping other students, like a student driven tutoring program. So that's one of the things that we did. Another thing that we did, we were doing health promotion, disease prevention. I mean, the biggest thing back then, and I guess it still is teenage pregnancy, but you know how the schools, they keep pushing for abstinence and abstinence because we know that does not work. If not, I mean, the if it was a problem. Yeah. It's not just teenage pregnancy, but if we know that the teenagers are not taking care of themselves, but they're also at risk of what today they call STI's sexually transmitted diseases. You have an adult talking to the kids. Sometimes the kids don't pay attention or sometimes a message that equals one in and out the other. But what if we start a program where we have students teaching other students?

[22:05] NAOMI LOVE: Wow.

[22:06] ANTONIO SANTOS: So that's what we started to do. So, amongst ourselves, we started talking about, don't go into gangs, don't do drugs, be careful about teenage pregnancy. I mean, take care of yourself, protect yourself, and so on. So we were doing a little bit of health promotion. This is prevention. Another thing that we were doing measure. We were doing a cultural education. Like, for example, going to school from elementary all the way to high school. I mean, like, for example, we studied world history. I mean, we started about Greece, we studied about Japan, but we studied about Rome, Italy, Russia and so on. It was, I mean, I always love history, but then my question is, what about my own history? I mean, I'm not a. I'm not greek, I'm not roman, I'm nothing, you know, I want to know about my own history. So that's when we started learning about who is Cesar Chavez, who is solo or es Huerta. I mean, who are the different activists. That's when we started learning also about our history, since they are not being taught at school. So we were doing a lot of that stuff. And then I guess the major thing, which was our I guess our claim to fame, we fought lawsuit against the border patrol.

[23:25] NAOMI LOVE: Wow.

[23:26] ANTONIO SANTOS: And we actually won. It became an international, international news. And basically what happened at the border patrol, there used to be. But right here, I mean, driving throughout the neighborhood, if I remember growing up, they would, let's say, for example, they will stop me today. And the person they stop me today was the same person. They stopped me the day before, and then the day before, and then the week before and the month before. So that's when I started saying, are they really just doing their job? Was it more like harassment? Yeah, I mean, when it's the same person. The same person.

[23:59] NAOMI LOVE: Of course they are.

[24:00] ANTONIO SANTOS: You know me. You should stop me yesterday and the day before. And so, I mean, you know, they live here. Not only that, but I remember one time when I was gonna get the scubas, because I grew up in an area called Chihuahuita, which is not far from here. It's also parasente barrio. So I would ride the school bus to go to high school, because one day, the border patrol, they actually stopped the school bus. One of the officers went inside the school bus, and they say, you get down. And back then, I didn't know, but supposedly that's illegal. They cannot stop school bus. But they went ahead and did it. And I thought that I was the only one that was having problems. But then talking to my classmate, I wasn't the only one. I mean, I mean, some of the stories, like, wow. I mean, people actually getting grabbed from behind and being thrown against a vehicle, you know, searching, illegal searching, searching the backpacks and so on. I mean, we even had a football coach that was giving a right to the football players so they could go in and play against that. High school was competing against another high school. Actually. A border patrol stopped the coach, and then she pointed a gun to his head. Yeah. So that's when we decided to get together and we filed a lawsuit against the border patrol. And when we filed a lawsuit, like I said, we actually won. And then the chief of the border patrol, he resigned.

[25:21] NAOMI LOVE: Wow.

[25:21] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah. And then that's when the new border patrol ship came in. And I guess, in a way, it was a bittersweet victory. It was sweet because finally postal rights were started to be respected, but it was bitter because I knew she fought the border patrol. He started Operation blockade. So he took all the agents and he put them across the border. So what does that mean? The people that wanted to cross, now, they had to cross through remote areas. And that's when the death started to.

[25:52] NAOMI LOVE: Right. It's more dangerous.

[25:53] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah, more dangerous started to increase. And that's something that was initiated here in El Paso and the opposite was implemented throughout the border. So that's why it's okay in a way. Posit was like a bittersweet, you know, victory.

[26:06] NAOMI LOVE: Yeah. And if you can remember back, how did you feel as a high school student? I mean, you were doing so much in your community and starting so many different things. How did you feel at the time, you know, working with your other fellow students and finding these solutions kind of among yourselves?

[26:22] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah. But we felt, I guess we were doing that stuff because it needed to be done, but it wasn't really because we were looking for fame or anything. I mean, even when we did the lawsuit at the border patrol, which last year was the 30th anniversary, when we did the lawsuit, I mean, we just wanted for rice to be respected. I mean we really didn't, I guess we didn't really grasp what we had accomplished back then.

[26:52] NAOMI LOVE: Yeah. How do you think about it now? Now that you're an adult kind of.

[26:54] ANTONIO SANTOS: Looking back, but now I look back and now I say, oh, wow, I did that.

[27:00] NAOMI LOVE: Yeah. It's a lot for a young person.

[27:03] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah. And I guess the other thing that we took on those initiative, okay, we were taking, let's say the government, what they call political science class. So one thing is what they're teaching in the books by the classroom. Like for example, it doesn't matter you're us agency or not. I mean there are certain rights that you have, but then you look outside the window and I mean, reality is different compared to what the books, you know, trying to explain it was, I mean we felt the need to do something about it because we were almost being told that, you know, that's part of that part of life, that's part of living here in south El Paso. Eventually you're gonna graduate from high school, go to college, move on. And I mean that's just part of growing up and it's going to become just part of your past. And I was like, no, we really cannot accept that.

[27:56] NAOMI LOVE: Yeah. And so after high school, what did you do next? After, you know, all of this community organizing in high school?

[28:05] ANTONIO SANTOS: Work for Lafayette? Yeah, yeah, we started having meetings, what I call mission meetings in high school. But then we were told that we couldn't, we could no longer meet at high school, I guess because we were becoming too radical. So then I met the CEO of La Fe Mr. Salvador, and I told him, hey, can we meet at your place? And he said, sure. And the way I met Salvador is interesting, I guess. I don't know if it was destiny or it was meant to be, but when Cesar Chavez passed away, there was a march from Sacred Heart, which is one of the local churches in this neighborhood. So there was a march from there to the Chamizal National Memorial park. And they were. I remember, I guess there were thousands of people in that march. Like I said, that year he passed away. And then I was security, which is kind of weird, because back then I was very skinny. So it was almost like you could just push me. So I don't know if I was security, but, I mean, I was secured. So we were marching. So we were marching, and then. And then I could see this man come. Of course, you know, back then. So then the merchant over there at Chamizal and there was different people speaking, and he was one of the persons that gave a speech. So I was like, oh, wow. I mean, I was very inspired. So then when we were told at high school that we couldn't meet, then I remember, hey, I remember when we had that march I remember that man that I met. So can I. But let me talk to him, see if he could let us meet. So that's when I went, talked to him, and he said, sure, you can come here to our administrator offices and have your meetings. So there, I mean, there I would meet with other youngsters, and then sometimes he would come in and he would also talk to us. It was. I mean, he and I, we became very good friends. And when he became the CEO, Lafayette, he wanted to open the doors for the youth. So he brought in a lot of youth to work well, back then, to volunteer for the organization, I was like 15 years old, 1516 years old. So he brought a lot of the youth community, used to volunteer to help in the organization. He and I became very good friends. And I remember one day that he showed me, it was like a big bushel paperless center. Ito estos evacombinar para promo versus familias. I mean, when he showed me that, it's like, oh, wow, that's a good concept. Clara valley, uk I was gonna be in charge that. I was gonna be running this.

[31:11] NAOMI LOVE: Yeah, this place that we'd be sitting in here right now. Yeah, absolutely.

[31:16] ANTONIO SANTOS: But, yeah, when I heard Salvador, when I started hearing about the story of this organization, 55 years. This organization has been around for 55 years. I mean, I immediately fell in love with a vision, with a mission of this organization. It was, now I work here. I mean, I've been here for 27 years.

[31:34] NAOMI LOVE: Wow.

[31:36] ANTONIO SANTOS: Doing mismo Casilla in la high school. Because now I have the resources.

[31:41] NAOMI LOVE: Sure. You know, and knowledge and those connections. Absolutely. So what advice would you give young people now that are in maybe in this community or in their own community, and see things that need to change.

[31:57] ANTONIO SANTOS: But like I mentioned, I think the first thing is the fight is far from over. I mean, we still need to continue fighting, and that's just the hoviness. But I think everybody, we can always contribute, we can always pone communist arena. And I think the first thing is that we need to become us citizens. I mean, people are not citizens. I mean, we really need to become citizens. After we become us citizens, the next step is to vote. So we really need to vote. The second thing that we need to do, learn English. I mean, we really need to learn the language. I mean, everything is kinda in English, so we really need to learn a language. But never forget where you come from. I mean, we have a very rich history, como decia This community is a very poor community. In terms of economics, we don't have the money. But in terms of cultura, in terms of traditiones, family values, we're very rich. I mean, you should never be ashamed of where you come from. You should never forget where you come from. Never forget, never forget where you come from. It was accomplishing, if you make it, don't forget that. To always come back and help the community, help the next generation. And I guess that's why I love it here, because now I feel okay. Now it's my responsibility, because the doors were open for me. Now it's my responsibility to open the doors for the next, you know, the next generation. Not only that, but we have a Charles school that we, one of them was like 180 beautiful kids. It was now responsive to help them and to make sure they don't go through the same things we went to when we were growing up.

[34:00] NAOMI LOVE: Well, are there any last things that you want to add to your story with our recording here today, or any last words of advice for others?

[34:15] ANTONIO SANTOS: So we need to continue moving, continue fighting for our communities.

[34:21] NAOMI LOVE: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story with me today. It's been so amazing to hear more about your story and about El Segundo Barrio's story and Lafayette's story. So I appreciate it.

[34:33] ANTONIO SANTOS: Yeah, thank you. Thank you for the, for the invitation. And I wish I could share more, but I know we have a little time. And then, to be honest, I get nervous to be in front of a microphone. I prefer to write, but, I mean, at least there's, I guess, a little bit of my story of my life. Hopefully it can help other people. Ecommerce is not just my story, but I think it's a story of this community of straggler story.