Interview with Raymond Terronez |
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Interview with Raymond Terronez Courtney Camlin---CC PJ Killean---PK Raymond Terronez---RT CC – And then, basically just saying that we can use this project and your voice recording and the archive and special collections at Augustana. It’s also going into the Mexican-American Research Center. (Hands him 3 forms to sign) (Inaudible mumbling) PK – How many people do you think usually come to this class? RT – Um, it’s usually around 50 but we’ll have a little bit more next time because we got some newcomers today. (Signing more forms) RT – My youngest is 4, 4 years old. PK – Oh okay nice. RT = And my oldest is 18 (Finishing up 2nd form) CC – And last one, sorry! RT – It’s okay (laughs). CC – Awesome! Gracias! PK – Well let’s start off, did you grow up around here? Born and raised in the Quad Cities? RT – Born in the Quad Cities, raised in East Moline. I lived there up until I went to college. I went to St. Ambrose for four years. Graduated there and then moved to Moline and just recently to Rock Island. CC – Cool and what about your parents and ancestors? Do you know any history when they came to the Quad Cities, because that’s what this whole project is about? RT – Yeah my dad’s side, they were born in a box car in Silvis. Um, my parents were born here, my grandparents were born here. So basically my grandparent’s parents, my great-grandparents came from Mexico. Um, on my mom’s side, it’s pretty much the same story, except for my grandfather came from Mexico. So my dad’s were all raised in Silvis, Illinois and my mom’s side was raised in Davenport. CC – Do you know why they chose the Quad Cities? RT – Yeah, the railroad. Um, yeah, they wanted, I’m assuming, good cheap labor and that was work at that point, in that era. They did a lot of work that was needed and, um, and it kind of fit because if you know Silvis, you know it’s a lot of Hispanics and that’s where the railroads are. That kind of work was based in that city. Rock Island, as well. But in Davenport, they had a town there, can’t think of the town right now. In Silvis they had Earl St. Umm...Cook’s Point. Cook’s Point in Davenport. That’s where all the Hispanics lived and they had their little village there. And that’s where my mom was raised. CC – Oh okay. Did they have stories about Cook’s Point? I know baseball was really big and there was a rivalry. RT – Yeah, my dad played a lot of baseball in Silvis. Um, and in Cook’s Point, the only thing she would really tell me is that everything was so close. Ya know, her cousins were just down the street. And unfortunately, when they took over Cook’s Point and had to move, they moved into another little area into what we called Ramirez Village. This was because my mom was a Ramirez. They all had to move to one area on the west side of Davenport. So basically, they all had to use the money that the government gave them because they all had to move out of Cook’s Point and that area. So a lot of houses in west Davenport are built by my family members and they all still live there today. PK – Want to tell us about your childhood? Like your brothers and sisters? Obviously your family is important and they all sound like they stayed close in proximity. RT – Yeah, family is very important. Growing up in East Moline, um, all my family members were within 5 minutes. Um, my grandma babysat me. Ya know, So I was always around her. My sisters and I are very close. We stay active with the dance group I run. All my cousins are in it, and it’s a way for some of us to stay close. I also participate in a Judo school that my dad and cousin run. So that’s another way that our cousins staying together and we see each other probably every weekend. Judo and Dance, I probably see my cousins at least 3 times out of the week and that’s without family events. With big families, we have a lot of birthdays, so pretty much every weekend we have something to do. To now, it’s to the point where my girlfriend...she jokes that we eat too much pizza because every time we get together instead of having something expensive, it’s the economic decision to just get pizza. So we eat a lot of pizza. (Laughs) CC – Do you think that kind of the tradition will stick around the Latino community? RT – Eating together, it is a tradition. Ya know, everyone would bring a dish. We would such great Mexican food. But as times get faster and we have events to go to and practices and stuff pizza is just faster. But we definitely have family gatherings at my grandmothers and have Mexican food, whether there be tostados or tacos, or whatever. Someone always brings something. CC – Do you think being in this close environment with your family has helped you become a leader in the Latino community? RT – Yeah, absolutely. I got it from my dad. He taught Judo and coached wrestling and he also coached basketball. I saw him take more a leadership role. It was always implanted on me that you learn something, you master it, then you teach it. And that’s how it always has been. I learned dance, I learned judo, and learned soccer and I try to teach it to other people. It’s like at work, you learn your workload then you teach it to someone else and it keeps on growing and growing. School, same thing, goes to school learn your material, master it and teach it to other people. Help each other out. I wanted to be a teacher/coach, but I spent one semester observing a school, Assumption High School. After that, I said, “I don’t wanna do this.” So I took on some other work, but I am still teaching dance and coaching Judo. CC – Yeah, so what is your job title? RT – I’m a public administrating and so I take in disability claims. PK – Okay, so growing up what were your interests? Like growing up in the Quad Cities. RT – Yeah, sports, dance, family, um I never got into video games, I never got into comics. Basically my childhood was a lot of sports. Every weekend I would have a wrestling meet, or a soccer game, or a dance recital. It would be to the point where dance classes, I’d have to leave early and go to a basketball game, then I’d have to leave early and then the next morning have a wrestling meet. Eating on the run, that’s basically how it went. CC – What’s your favorite thing to teach now? RT – (Laughs) Dance, it’s my main thing I do. Judo, I started off when I was 3. And my dad had his Judo school, and then he had to unfortunately shut it down. Recently he picked it back up again, like 3 or 4 years ago, and now we’re back into it and getting kids involved. He took about a 15 or 20 year hiatus, so dance has kinda been my thing. CC – Who is involved in the dance group exactly? RT – Well, 4 year olds through 18 year olds. My cousins and other children around the Quad City area. Some of them have been doing it for many, many years. I started when I was 7 and I’m still involved. My sister started when she was 8 or 9 and she did it until she was 18. We got a good base, we started in 1984, and basically the founder Victor Camarillo developed the dance group as a Mother’s Day gift. They were all gonna get together and dance for their mothers, and they all wanted to keep doing it so it turned into this. PK – So that’s how got into it? Was it a known thing? RT – It was a known thing in our family. When I was 5 I wanted to start it, but my mom said that I was too young and at 7, that’s when I officially started, I didn’t wanna do it anymore because I thought it was girly. So I didn’t wanna do it. My mom forced me and dragged me to practice and told me I’d get a toy after. When I joined, I liked it. I found that I was good at it and eventually I got my friends involved. It is really hard to get boys involved in dance, especially cause ballet is in the name of our dance. So a lot of people think it’s a lot of tutu’s and stuff like that. But it’s nothing like that, it’s a little like Irish Tap Dance. We dance with machetes; it’s a little more masculine then the other ballet. Until you actually see it, that’s when...sometimes the boys are kinda...shy in front of people. I have kids join and they hit the teenage stage they think it’s not cool enough, so that’s how it goes. CC – Do you do anything with the soccer program? RT – No, that’s the one thing I haven’t got into. I played soccer at St. Ambrose for four years. It’s just something I haven’t gotten into yet, but the schedule is kind of busy already as it is. So, I’ve coached wrestling, and taught dance, and judo. PK – Yeah, sounds like your plate is kind of busy. So, Ambrose, did you wanna stay around the Quad Cities for family or? RT – Yeah, yeah I thought Ambrose was close enough, but far enough. I went to Alleman High School, so I thought Ambrose was kind of a close-knit community. I looked at Augie, I looked at Loras, and Ambrose, and I felt the best at Ambrose. I felt extremely comfortable here and the soccer team was real nice. I felt good on campus, I felt like I was far enough, but close enough at the same time. PK – And in four years there, what was your major? RT – I majored in history and minored in theology, like I said the whole thing, I wanted to be a teacher. Once I found that that wasn’t true, it was too late to change my major. So, history, I did a lot of research, and I do that with my job. Basically my major helped me get my foot in the door with the government. CC – And what do your parents do again? RT – My dad, Ray Sr., he works for Alcoa. He graduated high school and basically has been from factory job, to factory job, to factory job for about 20 plus years. He is hoping to retire there in about 3 years. My mom works at the Rock Island Arsenal in the core of engineers. She graduated high school, some years of college but mainly she’s been working at the Arsenal since high school and she’ll be retired there pretty soon. CC – Any grandparents still around? RT – My grandma, my mother on my dad’s side, and she is in the high 80’s. (Laughs) When you get above 80, you kinda lose track. But yeah, she’s the only one still alive. CC – Do you guys still have events with her at her house or...? RT – Yeah, definitely. She is the one that babysat me, so were pretty close. We get together. I just saw her yesterday, so we get together every so often. As the family gets larger, it kinda gets sporadic more. Certain families go here and certain families go there. When I grew up it was closer. Everyone was pretty young still and there weren’t that many of us so we could all fit in one house. Now it’s to the point where it’s way too big. If we all fit in one house, it would be ridiculous. It’s basically three families are going to one house and then we switch it up the next month. CC – And what did your grandmother do? RT – She was a stay-at-home mother. She worked in a bread store at a young age. Mainly, it was my grandpa that was working. He worked for the railroad and then worked for John Deere. PK – After you graduated, how did you...I know you said you were in it at a younger age, but how did you get involved with the leadership role? RT – It basically fell in my lap, I was an assistant for a few years just helping out, ya know? Then the leader, the head instructor, kind of wanted to give me more responsibility, because she wanted to take more responsibility for her career. She works for the Social Security and moved away to Kentucky and I think she had that in the works already. She wanted me to learn the ropes and eventually take over. So I took over in 2007, then took over as director like 1 or 1 1/2 year after that. It’s a lot of work and I don’t get paid for it. I get tired, it’s three hours Wednesday, three hours Saturday, besides performances. CC – Where do you guys do the performances? RT – In the Quad City area, like the Festival of Trees of the Quad Cities, there are numerous Hispanic festivals that go on. We’re going to Charlestown, Illinois which is four hours away. It’s a very good thing for the kids because it’s at a university. Were gonna stay the night and it’s gonna be really fun. PK – What event is that? RT – It’s the Festival of Arts, or something like that. It’s at Eastern Illinois University. PK / CC = Oh cool. RT – Other than that, Cinco de Mayo, also at numerous schools, Girl Scout events. CC – Is there one big event that you have? RT – Yeah, we usually have a big recital, but we haven’t had one in a while. Lack of funding and lack of participation has a lot to do with that. When I was young, the parents were really, really involved. It was a known thing once a year that we would have a recital and we would show up and dance for 2 hours. We haven’t had it for about 5 years, I think. Ya know it’s with new kids and new parents, the mindset lacks where they need to be involved more. So, that’s kind of where we’re at. We’re trying to get back this year, hopefully, and get more parents involved. CC – Do you have a concern with keepin’ the ballet going? RT – When I took over, there were 5 performances in a year and we easily we had 5 performances in December alone so the numbers have definitely increased a lot. So were getting our name out there more, it’s just, were a non-profit so it’s hard to be big as a non-profit organization. We got a logo about 2 years ago, and I’m getting shirts for the kids. But eventually, were going to have out there more. I want our name out there in the next couple of years a lot more. PK – Do you think the ballet has gotten smaller over the years or at least since you were a child, or is it around the same number of people? RT – Yeah, it got smaller on the boys side. When I was doing it as a junior high kid, the high school kids were giants to me. I felt like they were adults. When they performed, they performed as adults. Even though now, I’m way older than what they were back then, I see these kids in high school and I see them as kids. It’s hard for me to understand that concept where I was a junior high kid, I saw them as adults. And we used to have about 10 boys in the older group, and currently we only have 4. On the girl’s side, the numbers really haven’t changed. I got no problems gettin’ girls to dance, especially when it’s free. The boy’s side is the toughest. PK – Oh nice...I was just gonna ask you a question and I completely blanked... CC – What’s the most important thing you try and teach the kids through dance? I mean obviously you want the kids to perform well, but is there any other methods? RT – Yeah, definitely. Two things really, I teach them how to adapt. As a dancer, that’s the nature we have to learn how to adapt to changes. Whether that’s something happening on the dance floor, something falls off, they need to learn how to adapt and still perform. I teach them that because in the work force if something happens, you need to adapt and change and complete your task. Pretty much anything in life, you need to learn how to adapt and change. The other thing is opportunities. I tell them everything they try for a first time, use your trying foot. So they always have to try something. Never say “I can’t”, always say a “I can’t.” Whenever I start teaching new steps, they always say, “I can’t do this, it’s too hard,” but by the end of two weeks they will have the step down. So opportunities, you can do it, just put your foot out there and try, and also adapt to your surroundings. PK – You said a number of things, but the dance, like, I personally have no idea what the kind of ballet or dance you do is. So could you explain it? RT – Yeah, it’s called Ballet Folklorico. It’s all set to folk music. Boys wear boots that make noise. It’s not tap, it’s not clogs or anything like that. It’s just a boot. They have nails on the heels and nails on the toes, and that’s what makes the noise. Girls, same thing, but dance shoes. They wear high heels, but special made ones with thicker heels with nails in the toe and the heel, as well and they basically make the noise. The music is all from the past. Basically Mariachi’s, guitar, horns, violin’s, harp’s, bass guitar, mainly that’s what the music comes from. Live vocals, and when you get back further and further it’s just the Indians, and they were all drums. Basic Indian costume, not like Native American but like, gold, china, feathers. But how we dance to it is basically stomping with our feet. The men are portrayed as very masculine, their chest is out, heads up, hands behind their back. Some states are different from others. Jalisco is the main one. If you ever wanna look it up Jalisco is the main attraction when you’re talking about Folklorico dance. That’s the belt, the black tux, the shiny buckles, and the girls have the very colorful skirts. Veracruz, Veracruz is very hot, so the dresses are always white and light. The guys, same thing baggier clothing. But the Veracruz, it’s a lot more faster, which is the main difference. CC – Wait you said something earlier about machetes? What was that about? RT – Nayarit, a state in Mexico, they are famous for sugar canes. So back when the guys were working the sugar cane fields they would use machetes to cut them down. In their off time, they would dance and show off to the females. So they’d use their machetes and go down and hit it between their legs. Spinning them, throwing them, blindfolded, doing whatever to show off and it turned into a dance. Somewhere along the line, someone said ‘Let’s make this one solid dance’ and they thought of choreography and just to showcase what it used to be back in the day. CC – Is it some of the older men that do that? RT – Yeah just the high school guys. I was almost not ready to do it myself. It’s new this year for the kids. We did it like 4 or 5 years ago. It’s something that the older group does. In the older group of guys, my youngest is like 13 and is borderline mature immature. But my oldest boy is 18 and I really want him to do it. I asked him ‘hey do you basically wanna have knives in your hands?’ He has to be responsible and he’s getting there. Not there yet, they all practice with sticks, but I was about that age when I started dancing with knives. It’s kind of an eye-opener for the kids. In a way to stay involved, because a lot of the time, they don’t wanna do it. They get to that age and they say ‘This is girly stuff, man, I don’t wanna do it.’ But when they dance with machetes and see the sparks flying they say ‘Whoa this is cool, I wanna do this.’ CC – So is this something that they get into and they just embrace the fear? RT – Yeah, the machetes...they can hurt. We dull them a little bit, but if they hit it will cut you. And when you hit them together they spark up. And ya know just having that mentality of I could cut myself, I have machetes between my legs. Yeah, it’s a little scary, but definitely a way to challenge yourself. PK – Teaching this seems like it has deep roots in your culture and history. I would feel really proud of it and show it off to people. So I guess, tell us what teaching this class has taught you and does for you. RT – Many of the students are my cousins. So I feel that I am doing my part to keep the tradition alive. I feel like it’s my family responsibility to kind of like keep the tradition alive. But in terms of other kids, I want to keep the tradition alive. My dad said, ‘Learn something, master it, and teach it to others.’ I am very proud of it. I still dance and perform because of that. Don’t tell anyone that though (Laughs). Sometimes I still perform at special events like birthdays, anniversaries, and even funerals. It’s to the point now that I have to say ‘No, it’s the kids’ turn to perform.’ There are sometimes that I do perform because I am proud. Teaching, the same thing, I try and teach the kids, not only the steps, but the history behind it and the life skills that come along with it. A lot of songs mean different things. Jalisco is all about macho in front of girls and trying to court them. Court them... that’s the proper term back in the day. Pretty much the biggest thing you see a lot of showing off. Vera Cruz is La Bomba which I’m sure you guys have heard of. This is basically a wedding song. They would play it in Vera Cruz and have the groom and bride tie a bow with their feet to show unity. So basically this gets performed only at weddings. PK – That’s impressive (Laughs) RT – And we have kids that can do that. We have middle school aged kids that can tie bows with their feet. We dance on little boxes and with trays on our heads. Also blindfolded. CC – So when you’re ready to give it up do you think it’s going to be hard to give it up and pass down the leadership? RT – I think I’m excited. Right now, I don’t have anyone...Well Victor, my oldest one who is really, really good. But the only thing that some kids lack is teaching. Getting in front of the kids and actually talkin, ya know? But that’s just...he needs to get more involved on it. With me, how I started was that I always was in the front. I wanted to learn, and the teacher was in the front so I always was up front. And then I started to teach the classes the steps and grew into it. But yeah, I’m pretty excited when that day comes. The founder, my teacher, he was old when he stepped down. He wasn’t dancing anymore, but he would direct. He would let his student teachers teach. So that’s what I see myself doing. Being old, and my knees broken, with a cane still teaching and stuff. Ya know, until someone comes along and really takes over. CC – What other Mexican traditions are there besides dancing? RT – Food, Music...when it comes to Mexican traditions it’s really food, music, and dance. Whether it’s Folklorico dancing or modern dancing, like La Bomba. When you go to a family gathering there’s gonna be food, there’s gonna be music, and there’s gonna be dancing no matter what. So that’s kinda the big three for us. When it comes to folk...folk stuff... the dancing, folk music will always be there. Wherever there is a Mexican drinking tequila, there will always be music going on. Mariachi music is the folk music. But it’s kinda falling off in the area. We’re trying to keep it alive. We're the only group in the Quad City area that does this kinda stuff. The only other group that does this, Back of the Yards, they’re really, really good. But they have the support and financial help of the city of Chicago. So that’s kinda what we lack, the financial support. Performance money is for the kids and to keep this group alive. Folk, traditional food will always be there. Wherever there is a grandmother teaching a mother how to cook and a mother teaching a daughter how to cook, food will always be there. And with how many Mexican restaurants we have, it’s physical. Things keep being passed down. PK – Do you guys do a lot of promotional stuff in the Quad Cities? RT – The big...for a while no. Basically we just get out there at festivals and then there was a gap where we didn’t have anything in March. But people have been picking us up more in the past 2 years. Facebook is huge. We have gotten a lot of performance requests through Facebook. We posted some videos on YouTube and stuff like that has been huge thing for us. As far as advertisement and things like that, no. We got shirts and that’s basically it. I’m gonna get some magnets for my car so when I drive to performances I’ll stick that on the side of the car. CC – Besides having a strong base with your family and stuff, do you think the Quad Cities has either helped or hindered how big you guys have gotten? Do you embrace it? RT – I love the Quad Cities. Especially Augustana, they have helped us a lot. We were at Centennial Hall for a couple of performances. They have given us opportunities. Same thing with Ambrose, we performed there many times. I think overall, the Quad Cities Fiestas, the Quad City Fiestas, has given us opportunities to come perform. As far as financial support, we never have a sponsor or anything like that. Chicago is really really professional. We’re a non-profit. Even if we have financial support, and if were sponsored, and we have kids come in, this is no studio. We don’t have a studio. I would love to have mirrors so I could see the kids behind me. And we used to perform when the dance room was at the gym. And they had a pretty large studio in there with mirrors and everything. Now they have...it’s kinda small. PK/CC – Yeah RT – Right over by PepsiCo. Now we’ve been over there, but it was really small. If I could achieve that, like my own studio, a place we could call home, then I die the next day that’s fine. I’d be happy. One of the biggest things we are working towards is our own studio. PK – In terms of the future, what is future of Ballet Folklorico? What do you see for the future of it? I know you said it was kind of diminishing. Obviously you’re going to be doing your best to keep it alive but where do you see the future of this? RT – The main thing is making sure these kids stay out of trouble and making sure these kids obtain life skills. As long as those two things happen, the group will be successful. If it turns into a professional group and we go to China or something like that...great. But as long as these kids, because they’re very young, get life skills, and learn something about the culture then were successful. Parents that care about their future will keep this group going for strong into the future. The main thing see I is with parents, I’m not a parent so I don’t know how hard it is, well I’m not sure how tough it’s going to be. They are letting their kids decide. Ya know, when I first started I wanted not to do it but my mom made me do it. She knew the importance of the tradition. Some parents are easy benders and their kids...they say don’t wanna do it and they don’t make em, which I’m fine with. I have seen a lot of talented kids come in and participate for a couple of years then they stop. I tell the parents ‘Make sure they’re involved because they’re very talented. If you quit for soccer, basketball, whatever. Just make sure they’re involved because they are not gonna learn much just sitting at home and being not socially involved in their community. CC – Besides the life skills, how do you think this will help them with their future? Can they put this on college applications? RT – Yeah, at Alleman I had to do mandatory community service. So this is basically what I did. I was a student-teacher. At Ambrose, I put that at the top of my extra-curricular activities...student teacher. Colleges qualified me as a leader... ‘He can help be a leader in a club, be a leader in whatever sport he does. I think it’s very helpful to put on a college application. I tell my kids all the time if you stick it through colleges are gonna see that you worked with a community service program from 4 until 18. All they want you to do is stay at the school for four years. They saw you stick it however many years with another group. As far as like, I do this all the time, I tell my supervisors...this is probably why I got promoted 2 years ago. Every work order they gave me, I looked at is as a song. I learned that step, I learned that step, I learned that step, and I got it down. I don’t write down notes really. I just memorize sustenance. It’s like dancing to a song. PK – Well, I don’t have any other questions CC – Yeah that was so interesting. RT – Do you have the correct spelling? RT – (Spells out Folklorico, Jalisco, Vera Cruz) PK – It’s interesting to listen to because it’s a different tradition. Like, I’m German, Italian, and Irish. I’m Italian and were all crazy, our parties seem very similar. Lots of people all over the place. So it was real cool to hear a different culture. RT – You Italians...I don’t know how you guys eat that much. Like 7 meals. I used to hang with an Italian guy and I was over for dinner and I was full after the first meal. PK – Yeah, you got to pace yourself. It’s heavy food, pasta, sausages. Yeah my mom has eight cousins and I have like 30 cousins just on my mom’s side alone. So it’s always packed with food everywhere. RT – My dad’s one of eight. Terronez is a really popular Hispanic name in the Quad Cities on the Iowa side. My mom was a Ramirez on the Illinois side. So in high school I had to ask Hispanic females what your grandma’s name. CC/RT/PK – (Laughs) RT – Seriously. My cousin made that mistake, thanks god they didn’t get involved and found out before they anything happened. CC – Even growing up in the Quad Cities, I never realized how big the Spanish population is. This is such a neat project. RT – I still don’t know all my cousins. People always hear my last name and ask me if I know such and such, I’m like ‘I’m sure I do, but I just don’t know him yet.’ Ray Terronez is a popular name in the Quad Cities. There’s at least 5 of us. I don’t know what my dad was thinking. We didn’t need another. Also, some people ask me if I’m the dart player. And I’m like ‘No.’ PK – Yeah I googled you before, for our initial research, and I saw that. RT – Yeah (Laughs) That’s not me. CC – Lastly, do you have anything else to say about the box cars. Just for a little additional information. RT – Yeah, so basically my grandparents were born in a box car. They had nothing but to live in a box car. That’s what the railroad gave them. Eventually they saved enough to buy a house up the street. This house was basically a two bed room house for 8 kids. So it was my dad, his brothers would have to sleep on the porch or in the living room. The girls would sleep on the floor and in the kitchen. It was really small. They built onto it, but it’s still small. I couldn’t imagine having 8 kids and having to buy food, and having to feed all those mouths with just my grandfather working. A lot of people don’t understand that some people can make it on that. Other’s think they cheat the system, but really Hispanics can make a good meal out of nothing. All we need is tortillas and beans and they can all sit. Working at the government and working with welfare, I know this happens. A lot of people think they are cheating the system but realistically you can go get a McChickens. McChickens are one dollar. CC – That’s a really awesome story, like coming from a box car...I wish I knew my family history. PK – Yeah I don’t really know mine which is sad. It’s really cool how you’ve all stayed in the Quad Cities. My grandma and grandpa lived in California for a bit and then settled in Chicago, but now I have two of my aunts in my hometown and then an aunt and uncle two towns over. So I know from experience having family close is cool. RT – I have cousins in Kansas City and Indiana. I have always thought of moving to Kansas City because I love that town. But I always think about what I’m gonna miss here. The dancing, teaching my cousins Judo, it wouldn’t work out. I wouldn’t be happy. Were so used to hanging out together and if we move away and don’t have that every weekend thing then we won’t be happy. We grew up like that. CC – Yeah, well I think that’s all we need PK – We greatly appreciate your time. CC – Yeah thank you so much RT – No problem!
Object Description
Title | Interview with Raymond Terronez |
Interviewee | Terronez, Raymond |
Interviewer |
Camlin, Courtney Killean, P.J. |
Date | February 2014 |
Duration | Approximately 46 minutes |
Description | During this interview, Raymond Terronez discusses his experiences as a former dancer and current director of the Quad Cities Ballet Folklorico; a Mexican American folkloric dance group.This interview also highlights on the interviewee's family history within the Quad Cities. |
Historical Note | Raymond Terronez Jr. was born and raised in East Moline, Illinois and most of his childhood spent with family whether at birthday parties and various other family events or at practice for dance, and other extra-curricular activities. Terronez’s great grandparents first arrived in the Quad Cities area from Mexico and landed here because of available work on the railroad in East Moline and Rock Island. Mr. Terronez attended Alleman Catholic High School in Rock Island. Upon graduating from Alleman, Mr. Terronez continued his education at Saint Ambrose University located in Davenport, Iowa. Terronez is heavily involved in the Latino Community in the Quad Cities in every aspect, from coaching and teaching, to his full-time career as a government worker in the Social Security department. Ray has been involved in judo, soccer, and dancing in the community. The biggest leadership role that Mr. Terronez holds today in the Latino Community is director of Ballet Folklorico, which was the focus of the interview. Ray Terronez resides in Rock Island, Illinois and continues to put most of his time and energy in to continuing the tradition of the Ballet Folklorico in the Latino Community. |
Interview Index | [0:00-0:45] - Signing paperwork for interview [0:45-1:24] - Talk about how many kids in class/Age differences [1:25-4:00] - Childhood/Family history/Grandparents’ professions [4:00-5:04] - Stories about Silvis and Cooke’s Point/Family proximity in the Quad Cities area [5:05-6:58] - Importance of family/Dance school/Judo school/Family gatherings [6:59-8:33] - Traditions in family/Benefits of family in career aspirations/Career information [8:34-9:56] - Interests during childhood/Favorite thing to teach [9:57-12:32] - Personal experiences on Ballet Folklorico [12:33-12:59] - Soccer/Wrestling coaching aspirations [13:00-14:34] - College years/Parents’ professions [14:35-15:48] - Grandparents lives now/Family events [15:49- 19:12] - Involvement in leadership in Ballet Folklorico/Performance locations/Recital [19:13-20:09] - Concerns about longevity/Popularity of dancing [20:10-22:03] - Life lessons taught through dance [22:04-24:44] - Description of the Ballet Folklorico and costumes [24:45-27:13] - Machetes/Masculine dance [27:14-28:22] - Pride in teaching the dance traditions [28:23-29:41] - Different types of Ballet Folklorico [29:55- 31:02] - Future of leadership in Ballet Folklorico [31:03-33:04] - Other Mexican traditions/Chicago Ballet Folklorico/ Lack of funding [33:05-35:35] - Promotion/Advertising of dancing group [35:36-36:29] - Quad Cities and recruitment of dancers. Hard or helpful?/Financial Support [36:30-37:39] - The future of Ballet Folklorico in Quad Cities/Kids now versus kids of the past [37:40-38:30] - Benefits to children of joining Ballet Folklorico [38:31-39:15] - Spelling checks in the notes [39:16-40:31] - Connections through cultures [40:32-41:50] - Further family information/ 5 different Ray Terronez in the Quad Cities [41:51-43:30] - Grandparents growing up in box car/How Latino families view the ballet today [43:30-44:45] - Importance of family staying in or around the Quad Cities to the family dynamic [44:46-45:37] - Closing of the interview |
Interview Notes | The Interview with Raymond Terronez Jr. took place at the Moline Township in Moline, Illinois. This is where Mr. Terronez holds his Ballet Folklorico practice so we met him there at 1:00pm (after rehearsal was done) on Saturday February 8th in the main meeting hall. He welcomed us into the fairly large space in which dance practice had just finished and then he gathered three chairs and a small table for us to all sit around comfortably to conduct the interview. Not much was in the hall except for folded tables and chairs and a few small windows. Mr. Terronez was wearing comfortable clothes, sweatpants and a t-shirt, as he had just finished dancing with the group. Terronez was very happy and eager to talk to us about his family’s past history, his leadership involvement in the community, and what he hopes for the future of the Latino community that he is leading. Every question PJ and I posed was answered with ease and excitement. No problems with the technology or uncomfortable topics came up during the interview. Mr. Terronez was very relaxed and easy to talk to, perhaps because we were all relatively close in age. Prior to the interview we talked about how Augustana College and Saint Ambrose University are similar and different, with the occasional joke of which school was better to attend. Terronez seemed very comfortable talking to us and eager to share his story about his family’s history and their involvement in the QC Latino Community. Again, Mr. Terronez never seemed to struggle when answering any of our questions, no problems with the recording device occurred, and no outside interruptions happened during the interview. |
Transcript Exists | Yes |
Audio Exists | Yes |
Subject | Hispanic Americans -- Quad Cities (Ill. and Iowa) |
Identifier | CD-0291/50 |
Collection in Repository | Oral history interviews |
Collection Number | MSS 291 |
Project | Latino Leadership in the Quad Cities |
Repository | Augustana College Special Collections, 639 38th Street, Rock Island, Illinois 61201 |
Finding Aid Link | http://augustana.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/210 |
Preferred Citation | Interview with Raymond Terronez, 2014, in MSS 291 Oral history interviews, Special Collections, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. |
Rights | Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from Augustana College Special Collections and the copyright holder. Contact specialcollections@augustana.edu or 309-794-7643 for more information. |
Type |
Text |
Object Description | Compact Disc |
Language | eng |
Digital Format | text/pdf |
Publisher | Augustana College Special Collections |
Collection | Oral History Interviews (Augustana College) |
File Name | index.cpd |
Transcript | Interview with Raymond Terronez Courtney Camlin---CC PJ Killean---PK Raymond Terronez---RT CC – And then, basically just saying that we can use this project and your voice recording and the archive and special collections at Augustana. It’s also going into the Mexican-American Research Center. (Hands him 3 forms to sign) (Inaudible mumbling) PK – How many people do you think usually come to this class? RT – Um, it’s usually around 50 but we’ll have a little bit more next time because we got some newcomers today. (Signing more forms) RT – My youngest is 4, 4 years old. PK – Oh okay nice. RT = And my oldest is 18 (Finishing up 2nd form) CC – And last one, sorry! RT – It’s okay (laughs). CC – Awesome! Gracias! PK – Well let’s start off, did you grow up around here? Born and raised in the Quad Cities? RT – Born in the Quad Cities, raised in East Moline. I lived there up until I went to college. I went to St. Ambrose for four years. Graduated there and then moved to Moline and just recently to Rock Island. CC – Cool and what about your parents and ancestors? Do you know any history when they came to the Quad Cities, because that’s what this whole project is about? RT – Yeah my dad’s side, they were born in a box car in Silvis. Um, my parents were born here, my grandparents were born here. So basically my grandparent’s parents, my great-grandparents came from Mexico. Um, on my mom’s side, it’s pretty much the same story, except for my grandfather came from Mexico. So my dad’s were all raised in Silvis, Illinois and my mom’s side was raised in Davenport. CC – Do you know why they chose the Quad Cities? RT – Yeah, the railroad. Um, yeah, they wanted, I’m assuming, good cheap labor and that was work at that point, in that era. They did a lot of work that was needed and, um, and it kind of fit because if you know Silvis, you know it’s a lot of Hispanics and that’s where the railroads are. That kind of work was based in that city. Rock Island, as well. But in Davenport, they had a town there, can’t think of the town right now. In Silvis they had Earl St. Umm...Cook’s Point. Cook’s Point in Davenport. That’s where all the Hispanics lived and they had their little village there. And that’s where my mom was raised. CC – Oh okay. Did they have stories about Cook’s Point? I know baseball was really big and there was a rivalry. RT – Yeah, my dad played a lot of baseball in Silvis. Um, and in Cook’s Point, the only thing she would really tell me is that everything was so close. Ya know, her cousins were just down the street. And unfortunately, when they took over Cook’s Point and had to move, they moved into another little area into what we called Ramirez Village. This was because my mom was a Ramirez. They all had to move to one area on the west side of Davenport. So basically, they all had to use the money that the government gave them because they all had to move out of Cook’s Point and that area. So a lot of houses in west Davenport are built by my family members and they all still live there today. PK – Want to tell us about your childhood? Like your brothers and sisters? Obviously your family is important and they all sound like they stayed close in proximity. RT – Yeah, family is very important. Growing up in East Moline, um, all my family members were within 5 minutes. Um, my grandma babysat me. Ya know, So I was always around her. My sisters and I are very close. We stay active with the dance group I run. All my cousins are in it, and it’s a way for some of us to stay close. I also participate in a Judo school that my dad and cousin run. So that’s another way that our cousins staying together and we see each other probably every weekend. Judo and Dance, I probably see my cousins at least 3 times out of the week and that’s without family events. With big families, we have a lot of birthdays, so pretty much every weekend we have something to do. To now, it’s to the point where my girlfriend...she jokes that we eat too much pizza because every time we get together instead of having something expensive, it’s the economic decision to just get pizza. So we eat a lot of pizza. (Laughs) CC – Do you think that kind of the tradition will stick around the Latino community? RT – Eating together, it is a tradition. Ya know, everyone would bring a dish. We would such great Mexican food. But as times get faster and we have events to go to and practices and stuff pizza is just faster. But we definitely have family gatherings at my grandmothers and have Mexican food, whether there be tostados or tacos, or whatever. Someone always brings something. CC – Do you think being in this close environment with your family has helped you become a leader in the Latino community? RT – Yeah, absolutely. I got it from my dad. He taught Judo and coached wrestling and he also coached basketball. I saw him take more a leadership role. It was always implanted on me that you learn something, you master it, then you teach it. And that’s how it always has been. I learned dance, I learned judo, and learned soccer and I try to teach it to other people. It’s like at work, you learn your workload then you teach it to someone else and it keeps on growing and growing. School, same thing, goes to school learn your material, master it and teach it to other people. Help each other out. I wanted to be a teacher/coach, but I spent one semester observing a school, Assumption High School. After that, I said, “I don’t wanna do this.” So I took on some other work, but I am still teaching dance and coaching Judo. CC – Yeah, so what is your job title? RT – I’m a public administrating and so I take in disability claims. PK – Okay, so growing up what were your interests? Like growing up in the Quad Cities. RT – Yeah, sports, dance, family, um I never got into video games, I never got into comics. Basically my childhood was a lot of sports. Every weekend I would have a wrestling meet, or a soccer game, or a dance recital. It would be to the point where dance classes, I’d have to leave early and go to a basketball game, then I’d have to leave early and then the next morning have a wrestling meet. Eating on the run, that’s basically how it went. CC – What’s your favorite thing to teach now? RT – (Laughs) Dance, it’s my main thing I do. Judo, I started off when I was 3. And my dad had his Judo school, and then he had to unfortunately shut it down. Recently he picked it back up again, like 3 or 4 years ago, and now we’re back into it and getting kids involved. He took about a 15 or 20 year hiatus, so dance has kinda been my thing. CC – Who is involved in the dance group exactly? RT – Well, 4 year olds through 18 year olds. My cousins and other children around the Quad City area. Some of them have been doing it for many, many years. I started when I was 7 and I’m still involved. My sister started when she was 8 or 9 and she did it until she was 18. We got a good base, we started in 1984, and basically the founder Victor Camarillo developed the dance group as a Mother’s Day gift. They were all gonna get together and dance for their mothers, and they all wanted to keep doing it so it turned into this. PK – So that’s how got into it? Was it a known thing? RT – It was a known thing in our family. When I was 5 I wanted to start it, but my mom said that I was too young and at 7, that’s when I officially started, I didn’t wanna do it anymore because I thought it was girly. So I didn’t wanna do it. My mom forced me and dragged me to practice and told me I’d get a toy after. When I joined, I liked it. I found that I was good at it and eventually I got my friends involved. It is really hard to get boys involved in dance, especially cause ballet is in the name of our dance. So a lot of people think it’s a lot of tutu’s and stuff like that. But it’s nothing like that, it’s a little like Irish Tap Dance. We dance with machetes; it’s a little more masculine then the other ballet. Until you actually see it, that’s when...sometimes the boys are kinda...shy in front of people. I have kids join and they hit the teenage stage they think it’s not cool enough, so that’s how it goes. CC – Do you do anything with the soccer program? RT – No, that’s the one thing I haven’t got into. I played soccer at St. Ambrose for four years. It’s just something I haven’t gotten into yet, but the schedule is kind of busy already as it is. So, I’ve coached wrestling, and taught dance, and judo. PK – Yeah, sounds like your plate is kind of busy. So, Ambrose, did you wanna stay around the Quad Cities for family or? RT – Yeah, yeah I thought Ambrose was close enough, but far enough. I went to Alleman High School, so I thought Ambrose was kind of a close-knit community. I looked at Augie, I looked at Loras, and Ambrose, and I felt the best at Ambrose. I felt extremely comfortable here and the soccer team was real nice. I felt good on campus, I felt like I was far enough, but close enough at the same time. PK – And in four years there, what was your major? RT – I majored in history and minored in theology, like I said the whole thing, I wanted to be a teacher. Once I found that that wasn’t true, it was too late to change my major. So, history, I did a lot of research, and I do that with my job. Basically my major helped me get my foot in the door with the government. CC – And what do your parents do again? RT – My dad, Ray Sr., he works for Alcoa. He graduated high school and basically has been from factory job, to factory job, to factory job for about 20 plus years. He is hoping to retire there in about 3 years. My mom works at the Rock Island Arsenal in the core of engineers. She graduated high school, some years of college but mainly she’s been working at the Arsenal since high school and she’ll be retired there pretty soon. CC – Any grandparents still around? RT – My grandma, my mother on my dad’s side, and she is in the high 80’s. (Laughs) When you get above 80, you kinda lose track. But yeah, she’s the only one still alive. CC – Do you guys still have events with her at her house or...? RT – Yeah, definitely. She is the one that babysat me, so were pretty close. We get together. I just saw her yesterday, so we get together every so often. As the family gets larger, it kinda gets sporadic more. Certain families go here and certain families go there. When I grew up it was closer. Everyone was pretty young still and there weren’t that many of us so we could all fit in one house. Now it’s to the point where it’s way too big. If we all fit in one house, it would be ridiculous. It’s basically three families are going to one house and then we switch it up the next month. CC – And what did your grandmother do? RT – She was a stay-at-home mother. She worked in a bread store at a young age. Mainly, it was my grandpa that was working. He worked for the railroad and then worked for John Deere. PK – After you graduated, how did you...I know you said you were in it at a younger age, but how did you get involved with the leadership role? RT – It basically fell in my lap, I was an assistant for a few years just helping out, ya know? Then the leader, the head instructor, kind of wanted to give me more responsibility, because she wanted to take more responsibility for her career. She works for the Social Security and moved away to Kentucky and I think she had that in the works already. She wanted me to learn the ropes and eventually take over. So I took over in 2007, then took over as director like 1 or 1 1/2 year after that. It’s a lot of work and I don’t get paid for it. I get tired, it’s three hours Wednesday, three hours Saturday, besides performances. CC – Where do you guys do the performances? RT – In the Quad City area, like the Festival of Trees of the Quad Cities, there are numerous Hispanic festivals that go on. We’re going to Charlestown, Illinois which is four hours away. It’s a very good thing for the kids because it’s at a university. Were gonna stay the night and it’s gonna be really fun. PK – What event is that? RT – It’s the Festival of Arts, or something like that. It’s at Eastern Illinois University. PK / CC = Oh cool. RT – Other than that, Cinco de Mayo, also at numerous schools, Girl Scout events. CC – Is there one big event that you have? RT – Yeah, we usually have a big recital, but we haven’t had one in a while. Lack of funding and lack of participation has a lot to do with that. When I was young, the parents were really, really involved. It was a known thing once a year that we would have a recital and we would show up and dance for 2 hours. We haven’t had it for about 5 years, I think. Ya know it’s with new kids and new parents, the mindset lacks where they need to be involved more. So, that’s kind of where we’re at. We’re trying to get back this year, hopefully, and get more parents involved. CC – Do you have a concern with keepin’ the ballet going? RT – When I took over, there were 5 performances in a year and we easily we had 5 performances in December alone so the numbers have definitely increased a lot. So were getting our name out there more, it’s just, were a non-profit so it’s hard to be big as a non-profit organization. We got a logo about 2 years ago, and I’m getting shirts for the kids. But eventually, were going to have out there more. I want our name out there in the next couple of years a lot more. PK – Do you think the ballet has gotten smaller over the years or at least since you were a child, or is it around the same number of people? RT – Yeah, it got smaller on the boys side. When I was doing it as a junior high kid, the high school kids were giants to me. I felt like they were adults. When they performed, they performed as adults. Even though now, I’m way older than what they were back then, I see these kids in high school and I see them as kids. It’s hard for me to understand that concept where I was a junior high kid, I saw them as adults. And we used to have about 10 boys in the older group, and currently we only have 4. On the girl’s side, the numbers really haven’t changed. I got no problems gettin’ girls to dance, especially when it’s free. The boy’s side is the toughest. PK – Oh nice...I was just gonna ask you a question and I completely blanked... CC – What’s the most important thing you try and teach the kids through dance? I mean obviously you want the kids to perform well, but is there any other methods? RT – Yeah, definitely. Two things really, I teach them how to adapt. As a dancer, that’s the nature we have to learn how to adapt to changes. Whether that’s something happening on the dance floor, something falls off, they need to learn how to adapt and still perform. I teach them that because in the work force if something happens, you need to adapt and change and complete your task. Pretty much anything in life, you need to learn how to adapt and change. The other thing is opportunities. I tell them everything they try for a first time, use your trying foot. So they always have to try something. Never say “I can’t”, always say a “I can’t.” Whenever I start teaching new steps, they always say, “I can’t do this, it’s too hard,” but by the end of two weeks they will have the step down. So opportunities, you can do it, just put your foot out there and try, and also adapt to your surroundings. PK – You said a number of things, but the dance, like, I personally have no idea what the kind of ballet or dance you do is. So could you explain it? RT – Yeah, it’s called Ballet Folklorico. It’s all set to folk music. Boys wear boots that make noise. It’s not tap, it’s not clogs or anything like that. It’s just a boot. They have nails on the heels and nails on the toes, and that’s what makes the noise. Girls, same thing, but dance shoes. They wear high heels, but special made ones with thicker heels with nails in the toe and the heel, as well and they basically make the noise. The music is all from the past. Basically Mariachi’s, guitar, horns, violin’s, harp’s, bass guitar, mainly that’s what the music comes from. Live vocals, and when you get back further and further it’s just the Indians, and they were all drums. Basic Indian costume, not like Native American but like, gold, china, feathers. But how we dance to it is basically stomping with our feet. The men are portrayed as very masculine, their chest is out, heads up, hands behind their back. Some states are different from others. Jalisco is the main one. If you ever wanna look it up Jalisco is the main attraction when you’re talking about Folklorico dance. That’s the belt, the black tux, the shiny buckles, and the girls have the very colorful skirts. Veracruz, Veracruz is very hot, so the dresses are always white and light. The guys, same thing baggier clothing. But the Veracruz, it’s a lot more faster, which is the main difference. CC – Wait you said something earlier about machetes? What was that about? RT – Nayarit, a state in Mexico, they are famous for sugar canes. So back when the guys were working the sugar cane fields they would use machetes to cut them down. In their off time, they would dance and show off to the females. So they’d use their machetes and go down and hit it between their legs. Spinning them, throwing them, blindfolded, doing whatever to show off and it turned into a dance. Somewhere along the line, someone said ‘Let’s make this one solid dance’ and they thought of choreography and just to showcase what it used to be back in the day. CC – Is it some of the older men that do that? RT – Yeah just the high school guys. I was almost not ready to do it myself. It’s new this year for the kids. We did it like 4 or 5 years ago. It’s something that the older group does. In the older group of guys, my youngest is like 13 and is borderline mature immature. But my oldest boy is 18 and I really want him to do it. I asked him ‘hey do you basically wanna have knives in your hands?’ He has to be responsible and he’s getting there. Not there yet, they all practice with sticks, but I was about that age when I started dancing with knives. It’s kind of an eye-opener for the kids. In a way to stay involved, because a lot of the time, they don’t wanna do it. They get to that age and they say ‘This is girly stuff, man, I don’t wanna do it.’ But when they dance with machetes and see the sparks flying they say ‘Whoa this is cool, I wanna do this.’ CC – So is this something that they get into and they just embrace the fear? RT – Yeah, the machetes...they can hurt. We dull them a little bit, but if they hit it will cut you. And when you hit them together they spark up. And ya know just having that mentality of I could cut myself, I have machetes between my legs. Yeah, it’s a little scary, but definitely a way to challenge yourself. PK – Teaching this seems like it has deep roots in your culture and history. I would feel really proud of it and show it off to people. So I guess, tell us what teaching this class has taught you and does for you. RT – Many of the students are my cousins. So I feel that I am doing my part to keep the tradition alive. I feel like it’s my family responsibility to kind of like keep the tradition alive. But in terms of other kids, I want to keep the tradition alive. My dad said, ‘Learn something, master it, and teach it to others.’ I am very proud of it. I still dance and perform because of that. Don’t tell anyone that though (Laughs). Sometimes I still perform at special events like birthdays, anniversaries, and even funerals. It’s to the point now that I have to say ‘No, it’s the kids’ turn to perform.’ There are sometimes that I do perform because I am proud. Teaching, the same thing, I try and teach the kids, not only the steps, but the history behind it and the life skills that come along with it. A lot of songs mean different things. Jalisco is all about macho in front of girls and trying to court them. Court them... that’s the proper term back in the day. Pretty much the biggest thing you see a lot of showing off. Vera Cruz is La Bomba which I’m sure you guys have heard of. This is basically a wedding song. They would play it in Vera Cruz and have the groom and bride tie a bow with their feet to show unity. So basically this gets performed only at weddings. PK – That’s impressive (Laughs) RT – And we have kids that can do that. We have middle school aged kids that can tie bows with their feet. We dance on little boxes and with trays on our heads. Also blindfolded. CC – So when you’re ready to give it up do you think it’s going to be hard to give it up and pass down the leadership? RT – I think I’m excited. Right now, I don’t have anyone...Well Victor, my oldest one who is really, really good. But the only thing that some kids lack is teaching. Getting in front of the kids and actually talkin, ya know? But that’s just...he needs to get more involved on it. With me, how I started was that I always was in the front. I wanted to learn, and the teacher was in the front so I always was up front. And then I started to teach the classes the steps and grew into it. But yeah, I’m pretty excited when that day comes. The founder, my teacher, he was old when he stepped down. He wasn’t dancing anymore, but he would direct. He would let his student teachers teach. So that’s what I see myself doing. Being old, and my knees broken, with a cane still teaching and stuff. Ya know, until someone comes along and really takes over. CC – What other Mexican traditions are there besides dancing? RT – Food, Music...when it comes to Mexican traditions it’s really food, music, and dance. Whether it’s Folklorico dancing or modern dancing, like La Bomba. When you go to a family gathering there’s gonna be food, there’s gonna be music, and there’s gonna be dancing no matter what. So that’s kinda the big three for us. When it comes to folk...folk stuff... the dancing, folk music will always be there. Wherever there is a Mexican drinking tequila, there will always be music going on. Mariachi music is the folk music. But it’s kinda falling off in the area. We’re trying to keep it alive. We're the only group in the Quad City area that does this kinda stuff. The only other group that does this, Back of the Yards, they’re really, really good. But they have the support and financial help of the city of Chicago. So that’s kinda what we lack, the financial support. Performance money is for the kids and to keep this group alive. Folk, traditional food will always be there. Wherever there is a grandmother teaching a mother how to cook and a mother teaching a daughter how to cook, food will always be there. And with how many Mexican restaurants we have, it’s physical. Things keep being passed down. PK – Do you guys do a lot of promotional stuff in the Quad Cities? RT – The big...for a while no. Basically we just get out there at festivals and then there was a gap where we didn’t have anything in March. But people have been picking us up more in the past 2 years. Facebook is huge. We have gotten a lot of performance requests through Facebook. We posted some videos on YouTube and stuff like that has been huge thing for us. As far as advertisement and things like that, no. We got shirts and that’s basically it. I’m gonna get some magnets for my car so when I drive to performances I’ll stick that on the side of the car. CC – Besides having a strong base with your family and stuff, do you think the Quad Cities has either helped or hindered how big you guys have gotten? Do you embrace it? RT – I love the Quad Cities. Especially Augustana, they have helped us a lot. We were at Centennial Hall for a couple of performances. They have given us opportunities. Same thing with Ambrose, we performed there many times. I think overall, the Quad Cities Fiestas, the Quad City Fiestas, has given us opportunities to come perform. As far as financial support, we never have a sponsor or anything like that. Chicago is really really professional. We’re a non-profit. Even if we have financial support, and if were sponsored, and we have kids come in, this is no studio. We don’t have a studio. I would love to have mirrors so I could see the kids behind me. And we used to perform when the dance room was at the gym. And they had a pretty large studio in there with mirrors and everything. Now they have...it’s kinda small. PK/CC – Yeah RT – Right over by PepsiCo. Now we’ve been over there, but it was really small. If I could achieve that, like my own studio, a place we could call home, then I die the next day that’s fine. I’d be happy. One of the biggest things we are working towards is our own studio. PK – In terms of the future, what is future of Ballet Folklorico? What do you see for the future of it? I know you said it was kind of diminishing. Obviously you’re going to be doing your best to keep it alive but where do you see the future of this? RT – The main thing is making sure these kids stay out of trouble and making sure these kids obtain life skills. As long as those two things happen, the group will be successful. If it turns into a professional group and we go to China or something like that...great. But as long as these kids, because they’re very young, get life skills, and learn something about the culture then were successful. Parents that care about their future will keep this group going for strong into the future. The main thing see I is with parents, I’m not a parent so I don’t know how hard it is, well I’m not sure how tough it’s going to be. They are letting their kids decide. Ya know, when I first started I wanted not to do it but my mom made me do it. She knew the importance of the tradition. Some parents are easy benders and their kids...they say don’t wanna do it and they don’t make em, which I’m fine with. I have seen a lot of talented kids come in and participate for a couple of years then they stop. I tell the parents ‘Make sure they’re involved because they’re very talented. If you quit for soccer, basketball, whatever. Just make sure they’re involved because they are not gonna learn much just sitting at home and being not socially involved in their community. CC – Besides the life skills, how do you think this will help them with their future? Can they put this on college applications? RT – Yeah, at Alleman I had to do mandatory community service. So this is basically what I did. I was a student-teacher. At Ambrose, I put that at the top of my extra-curricular activities...student teacher. Colleges qualified me as a leader... ‘He can help be a leader in a club, be a leader in whatever sport he does. I think it’s very helpful to put on a college application. I tell my kids all the time if you stick it through colleges are gonna see that you worked with a community service program from 4 until 18. All they want you to do is stay at the school for four years. They saw you stick it however many years with another group. As far as like, I do this all the time, I tell my supervisors...this is probably why I got promoted 2 years ago. Every work order they gave me, I looked at is as a song. I learned that step, I learned that step, I learned that step, and I got it down. I don’t write down notes really. I just memorize sustenance. It’s like dancing to a song. PK – Well, I don’t have any other questions CC – Yeah that was so interesting. RT – Do you have the correct spelling? RT – (Spells out Folklorico, Jalisco, Vera Cruz) PK – It’s interesting to listen to because it’s a different tradition. Like, I’m German, Italian, and Irish. I’m Italian and were all crazy, our parties seem very similar. Lots of people all over the place. So it was real cool to hear a different culture. RT – You Italians...I don’t know how you guys eat that much. Like 7 meals. I used to hang with an Italian guy and I was over for dinner and I was full after the first meal. PK – Yeah, you got to pace yourself. It’s heavy food, pasta, sausages. Yeah my mom has eight cousins and I have like 30 cousins just on my mom’s side alone. So it’s always packed with food everywhere. RT – My dad’s one of eight. Terronez is a really popular Hispanic name in the Quad Cities on the Iowa side. My mom was a Ramirez on the Illinois side. So in high school I had to ask Hispanic females what your grandma’s name. CC/RT/PK – (Laughs) RT – Seriously. My cousin made that mistake, thanks god they didn’t get involved and found out before they anything happened. CC – Even growing up in the Quad Cities, I never realized how big the Spanish population is. This is such a neat project. RT – I still don’t know all my cousins. People always hear my last name and ask me if I know such and such, I’m like ‘I’m sure I do, but I just don’t know him yet.’ Ray Terronez is a popular name in the Quad Cities. There’s at least 5 of us. I don’t know what my dad was thinking. We didn’t need another. Also, some people ask me if I’m the dart player. And I’m like ‘No.’ PK – Yeah I googled you before, for our initial research, and I saw that. RT – Yeah (Laughs) That’s not me. CC – Lastly, do you have anything else to say about the box cars. Just for a little additional information. RT – Yeah, so basically my grandparents were born in a box car. They had nothing but to live in a box car. That’s what the railroad gave them. Eventually they saved enough to buy a house up the street. This house was basically a two bed room house for 8 kids. So it was my dad, his brothers would have to sleep on the porch or in the living room. The girls would sleep on the floor and in the kitchen. It was really small. They built onto it, but it’s still small. I couldn’t imagine having 8 kids and having to buy food, and having to feed all those mouths with just my grandfather working. A lot of people don’t understand that some people can make it on that. Other’s think they cheat the system, but really Hispanics can make a good meal out of nothing. All we need is tortillas and beans and they can all sit. Working at the government and working with welfare, I know this happens. A lot of people think they are cheating the system but realistically you can go get a McChickens. McChickens are one dollar. CC – That’s a really awesome story, like coming from a box car...I wish I knew my family history. PK – Yeah I don’t really know mine which is sad. It’s really cool how you’ve all stayed in the Quad Cities. My grandma and grandpa lived in California for a bit and then settled in Chicago, but now I have two of my aunts in my hometown and then an aunt and uncle two towns over. So I know from experience having family close is cool. RT – I have cousins in Kansas City and Indiana. I have always thought of moving to Kansas City because I love that town. But I always think about what I’m gonna miss here. The dancing, teaching my cousins Judo, it wouldn’t work out. I wouldn’t be happy. Were so used to hanging out together and if we move away and don’t have that every weekend thing then we won’t be happy. We grew up like that. CC – Yeah, well I think that’s all we need PK – We greatly appreciate your time. CC – Yeah thank you so much RT – No problem! |
Description
Title | Interview with Raymond Terronez |
File Name | Interview with Raymond Terronez.pdf |
Transcript | Interview with Raymond Terronez Courtney Camlin---CC PJ Killean---PK Raymond Terronez---RT CC – And then, basically just saying that we can use this project and your voice recording and the archive and special collections at Augustana. It’s also going into the Mexican-American Research Center. (Hands him 3 forms to sign) (Inaudible mumbling) PK – How many people do you think usually come to this class? RT – Um, it’s usually around 50 but we’ll have a little bit more next time because we got some newcomers today. (Signing more forms) RT – My youngest is 4, 4 years old. PK – Oh okay nice. RT = And my oldest is 18 (Finishing up 2nd form) CC – And last one, sorry! RT – It’s okay (laughs). CC – Awesome! Gracias! PK – Well let’s start off, did you grow up around here? Born and raised in the Quad Cities? RT – Born in the Quad Cities, raised in East Moline. I lived there up until I went to college. I went to St. Ambrose for four years. Graduated there and then moved to Moline and just recently to Rock Island. CC – Cool and what about your parents and ancestors? Do you know any history when they came to the Quad Cities, because that’s what this whole project is about? RT – Yeah my dad’s side, they were born in a box car in Silvis. Um, my parents were born here, my grandparents were born here. So basically my grandparent’s parents, my great-grandparents came from Mexico. Um, on my mom’s side, it’s pretty much the same story, except for my grandfather came from Mexico. So my dad’s were all raised in Silvis, Illinois and my mom’s side was raised in Davenport. CC – Do you know why they chose the Quad Cities? RT – Yeah, the railroad. Um, yeah, they wanted, I’m assuming, good cheap labor and that was work at that point, in that era. They did a lot of work that was needed and, um, and it kind of fit because if you know Silvis, you know it’s a lot of Hispanics and that’s where the railroads are. That kind of work was based in that city. Rock Island, as well. But in Davenport, they had a town there, can’t think of the town right now. In Silvis they had Earl St. Umm...Cook’s Point. Cook’s Point in Davenport. That’s where all the Hispanics lived and they had their little village there. And that’s where my mom was raised. CC – Oh okay. Did they have stories about Cook’s Point? I know baseball was really big and there was a rivalry. RT – Yeah, my dad played a lot of baseball in Silvis. Um, and in Cook’s Point, the only thing she would really tell me is that everything was so close. Ya know, her cousins were just down the street. And unfortunately, when they took over Cook’s Point and had to move, they moved into another little area into what we called Ramirez Village. This was because my mom was a Ramirez. They all had to move to one area on the west side of Davenport. So basically, they all had to use the money that the government gave them because they all had to move out of Cook’s Point and that area. So a lot of houses in west Davenport are built by my family members and they all still live there today. PK – Want to tell us about your childhood? Like your brothers and sisters? Obviously your family is important and they all sound like they stayed close in proximity. RT – Yeah, family is very important. Growing up in East Moline, um, all my family members were within 5 minutes. Um, my grandma babysat me. Ya know, So I was always around her. My sisters and I are very close. We stay active with the dance group I run. All my cousins are in it, and it’s a way for some of us to stay close. I also participate in a Judo school that my dad and cousin run. So that’s another way that our cousins staying together and we see each other probably every weekend. Judo and Dance, I probably see my cousins at least 3 times out of the week and that’s without family events. With big families, we have a lot of birthdays, so pretty much every weekend we have something to do. To now, it’s to the point where my girlfriend...she jokes that we eat too much pizza because every time we get together instead of having something expensive, it’s the economic decision to just get pizza. So we eat a lot of pizza. (Laughs) CC – Do you think that kind of the tradition will stick around the Latino community? RT – Eating together, it is a tradition. Ya know, everyone would bring a dish. We would such great Mexican food. But as times get faster and we have events to go to and practices and stuff pizza is just faster. But we definitely have family gatherings at my grandmothers and have Mexican food, whether there be tostados or tacos, or whatever. Someone always brings something. CC – Do you think being in this close environment with your family has helped you become a leader in the Latino community? RT – Yeah, absolutely. I got it from my dad. He taught Judo and coached wrestling and he also coached basketball. I saw him take more a leadership role. It was always implanted on me that you learn something, you master it, then you teach it. And that’s how it always has been. I learned dance, I learned judo, and learned soccer and I try to teach it to other people. It’s like at work, you learn your workload then you teach it to someone else and it keeps on growing and growing. School, same thing, goes to school learn your material, master it and teach it to other people. Help each other out. I wanted to be a teacher/coach, but I spent one semester observing a school, Assumption High School. After that, I said, “I don’t wanna do this.” So I took on some other work, but I am still teaching dance and coaching Judo. CC – Yeah, so what is your job title? RT – I’m a public administrating and so I take in disability claims. PK – Okay, so growing up what were your interests? Like growing up in the Quad Cities. RT – Yeah, sports, dance, family, um I never got into video games, I never got into comics. Basically my childhood was a lot of sports. Every weekend I would have a wrestling meet, or a soccer game, or a dance recital. It would be to the point where dance classes, I’d have to leave early and go to a basketball game, then I’d have to leave early and then the next morning have a wrestling meet. Eating on the run, that’s basically how it went. CC – What’s your favorite thing to teach now? RT – (Laughs) Dance, it’s my main thing I do. Judo, I started off when I was 3. And my dad had his Judo school, and then he had to unfortunately shut it down. Recently he picked it back up again, like 3 or 4 years ago, and now we’re back into it and getting kids involved. He took about a 15 or 20 year hiatus, so dance has kinda been my thing. CC – Who is involved in the dance group exactly? RT – Well, 4 year olds through 18 year olds. My cousins and other children around the Quad City area. Some of them have been doing it for many, many years. I started when I was 7 and I’m still involved. My sister started when she was 8 or 9 and she did it until she was 18. We got a good base, we started in 1984, and basically the founder Victor Camarillo developed the dance group as a Mother’s Day gift. They were all gonna get together and dance for their mothers, and they all wanted to keep doing it so it turned into this. PK – So that’s how got into it? Was it a known thing? RT – It was a known thing in our family. When I was 5 I wanted to start it, but my mom said that I was too young and at 7, that’s when I officially started, I didn’t wanna do it anymore because I thought it was girly. So I didn’t wanna do it. My mom forced me and dragged me to practice and told me I’d get a toy after. When I joined, I liked it. I found that I was good at it and eventually I got my friends involved. It is really hard to get boys involved in dance, especially cause ballet is in the name of our dance. So a lot of people think it’s a lot of tutu’s and stuff like that. But it’s nothing like that, it’s a little like Irish Tap Dance. We dance with machetes; it’s a little more masculine then the other ballet. Until you actually see it, that’s when...sometimes the boys are kinda...shy in front of people. I have kids join and they hit the teenage stage they think it’s not cool enough, so that’s how it goes. CC – Do you do anything with the soccer program? RT – No, that’s the one thing I haven’t got into. I played soccer at St. Ambrose for four years. It’s just something I haven’t gotten into yet, but the schedule is kind of busy already as it is. So, I’ve coached wrestling, and taught dance, and judo. PK – Yeah, sounds like your plate is kind of busy. So, Ambrose, did you wanna stay around the Quad Cities for family or? RT – Yeah, yeah I thought Ambrose was close enough, but far enough. I went to Alleman High School, so I thought Ambrose was kind of a close-knit community. I looked at Augie, I looked at Loras, and Ambrose, and I felt the best at Ambrose. I felt extremely comfortable here and the soccer team was real nice. I felt good on campus, I felt like I was far enough, but close enough at the same time. PK – And in four years there, what was your major? RT – I majored in history and minored in theology, like I said the whole thing, I wanted to be a teacher. Once I found that that wasn’t true, it was too late to change my major. So, history, I did a lot of research, and I do that with my job. Basically my major helped me get my foot in the door with the government. CC – And what do your parents do again? RT – My dad, Ray Sr., he works for Alcoa. He graduated high school and basically has been from factory job, to factory job, to factory job for about 20 plus years. He is hoping to retire there in about 3 years. My mom works at the Rock Island Arsenal in the core of engineers. She graduated high school, some years of college but mainly she’s been working at the Arsenal since high school and she’ll be retired there pretty soon. CC – Any grandparents still around? RT – My grandma, my mother on my dad’s side, and she is in the high 80’s. (Laughs) When you get above 80, you kinda lose track. But yeah, she’s the only one still alive. CC – Do you guys still have events with her at her house or...? RT – Yeah, definitely. She is the one that babysat me, so were pretty close. We get together. I just saw her yesterday, so we get together every so often. As the family gets larger, it kinda gets sporadic more. Certain families go here and certain families go there. When I grew up it was closer. Everyone was pretty young still and there weren’t that many of us so we could all fit in one house. Now it’s to the point where it’s way too big. If we all fit in one house, it would be ridiculous. It’s basically three families are going to one house and then we switch it up the next month. CC – And what did your grandmother do? RT – She was a stay-at-home mother. She worked in a bread store at a young age. Mainly, it was my grandpa that was working. He worked for the railroad and then worked for John Deere. PK – After you graduated, how did you...I know you said you were in it at a younger age, but how did you get involved with the leadership role? RT – It basically fell in my lap, I was an assistant for a few years just helping out, ya know? Then the leader, the head instructor, kind of wanted to give me more responsibility, because she wanted to take more responsibility for her career. She works for the Social Security and moved away to Kentucky and I think she had that in the works already. She wanted me to learn the ropes and eventually take over. So I took over in 2007, then took over as director like 1 or 1 1/2 year after that. It’s a lot of work and I don’t get paid for it. I get tired, it’s three hours Wednesday, three hours Saturday, besides performances. CC – Where do you guys do the performances? RT – In the Quad City area, like the Festival of Trees of the Quad Cities, there are numerous Hispanic festivals that go on. We’re going to Charlestown, Illinois which is four hours away. It’s a very good thing for the kids because it’s at a university. Were gonna stay the night and it’s gonna be really fun. PK – What event is that? RT – It’s the Festival of Arts, or something like that. It’s at Eastern Illinois University. PK / CC = Oh cool. RT – Other than that, Cinco de Mayo, also at numerous schools, Girl Scout events. CC – Is there one big event that you have? RT – Yeah, we usually have a big recital, but we haven’t had one in a while. Lack of funding and lack of participation has a lot to do with that. When I was young, the parents were really, really involved. It was a known thing once a year that we would have a recital and we would show up and dance for 2 hours. We haven’t had it for about 5 years, I think. Ya know it’s with new kids and new parents, the mindset lacks where they need to be involved more. So, that’s kind of where we’re at. We’re trying to get back this year, hopefully, and get more parents involved. CC – Do you have a concern with keepin’ the ballet going? RT – When I took over, there were 5 performances in a year and we easily we had 5 performances in December alone so the numbers have definitely increased a lot. So were getting our name out there more, it’s just, were a non-profit so it’s hard to be big as a non-profit organization. We got a logo about 2 years ago, and I’m getting shirts for the kids. But eventually, were going to have out there more. I want our name out there in the next couple of years a lot more. PK – Do you think the ballet has gotten smaller over the years or at least since you were a child, or is it around the same number of people? RT – Yeah, it got smaller on the boys side. When I was doing it as a junior high kid, the high school kids were giants to me. I felt like they were adults. When they performed, they performed as adults. Even though now, I’m way older than what they were back then, I see these kids in high school and I see them as kids. It’s hard for me to understand that concept where I was a junior high kid, I saw them as adults. And we used to have about 10 boys in the older group, and currently we only have 4. On the girl’s side, the numbers really haven’t changed. I got no problems gettin’ girls to dance, especially when it’s free. The boy’s side is the toughest. PK – Oh nice...I was just gonna ask you a question and I completely blanked... CC – What’s the most important thing you try and teach the kids through dance? I mean obviously you want the kids to perform well, but is there any other methods? RT – Yeah, definitely. Two things really, I teach them how to adapt. As a dancer, that’s the nature we have to learn how to adapt to changes. Whether that’s something happening on the dance floor, something falls off, they need to learn how to adapt and still perform. I teach them that because in the work force if something happens, you need to adapt and change and complete your task. Pretty much anything in life, you need to learn how to adapt and change. The other thing is opportunities. I tell them everything they try for a first time, use your trying foot. So they always have to try something. Never say “I can’t”, always say a “I can’t.” Whenever I start teaching new steps, they always say, “I can’t do this, it’s too hard,” but by the end of two weeks they will have the step down. So opportunities, you can do it, just put your foot out there and try, and also adapt to your surroundings. PK – You said a number of things, but the dance, like, I personally have no idea what the kind of ballet or dance you do is. So could you explain it? RT – Yeah, it’s called Ballet Folklorico. It’s all set to folk music. Boys wear boots that make noise. It’s not tap, it’s not clogs or anything like that. It’s just a boot. They have nails on the heels and nails on the toes, and that’s what makes the noise. Girls, same thing, but dance shoes. They wear high heels, but special made ones with thicker heels with nails in the toe and the heel, as well and they basically make the noise. The music is all from the past. Basically Mariachi’s, guitar, horns, violin’s, harp’s, bass guitar, mainly that’s what the music comes from. Live vocals, and when you get back further and further it’s just the Indians, and they were all drums. Basic Indian costume, not like Native American but like, gold, china, feathers. But how we dance to it is basically stomping with our feet. The men are portrayed as very masculine, their chest is out, heads up, hands behind their back. Some states are different from others. Jalisco is the main one. If you ever wanna look it up Jalisco is the main attraction when you’re talking about Folklorico dance. That’s the belt, the black tux, the shiny buckles, and the girls have the very colorful skirts. Veracruz, Veracruz is very hot, so the dresses are always white and light. The guys, same thing baggier clothing. But the Veracruz, it’s a lot more faster, which is the main difference. CC – Wait you said something earlier about machetes? What was that about? RT – Nayarit, a state in Mexico, they are famous for sugar canes. So back when the guys were working the sugar cane fields they would use machetes to cut them down. In their off time, they would dance and show off to the females. So they’d use their machetes and go down and hit it between their legs. Spinning them, throwing them, blindfolded, doing whatever to show off and it turned into a dance. Somewhere along the line, someone said ‘Let’s make this one solid dance’ and they thought of choreography and just to showcase what it used to be back in the day. CC – Is it some of the older men that do that? RT – Yeah just the high school guys. I was almost not ready to do it myself. It’s new this year for the kids. We did it like 4 or 5 years ago. It’s something that the older group does. In the older group of guys, my youngest is like 13 and is borderline mature immature. But my oldest boy is 18 and I really want him to do it. I asked him ‘hey do you basically wanna have knives in your hands?’ He has to be responsible and he’s getting there. Not there yet, they all practice with sticks, but I was about that age when I started dancing with knives. It’s kind of an eye-opener for the kids. In a way to stay involved, because a lot of the time, they don’t wanna do it. They get to that age and they say ‘This is girly stuff, man, I don’t wanna do it.’ But when they dance with machetes and see the sparks flying they say ‘Whoa this is cool, I wanna do this.’ CC – So is this something that they get into and they just embrace the fear? RT – Yeah, the machetes...they can hurt. We dull them a little bit, but if they hit it will cut you. And when you hit them together they spark up. And ya know just having that mentality of I could cut myself, I have machetes between my legs. Yeah, it’s a little scary, but definitely a way to challenge yourself. PK – Teaching this seems like it has deep roots in your culture and history. I would feel really proud of it and show it off to people. So I guess, tell us what teaching this class has taught you and does for you. RT – Many of the students are my cousins. So I feel that I am doing my part to keep the tradition alive. I feel like it’s my family responsibility to kind of like keep the tradition alive. But in terms of other kids, I want to keep the tradition alive. My dad said, ‘Learn something, master it, and teach it to others.’ I am very proud of it. I still dance and perform because of that. Don’t tell anyone that though (Laughs). Sometimes I still perform at special events like birthdays, anniversaries, and even funerals. It’s to the point now that I have to say ‘No, it’s the kids’ turn to perform.’ There are sometimes that I do perform because I am proud. Teaching, the same thing, I try and teach the kids, not only the steps, but the history behind it and the life skills that come along with it. A lot of songs mean different things. Jalisco is all about macho in front of girls and trying to court them. Court them... that’s the proper term back in the day. Pretty much the biggest thing you see a lot of showing off. Vera Cruz is La Bomba which I’m sure you guys have heard of. This is basically a wedding song. They would play it in Vera Cruz and have the groom and bride tie a bow with their feet to show unity. So basically this gets performed only at weddings. PK – That’s impressive (Laughs) RT – And we have kids that can do that. We have middle school aged kids that can tie bows with their feet. We dance on little boxes and with trays on our heads. Also blindfolded. CC – So when you’re ready to give it up do you think it’s going to be hard to give it up and pass down the leadership? RT – I think I’m excited. Right now, I don’t have anyone...Well Victor, my oldest one who is really, really good. But the only thing that some kids lack is teaching. Getting in front of the kids and actually talkin, ya know? But that’s just...he needs to get more involved on it. With me, how I started was that I always was in the front. I wanted to learn, and the teacher was in the front so I always was up front. And then I started to teach the classes the steps and grew into it. But yeah, I’m pretty excited when that day comes. The founder, my teacher, he was old when he stepped down. He wasn’t dancing anymore, but he would direct. He would let his student teachers teach. So that’s what I see myself doing. Being old, and my knees broken, with a cane still teaching and stuff. Ya know, until someone comes along and really takes over. CC – What other Mexican traditions are there besides dancing? RT – Food, Music...when it comes to Mexican traditions it’s really food, music, and dance. Whether it’s Folklorico dancing or modern dancing, like La Bomba. When you go to a family gathering there’s gonna be food, there’s gonna be music, and there’s gonna be dancing no matter what. So that’s kinda the big three for us. When it comes to folk...folk stuff... the dancing, folk music will always be there. Wherever there is a Mexican drinking tequila, there will always be music going on. Mariachi music is the folk music. But it’s kinda falling off in the area. We’re trying to keep it alive. We're the only group in the Quad City area that does this kinda stuff. The only other group that does this, Back of the Yards, they’re really, really good. But they have the support and financial help of the city of Chicago. So that’s kinda what we lack, the financial support. Performance money is for the kids and to keep this group alive. Folk, traditional food will always be there. Wherever there is a grandmother teaching a mother how to cook and a mother teaching a daughter how to cook, food will always be there. And with how many Mexican restaurants we have, it’s physical. Things keep being passed down. PK – Do you guys do a lot of promotional stuff in the Quad Cities? RT – The big...for a while no. Basically we just get out there at festivals and then there was a gap where we didn’t have anything in March. But people have been picking us up more in the past 2 years. Facebook is huge. We have gotten a lot of performance requests through Facebook. We posted some videos on YouTube and stuff like that has been huge thing for us. As far as advertisement and things like that, no. We got shirts and that’s basically it. I’m gonna get some magnets for my car so when I drive to performances I’ll stick that on the side of the car. CC – Besides having a strong base with your family and stuff, do you think the Quad Cities has either helped or hindered how big you guys have gotten? Do you embrace it? RT – I love the Quad Cities. Especially Augustana, they have helped us a lot. We were at Centennial Hall for a couple of performances. They have given us opportunities. Same thing with Ambrose, we performed there many times. I think overall, the Quad Cities Fiestas, the Quad City Fiestas, has given us opportunities to come perform. As far as financial support, we never have a sponsor or anything like that. Chicago is really really professional. We’re a non-profit. Even if we have financial support, and if were sponsored, and we have kids come in, this is no studio. We don’t have a studio. I would love to have mirrors so I could see the kids behind me. And we used to perform when the dance room was at the gym. And they had a pretty large studio in there with mirrors and everything. Now they have...it’s kinda small. PK/CC – Yeah RT – Right over by PepsiCo. Now we’ve been over there, but it was really small. If I could achieve that, like my own studio, a place we could call home, then I die the next day that’s fine. I’d be happy. One of the biggest things we are working towards is our own studio. PK – In terms of the future, what is future of Ballet Folklorico? What do you see for the future of it? I know you said it was kind of diminishing. Obviously you’re going to be doing your best to keep it alive but where do you see the future of this? RT – The main thing is making sure these kids stay out of trouble and making sure these kids obtain life skills. As long as those two things happen, the group will be successful. If it turns into a professional group and we go to China or something like that...great. But as long as these kids, because they’re very young, get life skills, and learn something about the culture then were successful. Parents that care about their future will keep this group going for strong into the future. The main thing see I is with parents, I’m not a parent so I don’t know how hard it is, well I’m not sure how tough it’s going to be. They are letting their kids decide. Ya know, when I first started I wanted not to do it but my mom made me do it. She knew the importance of the tradition. Some parents are easy benders and their kids...they say don’t wanna do it and they don’t make em, which I’m fine with. I have seen a lot of talented kids come in and participate for a couple of years then they stop. I tell the parents ‘Make sure they’re involved because they’re very talented. If you quit for soccer, basketball, whatever. Just make sure they’re involved because they are not gonna learn much just sitting at home and being not socially involved in their community. CC – Besides the life skills, how do you think this will help them with their future? Can they put this on college applications? RT – Yeah, at Alleman I had to do mandatory community service. So this is basically what I did. I was a student-teacher. At Ambrose, I put that at the top of my extra-curricular activities...student teacher. Colleges qualified me as a leader... ‘He can help be a leader in a club, be a leader in whatever sport he does. I think it’s very helpful to put on a college application. I tell my kids all the time if you stick it through colleges are gonna see that you worked with a community service program from 4 until 18. All they want you to do is stay at the school for four years. They saw you stick it however many years with another group. As far as like, I do this all the time, I tell my supervisors...this is probably why I got promoted 2 years ago. Every work order they gave me, I looked at is as a song. I learned that step, I learned that step, I learned that step, and I got it down. I don’t write down notes really. I just memorize sustenance. It’s like dancing to a song. PK – Well, I don’t have any other questions CC – Yeah that was so interesting. RT – Do you have the correct spelling? RT – (Spells out Folklorico, Jalisco, Vera Cruz) PK – It’s interesting to listen to because it’s a different tradition. Like, I’m German, Italian, and Irish. I’m Italian and were all crazy, our parties seem very similar. Lots of people all over the place. So it was real cool to hear a different culture. RT – You Italians...I don’t know how you guys eat that much. Like 7 meals. I used to hang with an Italian guy and I was over for dinner and I was full after the first meal. PK – Yeah, you got to pace yourself. It’s heavy food, pasta, sausages. Yeah my mom has eight cousins and I have like 30 cousins just on my mom’s side alone. So it’s always packed with food everywhere. RT – My dad’s one of eight. Terronez is a really popular Hispanic name in the Quad Cities on the Iowa side. My mom was a Ramirez on the Illinois side. So in high school I had to ask Hispanic females what your grandma’s name. CC/RT/PK – (Laughs) RT – Seriously. My cousin made that mistake, thanks god they didn’t get involved and found out before they anything happened. CC – Even growing up in the Quad Cities, I never realized how big the Spanish population is. This is such a neat project. RT – I still don’t know all my cousins. People always hear my last name and ask me if I know such and such, I’m like ‘I’m sure I do, but I just don’t know him yet.’ Ray Terronez is a popular name in the Quad Cities. There’s at least 5 of us. I don’t know what my dad was thinking. We didn’t need another. Also, some people ask me if I’m the dart player. And I’m like ‘No.’ PK – Yeah I googled you before, for our initial research, and I saw that. RT – Yeah (Laughs) That’s not me. CC – Lastly, do you have anything else to say about the box cars. Just for a little additional information. RT – Yeah, so basically my grandparents were born in a box car. They had nothing but to live in a box car. That’s what the railroad gave them. Eventually they saved enough to buy a house up the street. This house was basically a two bed room house for 8 kids. So it was my dad, his brothers would have to sleep on the porch or in the living room. The girls would sleep on the floor and in the kitchen. It was really small. They built onto it, but it’s still small. I couldn’t imagine having 8 kids and having to buy food, and having to feed all those mouths with just my grandfather working. A lot of people don’t understand that some people can make it on that. Other’s think they cheat the system, but really Hispanics can make a good meal out of nothing. All we need is tortillas and beans and they can all sit. Working at the government and working with welfare, I know this happens. A lot of people think they are cheating the system but realistically you can go get a McChickens. McChickens are one dollar. CC – That’s a really awesome story, like coming from a box car...I wish I knew my family history. PK – Yeah I don’t really know mine which is sad. It’s really cool how you’ve all stayed in the Quad Cities. My grandma and grandpa lived in California for a bit and then settled in Chicago, but now I have two of my aunts in my hometown and then an aunt and uncle two towns over. So I know from experience having family close is cool. RT – I have cousins in Kansas City and Indiana. I have always thought of moving to Kansas City because I love that town. But I always think about what I’m gonna miss here. The dancing, teaching my cousins Judo, it wouldn’t work out. I wouldn’t be happy. Were so used to hanging out together and if we move away and don’t have that every weekend thing then we won’t be happy. We grew up like that. CC – Yeah, well I think that’s all we need PK – We greatly appreciate your time. CC – Yeah thank you so much RT – No problem! |