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Estefana Maldonado Watts Letters *Temporarily Unavailable*

 Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: SPC-2022-030

Scope and Contents

The Estefana Maldonado Watts Letters Collection (1964-1967) contains one box and .38 linear feet of letters sent from Maldonado to her son, Demetrio Ernesto Maldonado. The letters began in 1964 when Demetrio first went away to school. Demetrio’s exact location is unclear, although several letters reference that he spent time in Texas while away from home and at some point he transitioned into military service. While the letters are centered around her relationship with Demetrio, they give insight into the life of a Mexican American family in 1960s Watts. Estefana uses the letters almost as journal entries and writes about extended family and friends, neighborhood happenings, and immediate family updates. Estefana also consistently updates Demetrio on the neighborhood boys that joined the armed forces during early years of the Vietnam war, either by draft or voluntarily. A recurring topic of discussion is family marriages and new relationships among the younger generations. Estefana and Ernesto Maldonado owned several homes in the South Los Angeles area and rented to tenants in the homes that they did not live in. While they had this passive income, the letters consistently show that they were financially unstable. Part of the reason for their financial troubles was Estefana’s ill health, as she was consistently in need of rest, medication, or doctor visits. Also contributing to that instability was the fact that Ernesto and Nalo Maldonado both struggled to maintain a stable job. Four letters in the collection also reference the events of the 1965 Watts Riots as Maldonado expresses her immediate thoughts and reactions to the aftermath of the riots. The final letters in the collection show that Demetrio was still away from home but there is no indication of a possible return in the near future.

Dates

  • 1964-1967

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Availability- August 2024

Beginning in August 2024, this collection is off-site for vendor digitization and is temporarily unavailable for research; with an anticipated return date of January 2025. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please contact the Gerth Archives and Special Collections for any questions.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Biographical / Historical

Estefana Maldonado was born in 1905 and with her husband Ernesto Maldonado, had two children. Estefana and Ernesto raised their sons, Nalo and Demetrio Ernesto, in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts. Estefana lived in the area during the Watts Riots of ‘65 and expresses her reaction to the riots in letters she wrote in the 1960s.

Extent

1 box (215 letters)

.38 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Spanish; Castilian

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Jesus Padilla in September of 2022.

Title
Inventory of the Estefana Maldonado Watts Letters *Temporarily Unavailable*
Status
Completed
Author
Jesus Padilla
Date
2022-09
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson CA 90747
310-243-3895