For my third interview, I decided to try a new spot other than Los Cubanitos Supermarket. After walked around Park Street a little, I came upon CTown Supermarkets, a location Professora Aponte-Aviles recommended. CTown Supermarkets is located on 1744 Park St, Hartford, CT. Immediately upon entering the store, I heard Latin-Caribbean music playing overhead. In the store, there is an area where Spanish food is cooked fresh. In addition to all of this, I heard Spanish being spoken among store-goers and workers. It was clear that CTown Supermarkets was a great place to interview someone due to the fact that it caters toward the Latino community. While walking down an aisle I spotted a younger looking man, probably in his early 30s and decided to introduce myself. His name was Afonso Costa and he is originally from Portugal. I had a great conversation and interview with Afonso and below is our dialogue:<\/p>\n
(Jack) –\u00a0“How long have you lived in Hartford and what was the reason you chose to move to this city?”<\/p>\n
(Afonso) – “I am originally from Portugal, but my family chose to move to the United States when I was just a baby. We originally moved to Arizona, which is where most of my family lives, but I chose to come to Hartford about 4 years ago. My family came to the US for the same reason as most others, for the work. I chose to come to Hartford because a good friend from childhood has lived here for a while now and always said how great this city is, so I chose to give it a shot.”<\/p>\n
(Jack) – “Have you had a good experience living in Hartford?”<\/p>\n
(Afonso) – “Yes, overall I really do love this city. At times it can feel small and I want to branch out more, but it has been great. Working here is good and living is as well because it is decently affordable. I like how different each community is in Hartford, there are so many types of people here, which is great to see and experience.”<\/p>\n
(Jack) – “How would you describe the Latino Culture that exists on Park Street?”<\/p>\n
(Afonso) – “Out of all the places and communities I have visited around Hartford, Park Street definitely has one of the strongest senses of Latino community. Most people you see around Park Street, walking or in the stores, are Latino or Latina. Spanish gets spoken a lot here, especially in stores like CTown, because they cater towards the Latin community. The food and music is a major part of what makes Park Street one of my favorite places to visit, even though I was just a child when we moved, I get a great sense of character from this place, and it makes me proud to be from Portugal.<\/p>\n
(Jack) – “If there is one thing you could change about your experience as a Latino living in this community, what would it be?”<\/p>\n
(Afonso) – “Ah good question, I would have to say that I want to give back more. I want to be more involved with the community programs, especially with the Latino kids. There are a number of youth programs that help out families with young kids, I think these are so great. It would be cool to be a part of one of these, I think its really rewarding and a good cause. So yeah, I think I would push myself to play a bigger role in that sense.”<\/p>\n
(Jack) – “Are there any\u00a0aspects of Park Street that you wish were different?”<\/p>\n
(Afonso) – “I think Park Street can get a bad reputation from those who haven’t spent a lot of time here or even visited once. People can often say Park Street is dirty and there is crime or danger here, but I don’t think that is the case. The people of Park Street and the community is truly special. When you take the time to meet those here and hear about the stories of people and how hard they work, it changes your mind on it. So yeah, I think if I could, I would change the reputation of this place, people just need to experience it.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For my third interview, I decided to try a new spot other than Los Cubanitos Supermarket. After walked around Park Street a little, I came upon CTown Supermarkets, a location Professora Aponte-Aviles recommended. CTown Supermarkets is located on 1744 Park St, Hartford, CT. Immediately upon entering the store, I heard Latin-Caribbean music playing overhead. In … <\/p>\n