Manuel Gomez Aranda was a barber for 20 years. He worked at Freddy’s Barbershop which was located in the Marco de Niza projects.
Manuel Gomez Aranda was born on June 16th, 1938, in Phoenix, Arizona. He and his sister Rachel were born in their home at 1008 S 4th Ave Phoenix, Arizona. Their mother was a stay-at-home wife who took care of them and their siblings, she was also the finance person of the house, and she would always be in the kitchen either making tortillas on the grill or washing clothes. Their father worked in a WPA government job, then he was drafted into the Navy in February 1944. Aranda’s father was discharged a year later on February 10th, 1945. At the time, Rachel, Manuel, and their siblings all attended Lowell School while living in the Marcos di Niza Housing Projects.
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At that time, there was discrimination towards Hispanics and African Americans from White people throughout Phoenix, Arizona. Manuel remembered going to the movie theater on Washington Street in Downtown Phoenix, where Hispanics and Africans sat on balconies and not on the main floor. At the time, he didn’t really notice that this was due to segregation. It was “just the way it was.” Most Hispanic people he knew lived in the Marcos de Niza housing projects at 305 w. Pima Street, while Black people lived at the Matthew Henson projects on 7th Avenue and west Buckeye Road.
[Future clip: 24:19, Discrimination in a theater] [Insert clip: 1:00:27, Not aware of segregation]
Manuel and his sister remembered community events near Marco de Niza were a big part of their childhood. Harmon Park near downtown hosted community events regularly, like the Fiestas Patrias on September 16th. There were many fun activities during those parties like racing, climbing grease poll, and booths with food. Fiestas Patrias is a part of Mexican culture and in the southern parts of Phoenix, Arizona the Mexican culture has close ties to the people.
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Manuel Gomez Aranda considers the Marcos di Niza neighborhood to be, in some ways, part of South Phoenix. As he grew up and became an adult, he sought to be a great example to his children and supported them through everything in school and life.
Narrator | Manuel Gomez Aranda, Rachel Mata |
| Birthdate | June 16th, 1938 |
| Place of Origin | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Place of Residence | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Role | Barber, Plant foreman at Marcos di Niza High School (for 21 years) |
| Years active in South Phoenix | 1938- |
| Interview Date | 11th October, 2023 |
| Location | South Mountain Community College |
| Duration | 1:14:52 |
| Interviewed by | Faculty Researchers: Dr. Summer Cherland and Dr. Travis May Gomez Aranda’s granddaughter: Desiree Aranda |
| Story Written by | Student Researcher: Abraham Chavez |
South Phoenix Oral History Project 