Rachel Mata grew up in the Marcos di Niza housing projects, south of downtown Phoenix. Over the course of her career, she worked her way into a counselor position in a federal program.
Rachel Mata was born on December 29th, 1936, in Phoenix, Arizona. She and her brother were both born in their family home at 1008 S 4th Ave Phoenix, Arizona. Their mother was a stay-at-home mom 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 but was discharged after two months. Rachel, Manuel, and their siblings all attended Lowell School while living in Harmon Park.
[Future clip: 1:08 and 1:57, Births] [Insert clip: 3:30, Describing their mother]
At that time, there was discrimination towards Hispanics and African Americans from White people throughout Phoenix, Arizona. Manuel Gomez 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]
Rachel Mata remembers that every Saturday Native traders would come down from their reservations to Washington St. to sell their jewelry, rugs, and pottery. At the time, she didn’t appreciate their goods, since it was part of her life to see them often. Now, she reflects on that time and believes that if she had known of their significance she would’ve gone back and bought their goods to appreciate them.
Rachel and Manny 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.
[Insert clip: 22:41,] [Insert clip: 1:13:22,]
Manuel Aranda Gomez considers the Marcos di Niza neighborhood to be, in some ways, part of South Phoenix. Over the course of her live, she came to see education as one of the biggest priorities of her life. She believes that education is important and instills that into her children and grandchildren so they can have a grateful life.
Narrator | Manuel Aranda Gomez, Rachel Mata |
| Birthdate | December 29th, 1936 |
| Place of Origin | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Place of Residence | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Role | Counselor, Supervisor |
| Years active in South Phoenix | 1936- |
| 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: Desire Aranda |
| Story Written by | Student Researcher: Abraham Chavez |
South Phoenix Oral History Project 