Interviewer (I): Well, first of all, can you tell me what your name is?

Beatriz (B): My name is Beatriz Romo.

I: Where are you from?

B: I am from Guadalajara, Jalisco.

I: How long have you lived in Southwest Detroit?

B: Uh, I've been living here since 2002, so, 22 years.

I: Almost as old as me [laughs]. I'm also from Jalisco. What brought you to Southwest Detroit? Do you have family here?

B: Yes, I have family here.

I: And it's that why you decided to move here?

B: Yes, that's why.

I: I see. And, what…what do you like the most about living here in Mexicantown?

B: Oh, okay. The Latino community is beautiful. We get a lot of visitors, and I like meet and spend time with people, and teach them about our Mexican culture, which is beautiful. We get school field trips [at Xochi’s Gift shop], so I like to talk to people.

I: And when you first moved to Detroit, if you still remember, did you expect to find such a large Latino community?

B: No, no. It took me by surprise (chuckles).

I: Yes, because a lot of people talk about Los Angeles, New York, but not about the Latino community here.

B: And even when I arrived in 2002, there weren't as many Latinos speaking Spanish. I mean, there weren't many places where people spoke Spanish. But now there are. You can get help for almost everything, but it didn't use to be like this.

I: What do you think about the fact that the city council is investing more in creating murals in the city that depict Hispanic culture and that are created by Hispanic artists?

B: That's really good, really good and interesting because now families or the people who come from outside of the community get to know more about our murals and our people who had an impact or who were influential. It's beautiful.