Oral history interview with Casiano Corpus Jr. conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on February 14, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Corpus Jr. details a difficult childhood in the Philippines, where society is highly socioeconomically stratified. He recalls his parents working a number of jobs to support their large family, and as soon as he finished his primary schooling, he also started working in construction. When his father was finally petitioned by his uncle to move to the United States, Corpus was at first reluctant to go, since he had a familiar life in the Philippines, but has come to love the United States and the life he created for himself. Immediately after moving to the United States, their family landed in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Corpus began working a number of jobs. He started out as a busboy at a Chinese restaurant before deciding that he wanted to work in a casino and moved to Union Plaza. His current job is as a porter at Palace Station, where he has been for the past 31 years. He has also been working to unionize Palace Station and Station casinos with the Culinary Union for the past twelve years. He talks about the hunger strike he organized, why he organizes with no fear, and what he hopes to see out of his efforts throughout the interview.
Archival Collection
First played in Las Vegas with Jack E. Leonard in 1960. Only worked at two hotels during his 24-year Las Vegas career - Flamingo and riviera
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Newspaper article about the Frontier casino executive Mort Saiger from the Hughes Nevada Preview. The article is laminated onto a wooden presentation plaque.
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Static view of the Hacienda Horse and Rider sign; cuts to the "Let's Go A-Go-Go" performers talking and then viewing the Las Vegas Strip from a balcony at The Dunes. Behind the performers, parts of the Strip can be seen including The Sands, The Sahara, Guardian Angel Cathedral, The Desert Inn, and downtown in the distance. Other sequences show the Flamingo and the Dunes sign from the elevated viewpoint. Cuts to Caesars Palace construction site where owner Jay Sarno leads a tour through the property; Sarno walks the group through the pool area where construction laborers work on the just poured swimming pool. Footage then cuts to a dressing room scenes as women apply makeup followed by clips from a performance in various outfits. Footage then cuts to the Hacienda pool where the act meets with Hacienda Casino owner Judy Bailey; group is filmed near the Thunderbird Casino driving away in a Corvette. Footage also shows The Riviera marquee featuring an ad for Betty Grable starring in Hello Dolly with smaller acts touted including Shecky Greene, Tony Sandler, and Ralph Young. Original media 16mm, b/w, aspect ratio 4 x 3, frame size 2048 x 1556. From The Production Company Audiovisual Collection (MS-00930) -- Digitized audiovisual material file.
Moving Image
Arrangement note: Series IV. Internal: Social
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Oral history interview with Mariano Minero conducted by Laurents Banuelos-Benitez on December 6, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada: An Initiative of the UNLV University Libraries. Minero recalls his early life and childhood in El Salvador with his family. Minero discusses the political climate of El Salvador after the Salvadorean civil war, his family's involvement in the coffee industry, which influenced his family's choice to immigrate to the United States in the 1990s. He talks about what brought him to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004. Finally, he talks about his experiences working in Las Vegas and his experiences in the local Culinary Workers Union 226. He describes the importance of the union to his own life, as well as to the larger community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Paris Oddo conducted by Claytee D. White on July 20, 2017 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Oddo discusses her early life in Detroit, Michigan. She recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1984, becoming an electrician, and being a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (I.B.E.W) Local Union 357. Oddo talks about completing a five-year apprenticeship program offered by the Union, and her experience as a female electrician. She remembers her employment at the Nevada Test Site, working closely with radioactive materials, and being diagnosed with illnesses due to radioactive exposure while at the Nevada Test Site. Lastly, Oddo expresses her concerns over nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain.
Archival Collection
