Casa Latinos Unidos Oral History Collection, 2026

Series 1: Casa Latinos Unidos Oral History Interviews, 2026Close Series 1: Casa Latinos Unidos Oral History Interviews, 2026

• Description: 1: Erlinda Gonzales-Berry

  Biography

  Erlinda Gonzales-Berry was born on August 23, 1942. She is a writer, researcher, retired professor, community organizer, and Latina-American from Roy, New Mexico. She began her academic career at the University of New Mexico with an undergraduate degree in Physical Education. After teaching in California for a few years, Gonzales-Berry returned to New Mexico for a master’s and PhD in Romance Languages. After teaching Spanish at Earlham College in Indiana for four years, she taught Spanish at the University of New Mexico for nearly two decades. During that time, she was elected Spanish department chair and received an Outstanding Teacher’s award and began a program to aid Chicano students with their transition into the academic environment. In 1997, Gonzales-Berry moved to Oregon State University as the department chair of the Ethnic Studies department. In her time at OSU from 1997-2007, she served on numerous boards, notably the Oregon Commission for Hispanic Affairs and the National Advisory Board of the U.S. Latino Literary Heritage Project. In 2007, Gonzales-Berry retired from OSU and began founding Casa Latinos Unidos. After serving as its director until 2015, Gonzales-Berry retired from her position. She is currently fully retired and living in Oregon with her husband, Edward Berry, and her daughter.

  Interviewed by Dr. Joel Zapata and his oral history course students, Erlinda Gonzales-Berry details her early life and academic career that led to the founding and development of the non-profit organization, Casa Latinos Unidos. She traces her roots as a young Latina woman in New Mexico and the feeling of community the Mexican-American population had there, to the feelings of disconnect she felt from her community while living in Corvallis, Oregon. Gonzales-Berry describes the challenges she faced reaching out to the Latino population in Corvallis, where she explains, they were nowhere and everywhere. She goes on to discuss the obstacles she was met with while creating a non-profit, including the creation of a board, finding funding and the tensions between committee members. Throughout the challenges, she recalls in great fondness the community that was created, the events they hosted and her love for all people that were vital to the success of Casa Latinos Unidos. She emphasizes the role the Yellow House had in increasing the notability of Casa. The Yellow House was a landmark on the Oregon State University campus, making it easy for community members to find and remember. Additionally, Gonzales-Berry’s account details how Latina women’s role in the Corvallis community was vital for the success of community events and outreach such as dinners and Zumba classes. The interview ends with a handful of follow-up questions from the Oregon State University history students in attendance.

  Erlinda Gonzales-Berry Interview (01:05:27), conducted by Dr. Joel Zapata, is available onine with captions; transcript available upon request.

  Dates: January 20, 2026
  Location: Series 1: Casa Latinos Unidos Oral History Interviews, 2026
• Description: 2: Maria Hart

  Biography

  Maria Hart was served as a board member for Casa Latinos Unidos from 2007 to 2015. The second youngest of seven siblings, she was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1960. At two years old, her family moved to Guadalajara, where she spent her childhood. As an adult in 1985, she worked at a Mexico branch of Motorola, where Hart met her husband who was an engineer for Motorola. After visiting his home in Phoenix, Arizona, Hart moved there to be with him, and they got married in 1987. Following the death of her parents, Hart and her husband moved to Corvallis, Oregon in 2005. There, she met Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, and become involved with Casa Latinos Unidos, which initially was a women’s organization called Organizacion Latinas Unidas. Hart spent a decade volunteering her time towards the organization, helping to facilitate impactful programs like interpretation services, parenting workshops, and community festivals. Hart’s time with Casa Latinos Unidos came to a close when her husband became disabled and she stepped in as his caretaker. She now works at a psychiatric hospital in Salem, Oregon as a Spanish interpreter for patients. She is no longer directly involved with Casa Latinos Unidos, but has remained close to some of the women she met during her time there.

  This discussion begins with Hart’s marriage and her move from Mexico to Arizona and then to Oregon. Hart recounts the origins of the non-profit and the beginnings of her relationship with Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, including her first impressions of Gonzales-Berry and the Zumba class that introduced them. The organization was originally called Organización Latinas Unidas, and she refers to it as OLU. She addresses much of the community programming, from the festivals, the interpretive work, the passport application event, and outreach/workshops with parents of Latino children. CLU was a women-centered group, and children were involved as well, and Hart notes the importance of these facts. Much of the interview is dedicated to talking about the dance performances that took place, the dresses that were made for the dances, and the origins of Hart's dream of becoming a dancer. Hart discusses dance being a very large part of her experience, and she talks about this endeavor with much admiration. She describes the outfits the group danced in and the process of making some of them, as well as their time spent practicing weekly. There is also discussion about the challenges faced by the organization, such as when Gonzales-Berry stepped back, but had to return after the new director drained the organization's funds. Community reception was discussed, complications with other working Latina women, and the reactions from local news outlets. There’s a discussion of the importance of food to the organization and some of Hart’s favorite dishes that were staples in the group. The interview closes with details about Hart's life in Mexico as a child. She describes living in a crowded house with her extended family, her job delivering the tortillas that her mom made for a living, and her father's job in the Bracero Program.

  Maria Hart Interview (53:06), conducted by Hanna Holmgren, is available online with captions; transcript available upon request.

  Dates: February 4, 2026
  Location: Series 1: Casa Latinos Unidos Oral History Interviews, 2026
• Description: 3: Delfinia Hernandez

  Biography

  Delfina Hernandez moved from Madison, Wisconsin, to Corvallis, Oregon, in 2007. Leaving behind her community, she found that the Latino community in Corvallis was lacking. She began self-publishing a newspaper in Spanish promoting local Spanish resources and news. Her paper reached Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, who reached out to Hernandez to help form Casa Latinos Unidos. Hernandez remained heavily involved in engaging in and implementing the outreach and services of Casa Latinos Unidos until she moved to Nebraska, where she currently lives.

  In this interview, Delfina Hernandez details her introduction to Corvallis in 2007 following a move from Madison, Wisconsin with her husband and her young daughter. A stay-at-home mom, Hernandez describes noticing a lack of community which led her to creating a Spanish newspaper that she independently wrote, printed, and distributed. Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, key founder of Casa Latinos Unidos, read the newspaper and reached out to Hernandez to become involved in the organization very early in its formation. Hernandez discusses the role that the Yellow House played in the forming of Casa Latinos Unidos, as well as the services offered, like classes on English, Zumba, and nutrition, as well as translation and legal services. Hernandez helped to provide childcare for many of the mothers that utilized these services, providing critical support to the Latina women in the community. She describes the traditional folk-dance group that started during her time there, as well as how Casa Latinos Unidos helped herself and other women to strengthen their confidence and facilitate their growth. Hernandez concludes the interview by emphasizing how important the bilingual services and the support from Casa Latinos Unidos was to her personal development and sense of community.

  Delfina Hernandez Interview (34:59), conducted by by Maggie Wood, is available onine with captions; transcript available upon request.

  Dates: February 7, 2026
  Location: Series 1: Casa Latinos Unidos Oral History Interviews, 2026
• Description: 4: Dee Curwen

  Biography

  Dee Curwen was the director of the Multicultural Center in Corvallis, Oregon. She grew up in a small town in Virginia, 50 miles from the Appalachian Mountains. Her father immigrated to the United States from England, and her mother immigrated from Russia. Curwen’s mother chose not to teach Curwen her language due to the pervasive xenophobia of the time period. Curwen attended the College of William and Mary in Virginia, then went on to work in Washington D.C. during the Vietnam War era, where she encountered many marches, protests, and other political activism. Having had an interest in Oregon since reading about the Oregon Trail in the fourth grade, Curwen found an opportunity to move when she was accepted into the University of Oregon for a graduate degree in Special Education in 1971. Curwen has remained in Oregon since then, first teaching English Language to students at Linn Benton Community College. During her time there, she began working to establish a multicultural center, which happened to be near Oregon State University, using a vacant building that the university had available. It was during that process that Curwen first started working with Erlinda Gonzales-Berry. Since the Multicultural Center’s operation, Curwen has retired, but she continues to volunteer there in her spare time.

  In this interview, Dee Curwen starts by describing her upbringing as a child of two immigrants, and how this shaped her life perspective and work with the Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center (CMLC / Multicultural Center) and Casa Latinos Unidos. Curwen describes her path from college in Virginia to her work in Washington D.C., to graduate school at the University of Oregon, and eventually to teaching at Linn-Benton Community College and working with the Multicultural Center and Oregon State University. Curwen then recounts how she started working with Erlinda Gonzales-Berry in the initial process of creating a multicultural center, including obtaining nonprofit status and locating a physical space. The building was called the Yellow House and became significant to the multicultural community due to its visibility, both literally and socially. Curwen then recounts Gonzales-Berry approaching her to begin a nonprofit for the area’s growing Latino demographic and that the Multicultural Center offered Casa Latinos Unidos an office space in the Yellow House. Curwen describes the collaboration that occurred between the Multicultural Center, Casa Latinos Unidos, and the Department of Education, where schools put on panels for parents, and the Multicultural Center helped community members obtain citizenship. She mentions that the collaboration and support of both organizations was critical in the growth of each one. Curwen describes the Yellow House’s significance to her, starting with the location on 9th street near a bus stop and OSU’s campus, and the welcoming environment that was intentionally curated inside. She then gives several anecdotes about individuals who utilized the center for education and community, and the impact it had on Curwen personally. As Curwen notes, she worked with hundreds (if not thousands) of immigrants since the mid-1980s to gain citizenship or find a community where they could see themselves as a part of Corvallis. Curwen recounts the Yellow House as more than a house that was used to gather, it was a home where lives were transformed and community was created, as well as sustained. Curwen stresses the importance of listening to one another and how this was shaped by her natural desire to talk to as many people as she can, as learning about others is a passion for her. Curwen is then asked about her role within the center as the director, as well as her role within Casa Latinos Unidos. She describes herself as a support person who facilitates organizational growth. She then discusses the challenges of launching the Multicultural Center, like establishing and complying with a legal nonprofit identity, operating within that organizational framework, and learning how to be adaptable to external restrictions. Next, Curwen describes some of the events she attended at Casa Latinos Unidos, like performances and meals, as well as school programs like Even Start and other education advocacy groups. Lastly, Curwen notes that though the organizations were two separate entities, their combined presence was mutually strengthening for the community and offered a place for people to become active participants in shaping that community. One of the most notable contributions that Curwen made to Casa Latinos Unidos was when she made space for the community to meet in the Yellow House, for free. Her generosity allowed connections to be made, laughter to be spread, and voices to be heard.

  Dee Curwen Interview (43:02), conducted by Charlie Mackey, is available online with captions; transcript available upon request.

  Dates: February 24, 2026
  Location: Series 1: Casa Latinos Unidos Oral History Interviews, 2026