Inventory of the Estefana Maldonado Watts Letters SPC.2022.030
Jesus Padilla
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
2022-09
University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson, CA 90747
Business Number: 310-243-3895
archives@csudh.edu
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Estefana Maldonado Watts Letters
Creator:
Maldonado, Estefana
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2022.030
Physical Description:
1 box
(215 letters)
Physical Description:
.38 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1964-1967
Language of Material:
English
, Spanish; Castilian
.
Container: 1
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Estefana Maldonado was born in 1905 and with her husband Ernesto Maldonado, had two children. Estefana and Ernesto raised
their sons, Nalo and Demetrio Ernesto, in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts. Estefana lived in the area during the
Watts Riots of '65 and expresses her reaction to the riots in letters she wrote in the 1960s.
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This collection was processed by Jesus Padilla in September of 2022.
The Estefana Maldonado Watts Letters Collection (1964-1967) contains one box and .38 linear feet of letters sent from Maldonado
to her son, Demetrio Ernesto Maldonado. The letters began in 1964 when Demetrio first went away to school. Demetrio's exact
location is unclear, although several letters reference that he spent time in Texas while away from home and at some point
he transitioned into military service. While the letters are centered around her relationship with Demetrio, they give insight
into the life of a Mexican American family in 1960s Watts. Estefana uses the letters almost as journal entries and writes
about extended family and friends, neighborhood happenings, and immediate family updates. Estefana also consistently updates
Demetrio on the neighborhood boys that joined the armed forces during early years of the Vietnam war, either by draft or voluntarily.
A recurring topic of discussion is family marriages and new relationships among the younger generations. Estefana and Ernesto
Maldonado owned several homes in the South Los Angeles area and rented to tenants in the homes that they did not live in.
While they had this passive income, the letters consistently show that they were financially unstable. Part of the reason
for their financial troubles was Estefana's ill health, as she was consistently in need of rest, medication, or doctor visits.
Also contributing to that instability was the fact that Ernesto and Nalo Maldonado both struggled to maintain a stable job.
Four letters in the collection also reference the events of the 1965 Watts Riots as Maldonado expresses her immediate thoughts
and reactions to the aftermath of the riots. The final letters in the collection show that Demetrio was still away from home
but there is no indication of a possible return in the near future.
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materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Watts Riot, Los Angeles, Calif., 1965
Watts (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Mexican American families
Mexican Americans
1964-1965
Language of Material: English, Spanish; Castilian.
This series of letters was written between July 20, 1964 and December 25, 1965. While the themes of the collection remain
consistent throughout, the majority of the letters in this collection were written in this time period. Immediately after
Demetrio went away, Estefana was the most active in her writing because it was the first time she ever had to say goodbye
to any of her immediate family. As a result of her extremely active writing, many of the letters speak on overlapping topics.
The first two letters referencing the Watts Riots are in this series:
- August 21, 1965: She briefly mentions what she saw first hand after the Watts Riots of '65. The looting, the stealing, the destruction, and the closed down stores all around the city.
- August 22, 1965: She speaks on the effects of the Watts Riots and expresses how she feels about the events and the people involved. Scared, shocked, worried, etc.
1966
Language of Material: English, Spanish; Castilian.
This series of letters was written between January 25, 1966 and December 27, 1966. The amount of letters written in this time
period begins to decrease for two reasons. First, Demetrio is taking much longer to reply to Estefana and as a result, she
grows frustrated. So much so that she begins to question how much he cares about his family.
Second, Demetrio makes a trip back home after being away and there are no letters written during that time. The last two letters
referencing the Watts Riots are in this series:
- May 25, 1966: She expresses that there are rumors of another riot happening in Watts. She feels a sense of unease and states it is not safe, detailing an incident where Chicano kids harassed her husband.
- June 4, 1966: Estefana believes tensions are calming down in Watts and hopes rioters think differently next time. She also describes her own personal understanding of the events that caused the Watts riots. She mentions the fact that the police officer was set free and how that has caused anger, sparking thoughts of another riot in Los Angeles.
1967
Language of Material: English, Spanish; Castilian.
This series of letters was written between January 3, 1967 and August 10, 1967. This series contains the least amount of letters
in the collection and while Demetrio is still away, it is unclear why the letters ended abruptly. The topics in the letters
continue to revolve around family events, financial struggles, and Estefana's health.