ABSTRACT
For Puerto Ricans, telling life stories is not a process of passing down treasured family lore to later generations who no longer share the same class position as their immigrant forbears. When Puerto Rican women began migrating to New York in the 1920s, they joined Jewish, Italian, and Irish women in the garment factories. They came with fine skills in hand needlework, a reflection of how extensive the cottage industry on the Island had become. The relationship of women to work was an entry point into considering broader issues of community and family, ideology and culture. Anastasia’s story brought to life the harsh realities of growing up during the Depression in rural Puerto Rico. This chapter provides a renewed respect for the struggles of garment workers, for their steadfastness, ingenuity, and resolve in the midst of an alienating, oppressive, and often hostile environment.
