Italians of Albuquerque Oral History Project.

Pallidino family of Albuquerque. (Box 1, Folder 5).

The Italians of Albuquerque Oral History Project is a community research project sponsored and conducted by the University of New Mexico Oral History Program between 1995 and 1996. Originally conceived in 1992, this project was carried out as part of the Oral History Program's research plan, but was also greatly influenced by the themes developed by Nicholas Ciotola for a Masters thesis in the UNM Department of History. Nicholas Ciotola and Carlos Vasquez were co-principal investigators for the project. Funding was provided by the UNM Oral History Program, UNM's Center for Regional Studies, the UNM Graduate Division, and the UNM Division of Continuing Education.

The project documents the history of Italian-Americans in Albuquerque. Issues of adaptation, assimilation, cultural change, and cultural maintenance are also examined. Since the late 19th century, Italian Americans have been involved in various community enterprises including politics, education, religion, and business. Despite the importance of Italian-Americans to the ethnic, economic, and political development of Albuquerque, the history of the community has been largely undocumented, and therefore understudied. This project attempts to fill that void.

Subjects for the interviews were chosen from families who came to Albuquerque during the last two decades of the 19th century and the first three decades of the 20th century. In most cases, second generation members of the families were interviewed; in some cases, third generation members were interviewed.