Even larger-than-life history makers are just people. Like us, they have families of origin, perhaps families they have started, dreams, concerns, work and challenges. Before we can fully understand Maria Moreno as someone who transformed history, we need to get to know her as a person.
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Lilly DeLaTorre (Maria's adult daughter):
My mother was about fifteen when she got married, so she was very young when she got married. My dad was 21. We used to have an old car and we would move from one place to another. My mom would pack the car and they would make something like a bed for us.
Maria Moreno:
The road is our home, the ground us is our table. Any place we go there’s our home.
Lilly:
I don’t remember riding from Texas to California. I don’t remember that, But I do remember when we got to Holtville, that’s when one of the brothers he died at maybe about three months old.
Maria Moreno:
When my first child was born, had no doctor, was born alone, me and my husband. And I didn't know that the woman was supposed to go to the doctor. The second child born, me and my husband alone. The third one born and the same thing…
Abel Moreno (Maria's adult son):
Our family was a big family. Dad couldn’t afford by himself. So, we all got involved in working. I started working in the fields maybe when I was 5 years old. We used to follow the crops as far as Colorado, Utah, then back to California to start the tomato season.
Watch this video detailing Maria’s life. You will hear from a few of Maria’s adult children, as well as from Maria herself. Use what you learn from this video and the previous one to organize the details. Click Arrange It below to organize tiles with details about Maria’s life, family and living conditions.