History

[Angel Cruz Ortiz]

I was ten when the family move from Puerto Rico to The Bronx, NY in August of 1968. Being dirt poor while living in Puerto Rico I remember fighting with a friend over a penny on the ground. So there was no money for a coke or any drink. The reason we fought for that penny was because we could get five pieces of candy at the store. And belive me that was big.
Now back to NY. The building we moved into had a liquor store on the first floor. The owner of the store also owned the whole bulding and I remember my father taking me to the store to meet Al. Somehow I came out of there with a Saturday job cleaning and dusting and restocking the shelves with liquor bottles. I still remember when at the end of the day he payed me 2 bucks. I could not believe my eyes, 2 bucks. I lived in the fifth floor and let me tell you I never ran up those stairs faster than I did that day. I scared the heck out of my mother as I busted my way into the apartment. I was yelling "Mom Mom this is the best country in the world. I just made 2 buck. It was amazing one day I'm dirt poor in Puerto Rico and the next I'm earning 2 buck a week. What a country!!