- Collection:
- Social Change Collection
- Title:
- Arturo Somoza oral history interview, 2018-09-28
- Creator:
- Somoza, Arturo
- Contributor to Resource:
- Yamanouchi, Kelly
- Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia State University Library
- Date of Original:
- 2018-09-28
- Subject:
- Business
Business enterprises
Businesspeople
Business education
Real estate developers
Real estate development
Real estate management
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Cox Communications, Inc. - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
- Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
- Type:
- Sound
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- Arturo Somoza was born in Mexico to a family of entertainers. As a child, he acted in movies and soap operas before starting his own business as a talent agent and promoter. He moved to Atlanta to be with his future wife, and in 1999, he began working with developers to build Plaza Fiesta on Buford Highway. It grew into a 12,000 square foot market with over 100 small businesses, and became a community center for the Latino community in Atlanta.
In this interview, Somoza discusses his difficult beginnings in Atlanta, his business philosophy, and the foundations of Plaza Fiesta. He describes the successes and failures of the Plaza, the ways in which the immigration debate in the United States affected the Latino community, and his desire to provide a space for that community in Atlanta. He describes Buford Highway before and after the Plaza, and how the Plaza impacted not only the Buford Highway area but also the lives of the families who set up their businesses there. - Metadata URL:
- http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/schange/id/843
- IIIF manifest:
- https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/iiif/2/schange:843/manifest.json
- Language:
- eng
- Additional Rights Information:
- This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: Somoza, Arturo interviewed by Kelly Yamanouchi, September 28, 2019, In Whose Hearts is a Highway: The Buford Highway Oral History Project, Social Change Collection, Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University.
- Extent:
- 1:42:34
- Original Collection:
- In Whose Hearts is a Highway: The Buford Highway Oral History Project
https://archivesspace.library.gsu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1696
Social Change Collection - Holding Institution:
- Georgia State University. Special Collections
- Rights:
-
