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An interview with a number of students who have participated in the Art in Action summer camp program over the years.

enFAMILIA, Inc., the organization behind Art in Action, was created to provide Art education and Educational programs to help improve and preserve family life. Since its incorporation in 2000, enFAMILIA has worked in collaboration with forty-two (42) groups that include faith-based organizations, social service agencies, academic and art institutions. These partnerships have allowed enFAMILIA to provide over 240 school children with art education annually, as well as 1,500 adults with marriage and family education training.

Professional artists who have graduated or are attending universities throughout the United States such as, Juilliard, University of Miami, and New York University, among others, come to Homestead for two months in the summer and volunteer as teachers for the Art in Action summer camp. The camp is intended to recognize and foster local young talented children by opening up opportunities for their future, providing avenues of self-expression, and stimulating thoughts about issues of social impact. The Camp encompasses a diverse and intense curriculum of Music, Dance, Poetry, Visual Arts, Drama, Film and Photography.

The collection includes oral histories from Directors and Founders of local community organizations, students in the Arts in Action program, as well as immigrants to South Florida.

Ms. Portocarrero talks about her experience growing up in Nicaragua, particularly during the civil wars in the 1970s and 80s and their repercussions.

Mr. Salgado and his wife founded and are directors of the organization enFAMILIA. Mr. Salgado is a visual artist who has been painting for more than 40 years. When enFamilia began, the idea was to have a community center offering different services to the community. The Salgados tried to figure out how to include the arts in their mission; the idea for a summer camp came from their son Mauricio. The first camp was set up in 2003, in collaboration with Art South in Homestead.

Mr. Dupuy was born in Jacmel, Haiti and lived there for 21 years, later moving to Port-au-Prince.. He relocated to Miami at the age of 46. Mr. Dupuy discusses why he came to Miami and the difficulty in finding work here.

Mr. Jiminez family came to the United States about 10 years ago. They came from Mexico from a town about an hour outside Mexico City. The family included himself, his brother and his parents. Mr. Jimenez talks about the difficulty his family had crossing the border into the United States and the various problems and experiences they have had living here.

Ms. Driver was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and received her bachelor's degree from the University of Tulsa. She moved to South Florida in 2001. She worked in the corporate world for several years but then went into the nonprofit arena.

Ms. Tavares discusses her family history in the Dominican Republic and her thoughts on the Dominican Republic. She also discusses her family's move to New York when she was still a child and her experience in these new surroundings.

Kathy's family is originally from Haiti. Her mother came from Haiti 20 years before, for years before Kathy was born. At that time, transportation between Haiti and the United States was not expensive, so many families sent their children, hoping that they would become rich and send money back to Haiti. Kathy's mother worked for the sister of the man who would eventually become her husband. She then moved on to work on her own. Two years later, her mother's sister came from Haiti. They lived together, and her mother supported her sister. Over the years a number of family members have joined them in the United States. Joshua is not exact sure when his family came to the United States, but he thinks in the 1980s. His mother, his grandmother and his aunt left Columbia to come to the United States. His grandmother and his aunt went back to Columbia, however his mother stayed.

Ms. Williams was born in Mexico. Her family came to the United States when she turned 18. They were a very traditional family; her mother stayed home. Her father worked at a bank, then a hotel as an accounting assistant and also at a Ford dealership. Things were very different for her father when they came to the United States.

Ms. Morrison discusses the experience of having her village bombed on D-Day and her family hiding in the cellar. Her family later relocated from Estonia to Poland and finally to the United States. Morrison now lives in South Florida, relocating from New York City after she completed her studies in art.

Mr. Inman first came to camp when he was ten years old, in 2002, and describes himself as very shy. His mother registered him for dance class and his older brother for art class. After about one week, he lost his shyness.

Mr. Inman started attending AIA Summer arts camp the second year of its existence. He was nine or ten years old. His brother had been involved in the first year of the camp. Mr. Inman discusses his experience at the summer arts camp and how the experience affected him personally.

Ms. Iman has lived in South Florida for thirty years. She came from St. Lucia in the Caribbean to the United States after her father married a retired Coast Guard. Ms. Iman talks about the importance of the arts in education

Mr. Vidales was born in Matamoros Mexico, a town that borders Brownsville, Texas. He lived there with his family until he was 11 years old. In 1974 the family received their papers and migrated to South Florida. Mr. Vidales talks about his experience as an immigrant in South Florida and how that experience has changed since the 1970s.

Ms. Alegra was born in the county of Belize. Her father was from Mexico and her mother from Belize. She lived eight years in Belize and eight year in Mexico.

Ms. Wright was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, having been raised in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1982, she visited an uncle who was stationed at a base in Homestead and has lived there ever since. Ms. Wright discusses her involvement with community organizations and the needs of the community.

Ms. Saldago, one of the founders of En Familia, which began in 2000, discusses her earlier work in the area of domestic violence. En Familia exists to work with all members of families suffering from domestic violence.

Ms. Campbell's interview includes a variety of information about the history of Florida including Henry Flagler's development of the bridge system in Key West, Florida, Hurricane Andrew, the Native Tribal Groups in the area surrounding the Tamiami Trail and the development of solid rocket fuel in Homestead among others issues.