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This interview between Caleb McClatchey and Argentina McCarthy explores Argentina’s adolescence in Panama and her adult life as an immigrant in the United States. Growing up in the small town of David, she speaks about Panamanian culture and navigating poverty and political turmoil in her teen years. Argentina intertwines her immigration experience with her older sister’s, recounting the sacrifices she and her mother made in Panama to allow her sister to immigrate first. While Argentina did not want to immigrate, she was forced to come study by her mother and arrived to the United States in 1969 at age 18. Argentina discusses her struggles learning English and making ends meet upon initially arriving. She highlights the different roles she has had in her time here: a stay-at-home parent, then a high school Spanish teacher, and now a grandparent.
This interview was conducted as part of an undergraduate final project for the University of Maryland, College Park course HIST 465 (Spring 2024). This course was led by Professor Anne Rush of the Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities, and was sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies.
