Oral history interview with María Belén Moncayo, 2020
Abstract
María Belén Moncayo begins the first session with a brief overview of her education and work in Ecuador. She shares her initial impressions of the pandemic and how it impacted her work as a housekeeper and Spanish teacher. She describes pandemic activities such as learning how to cook, viewing habits, and creative video projects. She describes conditions in New Jersey and Manhattan and considerat ions about returning to Ecuador. She discusses COVID-19 precautions and healthcare concerns as an immigrant. She compares considerations around mortality during COVID with an experience with an earthquake in Ecuador, and comments on disparities in Ecuador. She gives an analysis of nightly cheering for first responders and systemic social problems in the United States.
By the time of the second interview Moncayo had returned to Ecuador. She recalls her living situation in New York during the pandemic and the reviews months leading up to her return to Ecuador in July, 2020. She describes her work as a Spanish teacher and performer. She gives a detailed account of her flight to Quito and the conditions in the city. She describes the happiness of being able to see her daughter, son, and mother again, while still exercising caution around distancing. She also discusses political issues, including violence against women in Ecuador.
Spanish teachers; Actors; COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-; COVID-19 (Disease)--Social Aspects; Epidemics--Social Aspects; Social distancing (Public health) and education; Ecuadorians--New York (State); New York (N.Y.) Emigration and immigration; Quito (Ecuador); New Jersey Union City; Manhattan (New York, N.Y.); Moncayo, María Belén, 1967-
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
79 pages
Note (Biographical)
María Belén Moncayo was born in 1967 in Quito, Ecuador. She has studied graphic design and worked as an actor in theater, film, and television in Ecuador. She is founder and director of the Asociación Nuevos Medios Ecuador (AANME). She moved to the New York City area in 2017, and she taught Spanish, organized people's spaces, and was a caretaker. During the course of the pandemic, Moncayo moved from Union City, New Jersey to the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan to Quito. Moncayo identifies as a feminist and activist and works through her company Malcriada Total Producciones
Note
Interviewed by Fernanda Espinosa on May 13 and November 6, 2020
Note (Provenance)
María Belén Moncayo, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023