Oral History with Yuliza Otanez, June 15, 2021 (Ms2021-023)

MS____

Narrator: Yulizia Otanez

Interviewer: Jessica Taylor

Date: May 15, 2021

Transcribed by: Otter Voice Meeting Notes, https://otter.ai

Audit-edited by:

Final edited by: Bethany Stewart, July 16, 2021

Jessica Taylor: Hello. Today is June 15, 2021. My name is Jessica Taylor. I'm interviewing Yulizia for the Latino Oral History Project slash Voces of a Pandemic project at Special Collections and University Archives at Virginia Tech. This project is in partnership with the Voces Oral History Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Please know that this interview will be placed in the Special Collections and University Archives at Virginia Tech and shared with the Voces Oral History Center, at the University of Texas at Austin. If there's anything you do not wish to answer or talk about, I will honor your wishes. Also, if there is something you want to talk about, please bring it up and we'll talk about it. Because we are not conducting this interview in person, I need to record you consenting. So I'll ask you a series of six questions. Please say 1:00"yes, I agree" or "no, I do not agree" after each one. There are several questions we need to make sure you agree to before we go on. Special Collections and University Archives wishes to archive your interview along with any other photographs and other documentation at Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech will retain copyright of the interview and any other materials you donate to Virginia Tech. Do you give Special Collections and University Archives consent to archive your interview and your materials at Virginia Tech?

Yulizia Otanez: Yes, I agree.

JT: Do you grant Virginia Tech right, title, and interest in copyright over the interview and any materials you provide?

YO: Yes, I agree.

JT: Do you agree to allow Special Collections and University Archives to post this interview on the internet, where it may be viewed by people around the world?

YO: Yes, I agree.

JT: Do you grant Virginia Tech consent to share your interview and your materials with the Voces Oral History Center, at the University of Texas at 2:00Austin, for inclusion in the Voces of a Pandemic oral history mini project, which will include posting the interview on the internet?

YO: Yes, I agree.

JT: We have many questions that are pre-interview for that we have already filled out. We use that information from the pre-interview form to help and research. The entire form is kept in a secure Voces server at the University of Texas at Austin. Before Virginia Tech sends it to the Newman Libraries, we would have stripped out any contact information for yourself or family members, so that will not be part of your public file. Your public file will only be accessible at the Newman Libraries. Do you wish for us to share the rest of your interview in your public file available to researchers at the Newman Libraries?

YO: Yes, I agree.

JT: On occasion, Special Collections and University Archives and Voces receive requests from journalists, who wish to contact our interview subjects. We only deal with legitimate news outlets. Do you give consent for us to share your phone numbers or your email with journalists?

YO: Yes, I agree.

JT: Okay. All right. So can you tell me how you first learned about COVID-19?

YO: I feel like it's been a very long time. I was a sophomore at my local 4:00community college. It was my spring semester, and the only thing that I remember that I had biology class that was very hard for me to go through. I remember just sitting in lab and my partners are like, JMU just closed, Virginia Tech just closed, VCU just closed, and now we're like, when are we going to close? That's when I just really took into thought that this is real and that this is happening. It's just kind of nostalgic for me now because it feels like a long time now that I'm a senior in college.

JT: You went from community college to Liberty, right?

YO: Yes.

JT: What was that transition like under COVID?

YO: Originally I was supposed to be on campus with some roommates and because of COVID that couldn't work out for me. I felt like I had a duty to take care of my parents after they got COVID. It was something that I had to really weigh my chances on and then I just decided to stay home. It was a decision that I kind of regret. I wish I just took my chances and just went with it, but now we're here.

JT: So you said your parents got COVID?

YO: Yes. I feel like it was in June. I think of last year-yes. I'm trying to kind of backtrack. I remember vividly because I am the only driver in the family, except for my dad. I remember my mom had came from home from work and she was tired. She was just chill. She was in pain. It's funny because I was around her. I was like, oh she's probably just tired from work. It's all good. Then it just progressively got worse. At first, she was like, I'm not getting a COVID test-- the whole theory and all of this bad things on COVID. I just told her like, let's all get it together. We'll all be in a car and we're gonna go, 6:00we're gonna do it, and then we get it. It's fine. We'll get through it and if we don't, I'll help you out. Because I was in contact with her, I had to quarantine myself so I wouldn't give it to other people. I just remember it went downhill after that because my dad tested positive. I was concerned over the fact because he's diabetic. So it was something very sad. I was frustrated, more concerned. It was a very hard thing to see my parents go through and not be able to help. Of course I could have broke quarantine and help them out and risked it, but because of work, I was still in work and everything. I just felt like just having good faith and hoping get through it. So it was something that was very hard.

JT: What do you and your parents do for work?

YO: I work at a retail store. It was something that I actually love doing and the good thing about my work is that they offered a lot of good benefits when COVID happened. I was still at home and still getting paid, so they were very nice about that. Then my mother cleaned houses. Then my father is a construction worker, and this concrete and masonry.

JT: Do you have a sense of where they contracted COVID?

YO: It's very weird. I know that my dad got it from my mom. We still talk about it till this day. We think that my mom worked with another co-worker with her and maybe they exchanged conversations in the same room? Or maybe she was 8:00coughing or someone else's coughing? We really don't know, but I feel like it came from work.

JT: And what was their emotional reaction to getting COVID?

YO: I think my mom was more scared for my dad. I think we're all scared for my dad. I felt like my mom knew that she could pull through. We just all wanted to be okay. So we just kind of kept calm and we were all very helpful. We brought them food. We even bought a microwave for their room, so they wouldn't have downstairs, bought a coffee maker just make things easier, and whatever they needed, we would go and get it and drop it in. We're calm.

JT: Did this affect your family financially?

YO: That is a very good question. Usually our income comes from my father just 9:00because a lot of construction work is a big heavy load and with that heavy load comes income. But the good thing is he has workers, so whoever didn't contract COVID would still go out and work and you would still pay them and all the income would still come in while he was sick. So when he recovered, he went back to work. So it wasn't something that we were scared of. We weren't scared that our lights would turn off or we wouldn't be able to pay their water bill, even with the laws that were in place for these companies not to do that. But I wasn't scared that anything bad would happen.

JT: Beyond you, who was looking out for your mom and dad when they got COVID and were recovering?

YO: I feel like a lot of people. I don't want to just say me. I felt like emotionally I was there for my parents because it's something scary. I had to kind of keep a steady mind and not freak out, so they wouldn't freak out. My neighbors would cook for my parents, a lot of chicken noodle soup, just like soft foods for them. My sister would come and drop off water and drinks. I remember her setting up a dining room table in the balcony, so they would get some air outside and really have a nice experience at least. And then my brother kind of reassuring him that work was good outside. So I felt like we were all beneficial for my parents.

JT: You mentioned that your mom didn't want to get the COVID test. Why was that?

YO: I feel like this is something very hard to talk about just because when COVID first came out, everyone had these theories, it was bad, it was a hoax, it was everything. So she has all her friends on Facebook, and she is always on Facebook. All of these posts and things were coming out that weren't backed up by-- How do you say those people who make sure they're true? So there were just these posts from these websites, and just discussions, and she was getting all of these mixed things. I kind of have to like be there and reassure her like, you won't get COVID from a COVID test. It's just something that's just pretty basic, just as if you're getting tested for a flu or anything else. It's just a 12:00basic test just to help you out. So it was very hard to convince her. I said, this is the sake for me. This is like for everyone else. I'm not trying to get COVID. I really want to go to work, I really want to do things, and I really need you to cooperate with me.

JT: And you also, were going to school at this--Well, I guess this was in June, right? So you were out of school.

YO: My parents had contracted COVID around June, but I remember it happening maybe like the beginning of May. So that's when finals started to happen and all that coursework was stacking up. So when all that happened, I remember sitting at home with a bunch of chapters from biology and a bunch of notes and these final exams that only gave me thirty minutes to take a fifty question test was 13:00very difficult for me. I don't ever want to go through that again.

JT: So finals, but also like beyond that-- How did COVID influence education, like your ability to learn, and like show up consistently, for you and for your brother?

YO: I have taken online classes before, but that was before COVID. So I had access to going to a library. I had access going to campus. I had access to study rooms. I had access to a lot of more resources than just being at home. So when that had happened, just straight isolation, with just online classes, it was very difficult to learn, to get out of bed, to really take Zoom classes, to watch the videos to study. So it was a very big jump and very hard. I feel like 14:00it impacted my grades. So now that I'm online, a senior online, it's a lot different than it was like forcefully doing online last year.

JT: So another question I had was about-- Do you keep in touch with people beyond the area? Do you have family beyond the area in Virginia?

YO: Yes. So we have family in Mexico. We have family in New York and then we 15:00have family in South Carolina. I think we have more around places but not like immediate immediate family. But I remember vividly, we would get messages and calls from people all around the United States and Mexico. I remember when my dad's cousin had passed away from COVID. I remember my dad's aunt passed away from COVID. I remember when my aunt's husband contracted COVID, and he described the symptoms. I remember my grandma contracting COVID. I remember just hearing a bunch of people contracting COVID, and it was just very sad and frustrating.

JT: Can you talk about that? So your grandmother got COVID?

YO: Yes. So she had done COVID, but she did not want to tell anybody. So she was going through it secretly, and my aunt, in Mexico, was taking care of her. But 16:00we did find out until a few months later, when we had visit her during COVID, just to make sure she was okay. It was very upsetting because you wish your grandmother would tell you just that. Like seventy years old to let you know that she has COVID. Because usually COVID is really hard on people at certain ages and so we were very concerned. But she's still here and she laughs about it sometimes. So it's something. It's mixed emotions basically.

JT: Why didn't she want to tell anyone?

YO: I think everyone loves my grandma. I think everyone gets along with my grandma. I think everyone just wants to make sure like our grandmother is okay. She also doesn't like when we worry about her, even just her general health. We 17:00go and visit her every six months to make sure she's up with their appointments, she's good, she's healthy, there's nothing at risk just because she's our only grandmother and really the only connection with everybody else. So because of her I still talk to my aunt, I still talk to my sister, I still talk to everyone else because I feel like my grandmother really keeps everyone into place.

JT: So what was it like trying to communicate over the course of COVID with your family like that's not local? How did you stay in touch?

YO: My father was the one to keep in touch. Back then I was really going through some stuff privately, and I really just didn't want to fill my mind up with other people being sick. I felt like that's just something that takes a toll on 18:00me. Just because seeing my parents go through that was just a big toll. So I would hear it like maybe a few days, a few weeks later. It was something that I just didn't want to hear or listen to. As always, we always send our condolences. We always make sure everyone's okay. I remember we had found out that my dad's cousin has passed away in New York. All I remember is that my dad was just like, we can go pick up his ashes. I can take it to Mexico. Everything will be okay. I can find you a car. Like if you need money, I can give you money because living in New York and losing stable income is something that's very hard and heartbreaking. My dad was there to kind of give in that opportunity and I think that's very great of him.

JT: Definitely. So they live in New York City Proper?

YO: Yes. So they live around Staten Island, so it's very close to Manhattan and so the rent is absolutely insane. I think everyone knows that. The father was basically stable income, had a stable job. They could afford a lot of stuff. So when he passed away, they were in panic mode. Even we offer them to come move down here, temporarily just so they can get that stress off of their shoulders. But unfortunately, sometimes you have to stay where you're at and kind of push through, so we just kind of helped them out a little bit.

JT: What about your family in South Carolina?

YO: My aunt and her husband lives there along with my cousin. They didn't contract COVID until this year, so it's a lot different now than it was from 20:00last year just because there's more advanced testing, that's when the vaccines were starting to come out, all the stores and everything was open. So that wasn't a lot to worry about, and just over the fact that my aunt cleaned houses, so it wasn't something that she was kind of like, oh my gosh, now I have to get off of work to take care of my husband. And then the husband had his own store. So it wasn't something that they were concerned about. But he did go through a lot of chills, fevers, vomiting. So it was something that was hard for them. And it was funny, because I was supposed to drive down to South Carolina to visit, and so they had told me that and they told me the day before I was about to leave I was like, I'm so sorry. I can't come down. So it was something that was 21:00very vivid in my memories right now.

JT: So how did you guys decide when and where to travel with all the restrictions going on?

YO: We didn't really travel for funsies. We didn't just get up. And I remember vividly when all the airplane rates like to fly to wherever, like it was something that people were buying. So we weren't doing it for funsies. We were traveling in a sense of emergencies. I remember vividly like when the pandemic had started, my cousin had tragically passed away in a car accident. My dad had to send my mom and my sister to Mexico, obviously to be there for the funeral and traditions that happen when someone passes away in immediate family. I 22:00remember vividly like driving to Charlotte to drop my parents off like two days after we found out, and they couldn't come back for a month because their tickets were being rescheduled or canceled and so it was very frustrating to try to get them back. Other than that we didn't travel. We kind of just stuck. We maybe went to the river privately or we kind of went to the park or something. But other than like traveling traveling, it was prohibited for a few months.

JT: Absolutely. When you're making these plans like to go to Mexico and things like that, like what medium are you using to communicate? Are you using WhatsApp? Are you like video calling things like that?

YO: That's a good question. Usually, when my parents leave, my dad will leave his work phone at home and he'll buy another disposable phone to take. So we'll keep in contact through phone and through WhatsApp. It's a little bit better to communicate because of WiFi and more cellular data. But fortunately, they had good cellular data to kind of get in contact and every now and then we would FaceTime. I remember FaceTiming my mom asking how to cook rice in the kitchen. So it wasn't hard, but it was something that we just didn't have time to do.

JT: Did your parents or you go to the doctor, or even like a counselor, or any point over the last year and a half?

YO: My mother, no. Same thing with my father. Only in like, maybe the past 24:00month. He went just to get checked up for some pressure on his chest, but that wasn't involved with COVID. So we don't know the connections between that. For me, I was in counseling for a long period of time, and I still am. I remember when the pandemic had happened and therapy sessions were like in offices, and I remember switching to virtual sessions. I remember the whole frustration between that. Other than that only doctor visits were for me or for my dad, but other than that everyone was just pretty healthy. I felt like they didn't want to go to the doctor's office, specifically to talk about COVID regarding their health.

JT: Okay, so it's normal for your folks to not go to the doctor regularly?

YO: I think so. I feel like it's a culture thing, like stubbornness. I told my dad like, if you don't want to go to the doctors here, can you at least go to the doctors in Mexico? Maybe because of money, maybe it's cheaper. Maybe you trust them over there. I just really need to know that you're okay and safe. I feel like involving with culture and stubbornness, it's something they just don't want to do.

JT: So they would trust the doctors more in Mexico?

YO: Yeah, specifically my dad. Regarding his diabetes and his heart, I feel like he doctors over there have a better knowledge. I disagree. I feel like doctors here have the same knowledge as doctors anywhere else in this world just because you have to work for your degree. But to each their own. As long as you're going 26:00to the doctor, as long as you think you're okay, and you're taking your medicine, that is not a problem with me.

JT: Did your family get vaccinated? And you?

YO: I got vaccinated and then my sister got vaccinated, but my parents still refuse to get vaccinated as long as my with my brother.

JT: What was it like for you to get vaccinated?

YO: It was kind of hard because when vaccinations started to come out, it was only for people with first priority. So doctors, nurses, anyone who needed it the most. Even after that I remember like friends and people around me started getting vaccines, and I couldn't get one. I was scouring everywhere. Sometimes I 27:00would loiter, like around CVS, hoping that they just had like someone canceled their appointment. I remember I was told to sign up through the Virginia Health Department site, and then they'll let you know when they have appointments. I had got an appointment, miraculously. It was kind of hard, but it wasn't hard. I was very patient. But I do remember my mom was so upset when she had found out that I went to go get the vaccine.

JT: What kind of side effects did you end up having?

YO: The first one, I just had a sore arm. There was nothing for my first dose. But my second dose, I got it during my meal break at work. So when I went back to work, I was pretty active, and so I don't think it was hitting me while I was pretty active. So when I had gotten home and went to sleep, I woke up with a 28:00really bad migraine. But just with some Advil it just went away and by the second day, I was completely fine.

JT: Can you talk about why your brother and parents don't want to get it?

YO: It's all of these theories and these Facebook posts. My mom, she thought it was against religion and then it was just their stuff in the vaccine, microchips, all of these weird theories, but I just told her, like, if you got me vaccinated when I was a child, like why can I not get vaccinated now? Even then I did my research. It wasn't just gonna like, just go and just get a 29:00vaccine and not know what it does or what it is, and so I wasn't really concerned. I was very stubborn for someone to change my mind and tell me otherwise if there's a microchip and my vaccine, but for my mother, it was very hard for her to understand. My dad, he just feels like he doesn't need it. Then for my brother it's kind of the same thing with my mom like the whole situation with my mom, but I feel like with some persuasion and research I feel like he might get it as well.

JT: You mentioned religion as a piece of this. There's multiple reasons that religion like intersects. What specific reason did your mom give?

YO: She told me that it was a sin and that it was against God and so I just kind of laughed at that because I don't know what she read on Facebook for her to 30:00tell me that it was a sin. I kind of took it as a joke but she was kind of being literal. So now that I think about it, I just kind of want to know more in depth. The why religion is an excuse to get a vaccine? Just because like I said, growing up, I got these vaccines. So I'm thinking, isn't that too? I just don't understand.

JT: Absolutely. What other kinds of concerns or questions about health, like generally in your family did COVID raise?

YO: For my dad, I feel like my dad means the absolute world for me and growing up, I just remember him going through a lot. I remember him like every morning, 31:00he was checked his blood pressure. I remember he got a stent in his heart to clear up a artery. I remember doctor visits. I remember stress test. I remember a lot of stuff. So when COVID happened, all of those memories, this just was scary. What is going to happen to my dad? How bad is it going to hit him? I remember it was that COVID was affecting the brain and the heart and the lungs. So I was concerned more of his heart. I think everyone was also concerned for my dad. From the outside, I feel like everyone's more concerned for me, which is funny, because I never thought about it that way. Mentally for me, I was going through it. I felt like it was the worst thing that could happen to me. I feel like everyone was just worried for me, like, is she gonna be okay? You're gonna 32:00make it out of this. How do we get her up? How do we get her outside of her room? What is going to help her? And so I feel like everyone was concerned more for me and my dad.

JT: Thank you for sharing that. You mentioned that your mom has this relationship with faith. Did they have organizations that they were involved in, like faith organizations, or anything, over the last year and a half that were supportive or anything like that?

YO: Supportive for her faith. I think it was very hard because I think in a certain situation churches were closed for a while. I remember I had attended to separate church from hers. I remember when everything closed down, and they 33:00switched to virtual sermons. For her, these churches are mega churches, so these churches couldn't do like virtual sermons throughout the world or to at least minimal people in the neighborhood. So she was stuck just sticking with her Bible and her phone and Google and just kind of keeping her faith strong at home. Because COVID made her learn so many new things. She doesn't feel bad that she'll miss one Sunday because that Sunday, she will read the Bible at night and then she would do her lessons. So it taught her a lot. I still firmly believe that she kept her faith when COVID happened.

JT: And you also go do the virtual sermon thing as well?

YO: I stopped actually. I didn't like it. I really like to experience, 34:00especially with the friends that I made at church. So that big jump, I didn't like it. I was strong for like two weeks. I think after two weeks, I just could no longer do that.

JT: Were there other organizations, beyond churches, that were helpful to you or your parents or family during this time?

YO: Like I've stated before, my work was very nice. They started this fund for people to continue to pay workers who needed it. Thankfully, I really didn't need it as much and I kind of felt like there were other workers at my job who needed it the most and not even just at the job that I'm at, like at the store 35:00like all the stores that they have in the US. I felt like they needed it the Most. So I was very thankful that my job was very supportive, and they still are. But other than that I don't recall anything that was keeping us forward, except being tight knit with our family.

JT: How have the current social movements in conjunction with COVID-19 impacted your daily life? That's things like Black Lives Matter or the election or things like that.

YO: I don't think COVID affected it so much. I remember attending the Black Lives Matter movement here in Roanoke. I remember everyone was wearing their 36:00mask, and everyone was social distancing. I remember just vividly because it happened when COVID started to rise, and numbers were rising. That movement started and so that was something that I vividly remember. Regarding the election, I felt like there wasn't really barriers that I had to go through. I had a car to get to the election and then I also had a car to bring friends to vote, and then we all wore masks. I mean the only thing that was kind of frustrating is waiting in line to vote. But other than that it wasn't something that was hard for me or for my sister or anyone else around me.

JT: So you participated in the Black Lives Matter movement in Roanoke?

YO: Yes.

JT: Can you talk a little bit about that?

YO: I had met up with a friend and we talked about it. I remember they had organized it. My friends from high school, my friends from college, my best friend, we all attended. It was something very, very, I don't know if there's a specific word for it. But like I remember there was like a bunch of police. I remember just a bunch of signs. There were a bunch of kids. There were a bunch, just all types of ages in this movement. I remember making signs. I remember getting yelled at by my dad for going. I remember it was just a bunch of mixed emotions. I don't regret it. I mean, I know that I can't do something just me. I 38:00felt like joining into a movement kind of felt a little bit better. Instead of me doing justice on my own. I felt like this moment was something I will never forget.

JT: What influenced your decision personally to go out? What resonated with you? That you said like, yes, I'm going to show up.

YO: I think my values. I always grew up and always stuck with the same values. I feel like it's just something that means a lot to me. I grew up in a lot of cultural around me. My school was majority black people. I remember just growing up with a bunch of people. So I always felt like they should have a lot of equality. Why is it that me as a white Hispanic should be treated better than a 39:00black person, when really they're not doing anything wrong? I always felt like that was wrong and I still feel like that's wrong. It's just natural. I just don't understand the concept of how people can be mean and think that way. So I try hard to teach other people just the basics of how to treat someone.

JT: Was this the march in Roanoke last summer?

YO: Yes.

JT: Okay. I just want to make sure I got the timing right. Since last summer, have you participated in anything Black Lives Matter or otherwise, that's social movement related?

YO: Kind of around September, like around the movement, I was making digital art 40:00and whatever I made from that, donate to the Black Lives Matter movement or black people who have been impacted by COVID-19, who have lost jobs, transgender women, anyone who really needed it. I donated. I felt like that was just something I just needed to do on my behalf. That's what I wanted to do. I felt like that was the only movement that I really joined for a while.

JT: That's amazing. Would you like share a piece for your file?

YO: I feel like my art is that I would just keep with myself just because all of them are of other people and not of myself. I would just have to kind of go on 41:00my way to kind of keep in contact with them.

JT: No, that's totally fine. I just thought I would ask. Is there anything else you'd like to share about your experiences that I haven't asked about?

YO: COVID was a roller coaster. I remember when it happened. I remember when I couldn't go back to school. I remember the summer was so bad. There was nothing to do in the summer. This summer, I could go to Busch Gardens, I can go horseback riding, I can go to the beach, I can go travel back to Mexico, and I can do a lot of things. But last year, it was very hard. I would just go out and sit in the sun, but that's about it. I couldn't go to Target and job. I couldn't go out to the beach, or travel, or to things like that. So it's very hard. I 42:00remember transferring to Liberty, and it was just something very difficult because I actually wanted to be on campus and be with friends and roommates and kind of had that college experience. So that's one thing I regret is not being physically in college. After that things started to cool down, I feel like it was a breeze now that I think about it. Back then it kind of felt like forever like, when is this going to be over? And now, it's slowly being controlled. It's a roller coaster. It's something. It's a good story to talk about in a few years when I have my degree or I have my career, job, orI have kids and later on explaining what had happened and what I went through and what other people went through. So it was just something to talk about.

JT: You're going into your senior year, right?

YO: Yeah.

JT: What are your hopes for your senior year?

YO: My major was developmental psychology and because COVID took a whole toll of me last year and kind of progress, I changed my major into business administration. I felt like it was kind of smart for me to do that because I grew up kind of helping my dad run his business. So I felt like it was something that I felt like it was just easier for me to do and for me to handle. So because I changed my major, and it's my senior year, I had kind of have to catch up. I'm about to start summer classes, my second term, and I'm about to take five classes this semester to kind of keep up. So I'm kind of nervous because I 44:00just don't know. Am I going to be able to attend the real ceremony to get my degree., like my diploma? Like I don't know what is after the senior year, and I'm really trying very hard to kind of pull through especially with my GPA and just graduate with a good stand regarding academics.

YO: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much.