Interview with Mercedes Monteiro Monteiro, Mercedes interviewee Ward, Kaitlynne interviewer mixed material 2010-10-15 eng Oral history interview with Mercedes Monteiro about Cape Verdean identity and the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence, RI. Mercedes Monteiro was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1968. Both of her parents arrived in Providence in 1967 from Santiago, Cape Verde. She grew up on the East Side of Providence, moving from Carrington Avenue to Lippit Street when she was 10 years old. She attended private school during her elementary education and graduated from Classical High School. She received her Bachelors Degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1994 and her M.B.A. from Johnson & Wales University in 2006. She is the mother of one son and one daughter. Mercedes is a very active member of Providences Cape Verdean community and extremely proud of her heritage. She remembers being dragged to the Cape Verdean Independence Festival at India Point Park every year with her parents a tradition she has continued with her own children. Mercedes served as President of the community group that organized the Cape Verdean Independence Festival for 12 years, before taking a position with the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission as a Program Coordinator in 1991. She is now responsible for organizing the annual State Heritage Day Festival, which is a celebration of Rhode Islands ethnic diversity. She attributes her activism to her close relationship with her father, and to her parents strong sense of Cape Verdean identity. During her tenure as President of the Cape Verdean Independence Day Festival and as Program Coordinator with the RIHPHC, Mercedes has worked closely with the Fox Point neighborhood. She did spend three years living in Fox Point, as well. Over the years, she has observed that the neighborhood has undergone several changes, but she still believes that it is an important place for Rhode Islands Cape Verdean community, and a neighborhood that has benefited from its historically close-knit character. Monteiro, Mercedes The Fox Point Project 48 http://dl.lib.brown.edu/foxpoint oral histories (literary works)