DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Robert and Ricardo Medrano. Part of a politically active family, former Dallas school board member Robert Medrano (1974-87) and his brother, former city councilman Ricardo Medrano (1977-83), were members of the Dallas chapter of the Viva Kennedy Club in 1960. Robert Medrano observed the Kennedy motorcade and, shortly after the assassination, visited Dealey Plaza, Parkland Memorial Hospital, and the Dallas Trade Mart where other family members were attending the scheduled luncheon.
Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on April 22, 2011 by Associate Curator Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and two minutes long.
Curatorial Commentary
The Viva Kennedy clubs across America were a demonstration of how enthusiastically many Hispanic communities embraced President and Mrs. Kennedy. We do not have many items in our collections that represent Viva Kennedy clubs. If you have or know of some Viva Kennedy memorabilia, please contact us at collections@jfk.org. - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections
For decades, members of the Medrano family have been influential political and community leaders in the Dallas area. In addition to former Dallas school board member Robert Medrano and former Dallas city councilman Ricardo Medrano, the family includes a number of current and recent elected officials - Dallas city councilwoman and mayor pro-tem Pauline Medrano, Dallas school board member Adam Medrano, Dallas County justice of the peace Carlos Medrano, and Federal Reserve police Lt. Frank Medrano. - Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator
An excerpt from this oral history interview was included in Shared Stories, a National Endowment for the Humanities-supported museum theater piece that the Museum developed and peformed in May 2012. The play, written by Dallas playwright Linda Daugherty, was a collaboration with the Dallas Children's Theater. The goal of the project was to explore the use of theater as a means of conveying the power of the Museum's unique Oral History Collection to a variety of audiences.
Shared Stories was performed for students and adults at The Sixth Floor Museum, the T.Boone Pickens YMCA, Woodrow Wilson High School and via videoconference with a school in Hempfield, Pennsylvania. In the play, the Medrano brothers' oral history conveyed what President Kennedy meant to their Catholic, Mexican American family. - Sharron Conrad, Curator of Education
