Browse Items (159 total)

Fidel Morales was born May 26, 2001. Morales started break dancing when he was in the eighth grade and formed a break dancing club at McClane High School in Fresno, CA with the help of Mr. Vang who served as the club’s advisor. While at McLane,…

Mike and Ernest Felix are brothers from West Fresno. They were born in the 1970’s and were Popping during the 1980. This time in Fresno was the prime years for popping. Every weekend there were popping events all over the city especially at Roeding…

In this oral history,Ernie Bender discusses his past association with hip-hop and dancing and its impact on today's world. Ernie mentions that he first learned about hip-hop from television and from kids who moved to his town of Squaw Valley,CA from…

In this interview, Ome Quetzal Lopez discuss the hip-hop scene in the Central Valley, particularly Fresno and Sanger. Influenced by an uncle and groups such as NWA and Eazy E, Lopez reflects on being a dancer and a DJ in both the Fresno hip-hop and…

Mauro Carrera was born in Mexico on November 6, 1986. His parents Rosalia and Mauro met in Yanga, Veracruz. Mauro lived in Veracruz, Mexico for the first four years of his life. He crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without documentation and arrived to…

Tony Carranza was born in Madera in 1974 to parents who had immigrated from Mexico. In Madera, Carranza was exposed to popping in the 1980s by a cousin who participated in popping competitions in California's Central Valley as a member of The Players…

Pao Xiong was born on April 30th, 1979. His parents immigrated from Thailand after the war and worked for the county after several odd jobs. Initially, they lived Portland but moved to Fresno to be closer to family. In the interview, Pao notes that…

Born in 1982 as the youngest son of Vietnam War refugees, 35 year old Nhia Yang retells his story of growing up in Fresno, California's hip-hop dance scene. Yang recalls relocating often throughout his childhood and he first came into contact with…

Nathiel Tonoyo was born in 1986 and spent much of his youth moving between cities, a function of his father's navy career. Tonoyo's interest in b-boying came from his more general love of hip-hop culture. While concurrently dabbling in DJing, Tonoyo…

Born in 1985, Gary Yang tells his story of growing up in Fresno's hip-hop dance scene in the 1990s. Yang explains how his father from Thailand and his mother from Laos migrated from Southeast Asia and eventually settled their family of ten in Fresno,…

Izel Gaye is a 58 year old man that has lived most of his life in Southwest Fresno and became friends with Fresno dance icon Boogaloo Sam Solomon in his early thirties. Izel struggled in his early years with a lack of opportunities in his…

Roger Martinez was born in 1974 at the Lemore Tachioka Native American reservation and moved out around nine years of age and slowly made his way to Fresno. He settled in apartments on G Street and Maple. He loved the popping culture that hit…

Rawley Murray's parents migrated to Fresno from Texas. He grew up on the west side, but went back to Texas for a brief period when he was young. He was part of the Electric Bogaloos but it is unclear to what extent. Murray, also known as Bogaloo Boo,…

Ken McCoy is a producer in Fresno that has ties to the development of Poppin and Boogaloo in Fresno during the late seventies and early eighties as a local performer. Mr. McCoy has been part of several dance groups including, The Puppets, The…

Deborah McCoy has been an active member of the Fresno dance community since the 1970s. McCoy's family migrated to Fresno in the 1920s; however, she spent her early childhood with a foster family just outside of Fresno in Caruthers. McCoy recounts…

Eric Escovedo was born in Southwest Fresno to a white father and a Native American mother. In this oral history, Escovedo reflects on growing up mixed in Fresno and about his specific experience being Native American. Escovedo describes being…

Eric "Flip" Costello was born in Fresno, CA. In this oral history, Costello first reflects on his family history, including his great grandfather's roots in Durango Mexico, and his mother's move from El Centro to Fresno where she raised Flip and…

Charles "Goku" Montgomery was born in Southeast Fresno. In this oral history, Montgomery reflects on his family's multi-ethnic composition including an African-Mexican grandfather, a Creole grandmother, and a Mexican father. Montgomery lost his…

Charles "Goku" Montgomery was born in Southeast Fresno. In this oral history, Montgomery reflects on his family's multi-ethnic composition including an African-Mexican grandfather, a Creole grandmother, and a Mexican father. Montgomery lost his…