Oral History - Interview with Rey Esparza

This oral history interview with Rey Arturo Esparza-Álvarez, conducted on June 19, 2025, documents his life journey from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, to Cleveland, Ohio, and his leadership role as President of Comité Mexicano de Cleveland. Esparza discusses his birth in 1975 in a low-income community, his educational experiences moving between Mexican and U.S. school systems, and his path from electrical engineering studies to a career in computer science software engineering. He details his 2011 relocation to Cleveland to work for Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems and describes the founding and growth of Comité Mexicano de Cleveland, which began in 2016 as a community group and became a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2020. The interview covers the organization's cultural programming including Mexican Independence Day celebrations and Día del Niño events, its collaboration with the Mexican Consulate in Detroit, and efforts to preserve the history of Club Azteca. Esparza reflects on the characteristics of the Mexican and Mexican-American communities in Northeast Ohio, challenges in building connections across regional communities in Lorain and Painesville, and the impact of contemporary immigration policies on Mexican communities. He also discusses his entrepreneurial ventures including Revy Fair Trade and his work promoting fair trade artisan products from Mexico and other countries.