Los Angeles resident Blanca Alvarez described her immigration from Mexico into the United States in the 1970s as terrifying. Pregnant and barefoot, she was trekking through the desert, walking carefully so as not to alert guard dogs. She had agreed to pay a man for helping her sneak past border patrol, so when he said to run, she did.

Harriet Ells (left), program director for KCRW, and Connie Alvarez visited LACMA as part of the StoryCorps project to record personal histories. (photo by Aaron Blevins)

“When you get to the bridge, you’re on your own,” Alvarez recalled the man saying.

Connie Alvarez had never heard her mother tell the story of her parents immigrating to the U.S. It was a pivotal moment for Connie, then an unborn child whose life would be forever impacted by this man and her parents’ ability to stay undetected. Blanca had declined to speak about it in the past, but that reluctance gave way inside StoryCorps’ mobile unit in Los Angeles.

As part of an ongoing project, StoryCorps, a national nonprofit organization, has been compiling audio recordings of Americans telling their stories around the country. Though it has visited Los Angeles before, StoryCorps will be in the city until Dec. 18, adding Angelenos’ narratives to the 30,000-plus already collected. Its mobile unit is stationed at LACMA.

Krisi Packer, senior coordinator of marketing and communications for StoryCorps, said the goal of the project is to show that every person and every voice matters, by creating an “invaluable” archive of American voices for the next generation. The interviews are being stored in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

“We [as a society] focus on what divides us, as opposed to what unites us,” Packer said.

She said StoryCorps was created in 2003 after growing out of a radio documentary company run by StoryCorps’ founder, Dave Isay. Since then, approximately 70,000 people have participated from all 50 states, Packer said.

In addition to its mobile unit, the organization also has permanent story booths set up in San Francisco and Atlanta, she said. In the mobile booth, there are three microphones — one for the moderator and two for the speakers. Packer said participants generally interview a loved one. The sessions are 40 minutes long, and participants receive a CD of the recording.

The conversations have touched on American history in several ways. Some of the recordings deal with love, others with war. Several 9/11 recordings have been made, and others involve coping with disease. Inside the booths, laughter and tears are common.

The Los Angeles pieces touch on a Mexican-American neighborhood replaced by Dodger Stadium, life as a migrant worker, being transgender, amateur boxing, Alzheimer’s, healthcare, World War II and more.

“It’s like taking a history of your history and adding it to the entire history of the United States,” Connie Alvarez said.

StoryCorps transforms some of its “best-loved” radio stories into animated shorts. Such was the case for the Alvarez family, whose story is titled, “The Icing on the Cake”. Packer said the project continues to gain momentum, especially with the animated pieces.

“We’re reaching a new audience that way,” she said.

Packer said StoryCorps partners with a radio station in each city it visits. The recordings are aired on National Public Radio on Fridays, and local pieces are also played on the partner radio stations, which in Los Angeles is KCRW.

Connie is the volunteer coordinator at KCRW, which is how she became involved. She said media outlets tend to tell stories of the rich and powerful, forgoing the emotion and drama that plays out in everyday life.

“The important stories are stories you and I have,” Connie said.

There are no more openings for StoryCorps’ Los Angeles visit, but residents can sign up for the waiting list or record their own. To listen, watch or sign up for booth time, visit www.storycorps.org.