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Social and Behavioral Sciences

University of Texas at El Paso

Series

Bracero

Articles 481 - 496 of 496

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Interview No. 1029, Patricio Corrales Rojas Jul 2002

Interview No. 1029, Patricio Corrales Rojas

Combined Interviews

Mr. Corrales recalls growing up in San Mateo Atenco, México, México, and how he worked from the age of ten cutting wood and sowing corn with his father; he remembers laboring in construction and factory work, and how his family’s poverty pushed him to join the Bracero Program in 1952; additionally, he describes the hiring process at the contracting centers in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México and Empalme, Sonora, México, and the hardships braceros endured there; he states that he worked in California and Texas picking carrots, cotton, cucumbers, grapefruits, lemons, and oranges; furthermore, he details what daily life was like on …


Interview No. 1033, Cirino Flores Pérez Jul 2002

Interview No. 1033, Cirino Flores Pérez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Flores recalls growing up in Tizayuca, Hidalgo, México, and that his mother died when he was four years old; he states that he labored in agriculture throughout his youth, and that he moved to Mexico City, México when he was nineteen; additionally, he remembers joining the Bracero Program in 1951 due to economic hardship; he describes the hiring process at contracting centers in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México and Empalme, Sonora, México, his train trip to the United States-México border, and the hardships braceros experienced at reception centers; furthermore, he details what daily life was like at the farms, the housing …


Interview No. 1026, Miguel Arroyo Castillo Jun 2002

Interview No. 1026, Miguel Arroyo Castillo

Combined Interviews

Mr. Arroyo speaks at length about his family, childhood, and adolescence; after his father died, his family moved to México Distrito Federal, with an older sister; while there, he began working as a baker, and he later continued to do so between bracero contract; in 1943, he learned about the bracero program as he was passing by a stadium where contracting was taking place; he decided to enlist in the program, rather than make his debut as a boxer, because he wanted to know what life was like in the United States; after passing physical examinations, he was transported by …


Interview No. 1046, Miguel Zavala López Jun 2002

Interview No. 1046, Miguel Zavala López

Combined Interviews

Mr. Zavala recalls growing up in Agua Caliente, Michoacán, México, and working from an early age sowing beans, corn, garbanzos, and wheat; he joined the Bracero Program in 1955, and remembers picking asparagus, cotton, grapes, lemons, limes, peppers, strawberries and tomatoes in California and Texas; additionally, he describes the hiring process in rural areas, the bribes he had to pay to be on a selection list, his experience at the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, and the long waits there; he details the hardships braceros suffered waiting to be contracted, the humiliation of the medical exams, and the bad …


Interview No. 1042, Manuel Sandoval Espino Jun 2002

Interview No. 1042, Manuel Sandoval Espino

Combined Interviews

Mr. Sandoval recalls growing up in Mexico City, México, and working from an early age as a street vendor, a factory employee, and a mechanic; he joined the Bracero Program in 1943, and worked in Kansas as a railroad line worker; he describes the hiring process in Mexico City, México, the help he received, the medical exams he endured, and the contract he signed; additionally, he discusses the long train trip to Kansas, and the feelings of uncertainty the braceros felt; he explains what daily life was like in Kansas, how the work was carried out, the housing they had, …


Interview No. 1040, Ignacio Ochoa Jun 2002

Interview No. 1040, Ignacio Ochoa

Combined Interviews

Mr. Ochoa recalls growing up in Petatlán, Guerrero, México, his mother dying when he was twelve years old, and working from an early age cutting wood; he states that he moved to Mexico City, México at the age of fifteen, and that he started working on a Mexican naval boat in 1943; he remembers joining the Bracero Program in 1957, and working in California and Washington; there he picked asparagus, avocadoes, grapes, green beans, lemons, peas, pumpkins, oranges, strawberries, and watermelon; additionally, he details what the hiring process in Empalme, Sonora, México was like, the contract he signed, and how …


Interview No. 1039, Servando Peñaloza Muñoz May 2002

Interview No. 1039, Servando Peñaloza Muñoz

Combined Interviews

Mr. Peñaloza recalls growing up in Guayameo, Guerrero, México, and working in agriculture from an early age; he remembers moving to Mexico City, México at age nineteen, and working at the Chapultepec Castle; additionally, he relates that he had to take care of his younger brother during this time; he states that he joined the Bracero Program in 1955 with an older brother, and worked in Arizona and California picking broccoli, celery, green beans, lemons, lettuce, strawberries, and tomatoes; furthermore, he describes the hiring process, his time at the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, and the contracts he signed; …


Interview No. 1037, Homerlo López May 2002

Interview No. 1037, Homerlo López

Combined Interviews

Mr. Lopéz recalls growing up in Petatlán, Guerrero, México, and learning from his stepfather how to work in agriculture; he remembers planting beans, corn, and peppers from the age of eight until he was seventeen; additionally, he relates how he moved to Mexico City, México, and why he decided to join the Bracero Program in 1954; he describes the hiring process he went through, the legal requirements he needed to fulfill, the train trip to the border, and the different contracts he had; as a bracero, he worked in Arkansas, California, New Mexico, and Texas picking cantaloupes, cotton, sugar beets, …


Interview No. 1038, Heleodoro Martínez Solís May 2002

Interview No. 1038, Heleodoro Martínez Solís

Combined Interviews

Mr. Martínez recalls growing up in Metepec, Hidalgo, México, and working from an early age in agriculture and construction; he remembers that, in 1951, he joined the Bracero Program after suffering economic hardships; additionally, he describes the hiring process in rural areas, the legal requirements he needed to fulfill to get on a list of people who could become braceros, and the bribes he had to pay to get on that list; he details what the contracting centers were like in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México and Empalme, Sonora, México, the physical exams he endured, his experience in the reception center in …


Interview No. 1035, José Santos Guevara Rodríguez May 2002

Interview No. 1035, José Santos Guevara Rodríguez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Guevara Rodríguez recalls growing up in Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato, México, and sowing beans and corn from the age of eight; he relates how, when he was eighteen, he traveled to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México, and later crossed into the United States to work as an undocumented laborer; additionally, he recounts being hired by a rancher in Texas, and taken to the border to become a bracero; he describes the hiring process in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México and Empalme, Sonora, México, how braceros slept in the streets before being hired, the medical test they got, and the disinfection process they …


Interview No. 1027, Guadalupe Cano Quiroz May 2002

Interview No. 1027, Guadalupe Cano Quiroz

Combined Interviews

Mr. Cano recalls growing up in Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato, México; he remembers working with his family in agriculture until he was nineteen years old; additionally, he explains how his family’s poverty pushed him to join the Bracero Program in 1955; he details the different steps he had to fulfill to obtain a bracero contract, what his experience at the bracero processing center in El Centro, California was like, and how the disinfection process was carried; he also states that he worked in California, Nevada, and Texas picking asparagus, cantaloupes, cotton, grapes, lemons, olives, peaches, strawberries, tomatoes, and watermelons; furthermore, …


Interview No. 1030, Heriberto Cortez Cortez May 2002

Interview No. 1030, Heriberto Cortez Cortez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Cortez recalls growing up in San Isidro, Oaxaca, México; he relates how he worked planting beans, corn, and peanuts as a child, and, at age seventeen, moved to Oaxaca de Júarez, Oaxaca, México; additionally, he remembers being advised by a friend to travel to Mexico City, México to join the Bracero Program; he worked as a bracero from 1957 to 1960 in Arkansas, Minnesota, and Texas; there, he picking apples, peppers, cotton, cucumbers, and watermelons; he describes his experience at the bracero contracting center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, and the legal requirements he needed to fulfill for the …


Interview No. 1036, Manuel Guzmán Núñez Apr 2002

Interview No. 1036, Manuel Guzmán Núñez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Guzmán recalls growing up in Uriangato, Guanajuato, México, and sowing corn, garbanzo beans, and wheat at an early age; he also remembers crossing into the United States as a teenager to labor as an undocumented worker; additionally, he discusses how he joined the Bracero Program in 1957, and what his trip to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México was like; he describes the different steps he went through to sign a contract, what it was like at the reception center in El Centro, California, the medical exams he endured, and the way clauses in his contract were explained; …


Interview No. 1045, Bernardino Vilchis Cesar Apr 2002

Interview No. 1045, Bernardino Vilchis Cesar

Combined Interviews

Mr. Vilchis recalls growing up in Cuernavaca, Morelos, México; he states that his family was part of the middle class in México, and he was trained to be an electrician; additionally, he remembers joining the Bracero Program to prove to himself that he could do hard physical labor; he worked in Arizona as a railroad line laborer from 1943 to 1948; he relates the bad impression he initially had of the program because of the train ride he was forced to endure to Querétaro, Querétaro, México in a dirty cattle car; furthermore, he describes the hiring process there, the contract …


Interview No. 1356, Antonio Mendoza García Jan 2000

Interview No. 1356, Antonio Mendoza García

Combined Interviews

Mr. Mendoza briefly talks about his family; initially, he heard about the bracero program through the radio; during the 1960s, he enlisted in the bracero program; he went through centers in Durango and Monterrey, Nuevo León, México; the center in Monterrey was a sports stadium, and people often went by to give the men free food as they waited; once in the United States, he was medically examined and deloused, like an animal; the powder used smelled horribly, and he had to wait two hours before he could wash it off; he and others were then packed into trailers like …


Interview No. 540, Cándido R. Delgado Jun 1979

Interview No. 540, Cándido R. Delgado

Combined Interviews

Cruzó a trabajar a los Estados Unidos desde los 11 años de edad; tiene experiencias con antiguas patrulleras de emigración después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial; trabajó como bracero durante los 1950s; se vino a vivir a Cd. Juárez donde cruzaba a trabajar ilegalmente practicamente todos los días; actualmente lo ha suspendido y trabaja en Cd. Juárez.