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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Labor History

University of Texas at El Paso

Series

2007

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Interview No. 1392, Alma Delia Fraile Barozio Dec 2007

Interview No. 1392, Alma Delia Fraile Barozio

Combined Interviews

Ms. Fraile talks about her family and her life growing up; her grandfather and uncles served in the bracero program, but she was too young to remember any details; by the time she was eighteen years old, she was involved with the Confederación Nacional Campesina (CNC) and their fight for equal land rights for women on ejidos; at the time, she was also studying for a career in social work; in time, she married and had two children; she and her husband were political activists involved in various social causes and cooperative projects; some time later, she began working …


Interview No. 1389, Felipe César Chan-Noh Dec 2007

Interview No. 1389, Felipe César Chan-Noh

Combined Interviews

Mr. Chan-noh briefly recalls his childhood and the financial difficulties he and his family endured; he married at the age of seventeen; when he was eighteen years old he enlisted in the Mexican military; he heard about the bracero program while in the military; he went through the hiring process several years later; he recalls the entire process, including that he recruited forty to fifty men from his hometown to join the bracero program; in addition, he mentions going through the processing center in Empalme, Sonora, México; he recalls that one of the requirements for the braceros was to have …


Interview No. 1390, Antonio Cisneros Piña Dec 2007

Interview No. 1390, Antonio Cisneros Piña

Combined Interviews

Mr. Cisneros speaks of the obstacles he and his family faced working in the fields of México; in 1955, he married, and two years later, he had his first daughter; soon after his wife became very ill, which prompted him to enlist in the bracero program in 1958; he discusses waiting to get on the list of available workers before traveling by train and bus to get to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; in addition, he describes the difficulties he underwent while waiting there, including becoming sick from the heat; the resulting fever kept him from passing the …


Interview No. 1397, Priciliano Suarez Dec 2007

Interview No. 1397, Priciliano Suarez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Suarez talks about is hometown and working in agriculture on his father’s land; he briefly recalls his family and childhood; he remembers hearing stories about his father working in the United States, which made him want to do the same; in 1953 Mr. Suarez married at the age of seventeen; he and his wife had three children; in 1959 he went through the hiring process to become a bracero; as part of the process, he was medically examined, vaccinated, and deloused; in addition he mentions going through the center in Empalme Sonora, Mexico; from there Mr. Suarez was sent …


Interview No. 1398, J. Jesus Villaseñor Santoyo Dec 2007

Interview No. 1398, J. Jesus Villaseñor Santoyo

Combined Interviews

Mr. Villaseñor talks about his life growing up; during the midforties, his uncle fulfilled several bracero contracts; Jesús saw how well it went for his uncle, and in 1955, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he describes how he was able to get on the list of eligible workers in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México; from there, he was transported by airplane to Mexicali, Baja California, México, and then to Calexico, California, where ranchers picked the workers they wanted; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona and California picking various fruits and vegetables; he goes on to …


Interview No. 1393, Ángel Guzmán Domínguez Dec 2007

Interview No. 1393, Ángel Guzmán Domínguez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Guzmán talks about growing up, including his family and learning how to make shoes; one of his uncles served in the bracero program, which convinced him to do the same; in 1944, he and five of his friends traveled by boat, bus and train before finally arriving at the contacting station in Queretaro, México; with the proper documentation, he was quickly called and passed all the medical exams; he explains that the men in Queretaro went straight to the railroads, while those processed in Guanajuato, México, went to work in the fields; from the contracting center he was transported …


Interview No. 1396, Jesús Soberano Rodríguez Dec 2007

Interview No. 1396, Jesús Soberano Rodríguez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Soberano talks about helping his father with the livestock at a very young age; in 1959, at the age of nineteen, he went through the hiring process to become a bracero; as part of the process, he was medically examined and deloused; in addition, he talks about the embarrassment he endured during the examination; he traveled to Mexico City, Mexico and then to the processing center in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; his first contract was in El Centro, California working in the cotton fields; he recalls the working conditions while caring for livestock in El Centro, California; Mr. Soberano recalls …


Interview No. 1394, Félix Loera Carrillo Dec 2007

Interview No. 1394, Félix Loera Carrillo

Combined Interviews

Mr. Loera briefly describes his family and how they worked on an hacienda, but they did not live there; when he was seventeen years old, he came to the United States to work, without documents, in the hope of having a better life; after two years, he returned to México and shortly thereafter married; by the late fifties, he and his wife had two children and were struggling to make ends meet, which led to his decision to enlist in the bracero program; although most men had to pay to get on the list of available workers, he knew someone …


Interview No. 1395, Ofelia Morales Dec 2007

Interview No. 1395, Ofelia Morales

Combined Interviews

Mrs. Morales discusses making blouses at home and selling them to a maquilladora; Mrs. Morales recalls that her father inherited land and he cultivated guayaba; a priest visited with her parents in order to discuss Mr. Felix Loera’s marriage proposal; she recalls her parents being very upset; she was sixteen yeas old when she married Mr. Felix Loera; they had one son, Abadón; they learned of the bracero program in their hometown; she moved back to her parents home while her husband was working in the bracero program; she talks about receiving money from her husband and how she travelled …


Interview No. 1391, Nicasio Cortinas Ortíz Nov 2007

Interview No. 1391, Nicasio Cortinas Ortíz

Combined Interviews

Mr. Cortinaz Ortíz briefly recalls his childhood and the financial difficulties he and his family endured; he talks about his hometown and working in agriculture while growing up; he married ten days before he joined the bracero program; when he was twenty-five years old, he heard about a call for braceros and decided to enlist in the program; he traveled to the contracting center in Monterrey, México; he details the harsh conditions he and the other men endured while waiting at the center; his first contract took him to work in the cotton fields of Texas; he goes on to …