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Articles 31 - 60 of 72
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Interview No. 1444, Delfino Alfredo Muñoz Pacheco
Interview No. 1444, Delfino Alfredo Muñoz Pacheco
Combined Interviews
Mr. Muñoz very briefly discusses his family and childhood; He learned about the bracero program when he was roughly twenty years old, he decided to join the program in order to earn a better wage; He explains that he traveled to Monterrey in order to get enlisted in the program, and obtained the job in Texas Valley picking cotton, later he moved to Arkansas to do the same thing. Mr. Muñoz explains how the working conditions changed because of the different weather in each city, Texas has very high temperatures and Arkansas has a cooler weather, which makes it easier …
Interview No. 1450, Onesimo Santiago Ramos Escobar
Interview No. 1450, Onesimo Santiago Ramos Escobar
Combined Interviews
Onésimo Santiago Ramos Escobar heard about the bracero program when he was twelve years old; Escobar was hired as a bracero in 1958 and traveled to El Valle Imperial. Escobar worked picking lettuce and cotton for one year. Escobar worked until 1959 in el Valle Imperial. He renewed his contract and worked in Stockton, California picking asparagus, potatoes and vegetables. He had a salary of $0.12 cents per sack of onion and $0.03 cents per sack of potato. His bosses treated him well; also the places where they slept and ate were good. He feels very happy because with the …
Interview No. 1426, Antonio Aragón
Interview No. 1426, Antonio Aragón
Combined Interviews
Mr. Aragón talks about what life was like growing up, including the various schools he attended; his father joined the bracero program and worked in Michigan; the money he sent home took too long to arrive, and Antonio was forced to leave school due to lack of payment; with his military schooling, he was able to obtain a recommendation to enlist in the program in Empalme, Sonora, México; he describes the medical exams he underwent there and in the United States, including delousing procedures; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California planting, cleaning, pruning, picking and packing …
Interview No. 1440, Amelia Mandarín Ramos
Interview No. 1440, Amelia Mandarín Ramos
Combined Interviews
Ms. Mandarín describes the community of in San Pedro Ixtlahuaca, Oaxaca, México, where she grew up; they were all very poor; she recalls the women making and selling tortillas, while the men worked in the fields; when she was very young, her father enlisted in the bracero program; she remembers crying a lot while he was gone and missing him terribly; she and her mother anxiously awaited to hear from him through letters; they waited for a long time, because he spent a while getting processed in México before arriving in the United States; while he was gone, she frequently …
Interview No. 1458, Eusebio Sanchez Lara
Interview No. 1458, Eusebio Sanchez Lara
Combined Interviews
Eusebio Sanchez Lara started working since he was a child because his parents died. His four brothers and him started working as farmers. Sanchez heard about the bracero program and was hired in Empalme, Sonora. Sanchez worked in Santa Ana, California picking cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins and chili. Sanchez renewed his contract in Santa Ana for three consecutive years. Sanchez also worked picking broccoli and lettuce in Phoenix, Arizona; He remembers that picking lettuce was the work that he liked least. He got hired for the last time in 1974 and worked in Yuba City picking tomatoes and peaches.
Interview No. 1428, Luis Barozio Ceja
Interview No. 1428, Luis Barozio Ceja
Combined Interviews
Mr. Barozio talks about his family and what life was like growing up; he also chronicles the movement from working as peons to owning a small piece of land on an ejido; during the early forties, while studying as a veterinarian at the university in México, Distrito Federal, he ran out of money, and he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he describes the medical exams he underwent as part of the contracting process; because he had been a student up until he enlisted, he took a number of his books with him when crossing into the United …
Interview No. 1453, María Guadalupe Salcedo Gudiño
Interview No. 1453, María Guadalupe Salcedo Gudiño
Combined Interviews
Ms. Salcedo talks about what her life was like growing up; she vividly recalls having to collect buckets of water on a daily basis from a river that was relatively far away; when she was sixteen years old, she met a man on her ranch, and soon after, they married; his parents passed away when he was eleven years old, leaving him the home where he and María lived; by 1955, they had three children, and he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he left with a group of men from nearby ranches; ultimately, he went through contracting centers …
Interview No. 1432, Tiburcio Delgado Garfia
Interview No. 1432, Tiburcio Delgado Garfia
Combined Interviews
Mr. Delgado briefly discusses his family; some of his relatives and neighbors enlisted in the bracero program; his uncles returned to México with enough money to buy land and animals; he decided to join the program in the hope of providing more for his wife; Tiburcio offers a detailed description of the process to get on the list of eligible workers; moreover, in order to enlist, the men had to pay between four and five hundred pesos; he had to give up part of his land in order to get a loan to enroll in the program; later, when men …
Interview No. 1434, Pedro Domínguez Castillo
Interview No. 1434, Pedro Domínguez Castillo
Combined Interviews
Mr. Domínguez describes his childhood; he went to school in a different town but had to stop, because his family needed help with their fishing; when he was sixteen he heard about the bracero program; he ultimately decided to enlist in 1958, out of economic necessity; at the time, he was married and had one daughter; he traveled with a group of fifteen men to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; while there he underwent medical examinations and had to wait for only three days to obtain a contract; he completed a total of three contracts and labored in …
Interview No. 1429, Audelia Bentura Cortéz
Interview No. 1429, Audelia Bentura Cortéz
Combined Interviews
Ms. Bentura describes what her life was like growing up; her family was very poor, and they suffered greatly; she briefly recounts her courtship with her husband and how he asked for her hand in marriage with his parents, who were also fishermen; after Audelia married she went to live with her in-laws; she helped her mother-in-law with household chores, including preparing meals for the family and the help and cleaning the fish; after eight years of marriage and four children, her husband enlisted in the bracero program, with one of her brothers; they labored in the fields of Texas; …
Interview No. 1430, Vicente Campos Cruz
Interview No. 1430, Vicente Campos Cruz
Combined Interviews
Mr. Campos vividly describes his childhood and spending most of his time fishing with his family; in 1952, he came to the United States without documentation and worked in Los Angeles, California for roughly six months; he was eventually stopped by immigration officials and sent back to México; some time after, he married, and he and his wife began having children; in 1960, he decided to enlist in the bracero program in order to better provide for his family; he describes the process of providing the list of available workers to government officials and going to the contracting center; as …
Interview No. 1435, Clara Eligio Tenorio
Interview No. 1435, Clara Eligio Tenorio
Combined Interviews
Ms. Eligio briefly talks about her family; she later married at the age of sixteen; her husband served in the bracero program and completed two contracts; he left with her brother, which helped her feel more at ease; in the United States her husband picked tomatoes and was gone for a few months at a time; while he was away she made nets to sell, which was how she survived; moreover, she was also able to catch and sell fish to supplement her income; she lived with her mother-in-law, and they had a good relationship; Clara was also able to …
Interview No. 1443, Salvador Morales Quiroz
Interview No. 1443, Salvador Morales Quiroz
Combined Interviews
Mr. Morales talks about going to school as a child and how he primarily spoke Purépeche or Tarasco and very little Spanish; growing up, he heard about the bracero program and how men earned more money in the United States, especially given the dollar to peso ratio; during the midfifties, he decided to enlist as a bracero, and he later obtained another contract in 1960; he mentions getting on the list of available workers and waiting for a month before leaving; because he knew he would buy clothes in the United States he only took a small bag with one …
Interview No. 1437, Nicolás Grimaldo Andrade
Interview No. 1437, Nicolás Grimaldo Andrade
Combined Interviews
Mr. Grimaldo talks about his family and hometown; when he was growing up, his parents did not own the land they worked, which was problematic; during the early fifties, one of his older brothers enlisted in the bracero program and worked in Michigan; Nicolás would pick up the letters and money his brother sent home; in 1955, at the age of twenty-two, he decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps and become a bracero; he describes the process and necessary paperwork to enlist at the contracting center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México; on two separate occasions, while passing though Chihuahua, …
Interview No. 1439, Hilario Martínez Cortez
Interview No. 1439, Hilario Martínez Cortez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Martínez talks about his family and life growing up on an hacienda; moreover, he weeps upon recollecting his early childhood and his father’s subsequent death; he also remembers one of his older brothers trying to enlist in the bracero program but not being accepted; sometime later, Hilario began working as a tailor, but he did not make enough money, which led him to enroll in the program; his family did not want him to go, because they were afraid he would not return; even so, he went through contracting centers in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Monterrey, Nuevo León, and Empalme, …
Interview No. 1442, Roberto Meléndez López
Interview No. 1442, Roberto Meléndez López
Combined Interviews
Mr. Meléndez talks about his family and growing up on an ejido where he learned to work the land and care for animals; when the land did not produce enough crops to maintain the family, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; his father was too old to work, and he had to help support the family; in 1955, he went to Monterrey, Nuevo León, México with the necessary paperwork and joined the program; as a bracero, he worked in Arkansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin picking, irrigating and driving a tractor in the beet, corn, cotton and tomato …
Interview No. 1425, Santos Alejandro González
Interview No. 1425, Santos Alejandro González
Combined Interviews
Mr. González talks about growing up on an ejido and the various difficulties he and his family faced; in 1952, he and his cousin came to work in the United States without documents, because they did not know about the bracero program; two years later, in 1954, Santos was able to enlist as a bracero in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México; the contracting process was especially difficult due to the examinations and delousing procedures he underwent; he describes how he and other men suffered and how they were treated like rented animals; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of …
Interview No. 1431, Santos Cruz Hernández
Interview No. 1431, Santos Cruz Hernández
Combined Interviews
Mr. Cruz briefly talks about his family and his parents in particular; he recalls the difficulties they faced living on an ejido; in 1942, he learned about the bracero program and how some men worked on the railroads; a few years later, in 1945, he decided to enlist in the program; he usually traveled by bus to the contracting centers with groups of fifteen to thirty men; roughly eighty men from his ejido joined the program; from the center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, he was transported to Hidalgo, Texas, where ranchers picked the workers they wanted; as a …
Interview No. 1445, Roman Olivares Hernandez
Interview No. 1445, Roman Olivares Hernandez
Combined Interviews
Olivares Hernandez traveled to Monterrey with his father. Hernandez studied in Monterey, México until high school. After he studied, he traveled to the United States to work without documentation. In 1958, Olivares was hired in the bracero program. The first place where Olivares worked was Allenton, Michigan picking cucumber. His bosses treated him well and were very happy about that. The food offered in the fields was really good, once the braceros complained about the food and his bosses fixed the problem. Olivares is very disappointed because the American government did not give him his retirement money and he is …
Interview No. 1447, Rosalío Padilla Barajas
Interview No. 1447, Rosalío Padilla Barajas
Combined Interviews
Mr. Padilla talks about his family, how they became part of an ejido and what life was like for them; he also offers a detailed description of the agricultural restructuring occurring during the midthirties; life was extremely difficult, and some of his brothers enlisted in the bracero program; Rosalío eventually decided to follow in their footsteps after he and his family faced problems with the ejido; as part of the contracting process, he underwent medical exams and was stripped and deloused; after bathing, he and other men were kept naked and told to exercise in an attempt to determine …
Interview No. 1455, Orfa Noemí Soberanis González
Interview No. 1455, Orfa Noemí Soberanis González
Combined Interviews
Ms. Soberanis describes growing up on an hacienda with her family, including the different homes she lived in and moving around a lot; she remembers helping her mother run the household and making tortillas; when she was nineteen years old, she met her husband, who was four years older than her; he asked for her hand in marriage, and they had to wait for six months before getting married; she vividly recounts all the various details of the wedding, from her dress and shoes to the church and great party that followed; they lived in a home her father-in-law had …
Interview No. 1380, Cecilio V. Rodriguez
Interview No. 1380, Cecilio V. Rodriguez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Rodriguez worked with his father picking cotton, corn, beans, and peanuts when he was a child. Rodriguez obtained a letter to get hired in the bracero program when he was in Obregon, Sonora. At the age of eighteen, he entered to the United States through Nogales. He picked cotton in Avondale, Arizona and returned to work as a bracero the following year in Stockton, California. Rodriguez worked picking tomatoes in Stockton and earned a salary of $8.00 per week. He was hired for the last time in 1962 in San Benito, California and worked picking tomatoes for Heinz Company. …
Interview No. 1387, Julian Velazquez
Interview No. 1387, Julian Velazquez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Velazquez at the age of seven started taking care of animals and working in the agricultural fields. In 1950, he made the decision to travel to Juárez to find an opportunity to be hired in the bracero program. He paid $50 pesos to be hired and was moved the next day to El Paso, Texas. He received a contract to work picking cotton in the city of La Mesa, New Mexico, earning $0.40 an hour. Following that contract, Velazquez returned to the United States to work in the state of California picking strawberries. The next destination was Suinsun City, …
Interview No. 1385, Alberto Vásquez Rojas
Interview No. 1385, Alberto Vásquez Rojas
Combined Interviews
Mr. Vásquez started working in the fields at a very young age. Vásquez found out about the bracero program and traveled to Empalme, Sonora to get hired. The next stop of the journey was Calexico Mexicali. Finally, Vásquez started work picking beets and oranges in Riverside, California. In 1957, Vásquez returned to Arizona as a bracero to pick cotton, lettuce, carrots and other vegetables. He received the American residency with the help of the company he worked with, called J. Wood Company. Mr. Vásquez worked thirty-one years with the same company. He received the foreman position and earned a salary …
Interview No. 1383, Jesus G. Varela
Interview No. 1383, Jesus G. Varela
Combined Interviews
Mr. Varela started working with his father doing agricultural work and caring for animals. He got a job with a friend of his father learning carpentry and blacksmithing earning $0.40 per week. Mr. Varela found out about the bracero program listening to the radio in the town of Guadalupe Victoria. He traveled to Durango, Mexico to get hired in the bracero program when he was eighteen. With only $200 pesos Varela traveled on train to Guanajuato, Mexico. The next destination was El Paso, Texas where the authorities made another revision before continuing the journey to Caldwell, Idaho. Varela worked picking …
Interview No. 1384, Lucio Vargas
Interview No. 1384, Lucio Vargas
Combined Interviews
Mr. Vargas began to work since he was eight years old with his father in the fields and taking care of animals. Mr. Vargas worked in the construction of the Panamerican highway trying to earn enough money for his family and himself. He worked without documentation in the United States when he was eighteen. At the age of twenty-three he heard about the bracero program and was hired in Juarez. At the same age, he married in Mexico and had a family of four daughters and four sons. Vargas traveled to El Paso, Texas, and was hired at Fort Bliss. …
Interview No. 1386, Jose S. Velazquez
Interview No. 1386, Jose S. Velazquez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Velazquez managed to fake his age by saying he was eighteen years old in order to be hired in the bracero program. His first destination was a ranch in Colorado, in which he and other four braceros worked picking cotton; the treatment of his bosses was excellent. He returned as a bracero and worked in Manteca, California and Artesia, New Mexico. Mr. Velazquez returned without documentation to the United States and worked in the states of Texas and Chicago. He worked without documentation in the United States for approximately twenty years. Velazquez worked in the metal casting over two …
Interview No. 1379, Francisco Uribe Ramos
Interview No. 1379, Francisco Uribe Ramos
Combined Interviews
Mr. Uribe traveled to Empalme to get hired in the bracero program. He brought with him his Mexican military ID and worked as a bracero until he was twenty-five. The first place where he worked was Gila Bend, Arizona and in Blythe, California picking cotton. The daily salary was $0.02 per pound, reaching $3.00 to $4.50 per day. During that time Uribe paid $15.00 for food. Mr. Uribe returned to the United States and worked without documentation in Avondale until a Border Patrol found him and sent him to jail in Phoenix. Uribe was later deported to Nogales. Years later, …
Interview No. 1377, Petra Sanchez
Interview No. 1377, Petra Sanchez
Combined Interviews
Mrs. Sanchez had seven sibling and all went to school but she had to repeat first grade because her reading and writing. She was married in Durango, Mexico and then moved to El Paso with her family. Her husband was hired as a bracero working in cotton fields, all his family lived there because they did not need to pay for the house and utilities. He did the bracero hiring process for the Bracero Program in Juárez with the help of the “patron”, once he was bracero, his salary was $2.25 per hour and he worked Monday to Saturday, 8 …
Interview No. 1378, Pedro Torres
Interview No. 1378, Pedro Torres
Combined Interviews
Mr. Torres twenty traveled to Chihuahua to get hired in the Bracero Program. Mr. Torres took a train called “El Pollero” in the city of Gomez Palacio and traveled to Chihuahua, Chihuahua. The most difficult part of the journey was in Chihuahua. The conditions of the train were very poorly. Finally they arrived at the recruitment center in Rio Vista, California where they had some medical examinations. Torres traveled without documents just with his Mexican military ID. Torres worked picking cotton in Texas and New Mexico with a salary of $0.05 per pound of cotton. He returned to work as …