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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. 1601, Esteban Chavez
Interview No. 1601, Esteban Chavez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Chavez recalls that in 1943 he tried to go as a bracero but was rejected because of his age; once he turned eighteen he was contracted along with his two older brothers; he recalls it taking two days to sign his contract, consequently they slept on the floor near the train; he recalls the health check by Mexican doctors, having their hands inspected, and being disinfected for lice; he recalls working in El Paso, making .40 cents a pound, and driving large machinery; he remembers fifty men sleeping in a barrack, using the river to bathe, and not having …
Interview No. 1399, Rodolfo Balderrama
Interview No. 1399, Rodolfo Balderrama
Combined Interviews
Rodolfo Balderrama had some ranches in Satevó Chihuahua, México. He heard of the Bracero Program from a few ranch hands who had worked in the program. Coupled with curiosity and poverty, Rodolfo decided to try the program for himself. He experienced the lengthy entrance portion of the Bracero Program where his hands were closely examined for callouses, nicks and cuts; signs that proved he worked on a ranch/farm. Rodolfo was given x-rays to determine if he had tuberculosis and was searched in his head for lice. He traveled to many cities around the United States while working for the Bracero …
Interview No. 1400, Ezequiel García
Interview No. 1400, Ezequiel García
Combined Interviews
Ezequiel García entered the Bracero Program in 1952 when he was 20 years old. As a bracero in the Bracero Program, Ezequiel pick various fruits, vegetables and plants such as sugar beets, tomato, cabbage, lettuce, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower and tobacco. Ezequiel earned $0.75 cents an hour for his work in the Bracero Program and worked for several different employers for lengthy amounts of time. He recounts nothing but fond memories and feels grateful to his employers who treated him well. Ezequiel found the procedures for entrance to the Bracero Programs in order and without problems. Ezequiel worked very hard …
Interview No. 1422, Luis Zamudio
Interview No. 1422, Luis Zamudio
Combined Interviews
Luis Ruiz Zamudio was born in Moroleón Guanajuato, México on August 19th, 1935. Moroleón was a town known for creating shawls (rebozos) and according to Luis, 99% of the townspeople work in one form or another in creating shawls. When Luis was between the ages of 8-10 years old, he began making bobbins and spools for shawl making. However, shawl manufacturing did not pay enough and Luis’s parents had to still take care to plant a plot if corn every year. When he was in the 6th grade, he and his siblings left school to start working full time. Luis …
Interview No. 1344, Jesús Gallegos
Interview No. 1344, Jesús Gallegos
Combined Interviews
Mr. Gallegos recalls what it was like growing up in his hometown of Ecuandureo, Michoacán, México; when he was sixteen years old, he moved from Sinaloa to Sonora, México, to work; while there, he learned about the bracero program, because many men worked there to obtain papers for the workers’ lists in Empalme, Sonora; in 1961, he acquired the necessary documents, but he was too young and gave it away; the following year, he was able to go to the contracting center in Empalme, where he waited for three weeks to be called; he recounts how difficult it was there; …
Interview No. 1373, Alfonso Romero Hernández
Interview No. 1373, Alfonso Romero Hernández
Combined Interviews
Mr. Hernández briefly talks about his family; in 1958, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he submitted his birth certificate and proof of military service in order to put himself on the local list of available workers; as part of the contracting process, he was stripped, medically examined and vaccinated; as a bracero, he completed four contracts and labored in the fields of Colorado and New México cleaning, pruning and picking beets and cotton; he goes on to detail the various worksites, housing, provisions, duties and remittances; while working in the beet fields of Greeley, Colorado, he had …
Interview No. 1333, Sara Arrieta Hernández
Interview No. 1333, Sara Arrieta Hernández
Combined Interviews
Sara’s father, Pedro Arrieta González, worked as a bracero; she vividly describes how poor she and her family were while she was growing up; there were times when they went days without eating, until her father was able to send them money from the United States; they were always happy to have him back home; prior to becoming a bracero, he made brooms; he repeatedly mentioned how fond he was of the United States, especially because it was so different; his first contract was in 1942, the year before Sara was born; she comments that virtually every time he returned …
Interview No. 1595, Delia A. Pompa Nunez
Interview No. 1595, Delia A. Pompa Nunez
Combined Interviews
Ms. Pompa talks about living in Mexico with her mother while her father, Gildardo Espinoza Pompa, worked as a bracero in the United States; he labored in the fields of Arizona, California, Idaho, Texas and Wyoming picking various crops; her parents began filling out papers to immigrate to the United States in 1950, before Delia was born; while he was gone, her mother worked as primary school teacher; he often sent money by telegram, which her mother cashed at a local bank; in addition, he sent material, thread and needles to his wife for her sewing; once, when he returned …
Interview No. 1329, Cándido Alarcón
Interview No. 1329, Cándido Alarcón
Combined Interviews
Mr. Alarcón very briefly discusses his family and childhood; he learned about the bracero program through his friends; when he was roughly twenty-six years old, he decided to join the program in order to give his wife and daughter a better life; he explains that each town had a raffle to see who would travel to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, in order to enlist; from there he traveled to Calexico, California, where he was stripped naked and medically examined before being deloused; he describes the process as humiliating, because he was treated like an animal; moreover, he …
Interview No. 1330, José Natividad Alva Medina
Interview No. 1330, José Natividad Alva Medina
Combined Interviews
Mr. Alva talks about his childhood, family, and father, who was abusive, which led him to seek a life outside of his home very early on; growing up, he worked picking cotton in various places throughout México, and this eventually led him to enlist in the bracero program; he details the process he went through to get the necessary paperwork for the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; from there, he and the other men were loaded in cargo trains, about one hundred per box car, and transported to Calexico, California; he was treated so badly that he wanted to …
Interview No. 1342, Jose M. Espinoza
Interview No. 1342, Jose M. Espinoza
Combined Interviews
Mr. Espinoza recalls the harsh conditions he experienced while growing up in Coalcomán, Michoacán; at an early age he started working with his parents harvesting corn and beans; Mr. Espinoza became a Bracero in the year of 1957, he came to the United States to work along with 3 home town friends; he remembers traveling by train along with many others, Mr. Espinoza recalls getting stripped of his clothes and fumigated in Caléxico, California; Mr. Espinoza remembers having some of his personal belongings taken away because they were not allowed to bring anything besides the clothes they had on; Mr. …
Interview No. 1352, Alfredo López
Interview No. 1352, Alfredo López
Combined Interviews
Mr. López talks about his decision to enlist in the bracero program in 1958; in addition, he describes the process he went through to get the necessary paperwork before traveling to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; he estimates that there were between fifteen and twenty thousand men processed daily; they were organized by lists according to states; from there he was transported to Calexico, California, where he was medically examined and deloused; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona and California cleaning, pruning, picking and packing cotton, lemon, lettuce, tomato and other citrus crops; he …
Interview No. 1371, Lauro Rivas
Interview No. 1371, Lauro Rivas
Combined Interviews
Mr. Rivas recalls hearing people talk about the bracero program when he was young; he had great illusions of coming to the United States and having a better life; in 1957, when he was seventeen years old, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he initially went through the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, but he was unable to obtain a contract; later that same year, he went through the center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México; as part of the process, he had to present proof of military service, and he also endured medical exams, which included blood samples …
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. 1345, Jesús García Estrada
Interview No. 1345, Jesús García Estrada
Combined Interviews
Mr. García briefly recounts his childhood; when he was roughly fourteen years old, he moved to Bácum, Sonora, México, which was where he learned about the bracero program; several men picked cotton there in order to obtain papers for the workers’ lists in Empalme, Sonora; consequently, he did the same, and he details the process he underwent while there, including the humiliation of being stripped and medically examined; after that, he and other braceros were given lunch and transported by train to Mexicali, Baja California, México; as they were about to arrive, the train slowed, and people offered them milk …
Interview No. 1364, Jorge Ortiz Marquez
Interview No. 1364, Jorge Ortiz Marquez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Ortiz talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; when he was eighteen, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he describes the contracting process he went through in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, including the long waiting times and medical exams; from there he was transported in a cargo train to El Paso, Texas; he explains that roughly one thousand five hundred men were transferred daily; once in El Paso, he was taken to a center called Rio Vista, where he underwent further assessments and delousing procedures; afterward, he was fed, but the food had …
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. 1348, Isidro Herrera Ortega
Interview No. 1348, Isidro Herrera Ortega
Combined Interviews
Mr. Herrera talks about his hometown and working in agriculture and with livestock while growing up; he knew about the bracero program when it first started in the early 1940s; a number of men joined and returned, including his father and some of his uncles; Isidro decided to follow in their footsteps and enlisted in 1955 with the hopes of having a better life; to begin the contracting process, he traveled by bus to Irapuato, Guanajuato, México; later, he also went through the center in Empalme, Sonora, México; the center in Irapuato was situated on an old military camp, and …
Interview No. 1347, Alejandro Hernández
Interview No. 1347, Alejandro Hernández
Combined Interviews
Mr. Hernández talks about his family and how much he suffered growing up; he initially learned about the bracero program through the radio; in 1950, he and a friend went to Chihuahua, México to earn money picking cotton; from there they went to the contracting center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México, which was situated in an abandoned racetrack; among the thousands waiting, they found some friends that were already on a list of workers; two men from the list were missing and they easily took their place; Alejandro describes crossing into El Paso, Texas, where he was stripped, examined and …