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- University of Texas at El Paso. Institute of Oral History—interviews. (873)
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Articles 241 - 270 of 1759
Full-Text Articles in History
Interview No. 1449, Delfina Perez Reyes
Interview No. 1449, Delfina Perez Reyes
Combined Interviews
Delfina Perez Reyes lived with her parents and his sister in San Ixtlahuaca, Oaxaca, México. Her parents died when she was twelve years old. Miss Perez moved in with her grandparents when her parents died. Delfina was married when she was sixteen years old and moved to live with the parents of her husband. Her husband worked as a bracero in the United States while Mrs. Perez took care of his three sons. Her sons felt very sad because his father was not with them. They found a better life with more opportunities for all her family thanks to the …
Interview No. 1454, Antonio Sierra García
Interview No. 1454, Antonio Sierra García
Combined Interviews
Mr. Sierra talks about growing up in an extremely poor indigenous town where hardly anyone spoke Spanish; he initially learned about the bracero program through government announcements; at the time, many were afraid of being taken away to fight in the war; Antonio eventually married, and he and his wife had three children, two girls and one boy; later, in 1954, he enlisted in the bracero program; he suffered greatly while going through the contracting process in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México, because he had to wait for twenty days and only ate occasionally; moreover, he did not pass, and he had …
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. 1448, Isidro De Jesus Perez Ramos
Interview No. 1448, Isidro De Jesus Perez Ramos
Combined Interviews
Isidro Perez lived with his grandparents and completed third grade. He started working when his grandfather died. In 1960, Mr. Perez traveled to Empalme, Sonora to be hired as a bracero but he did not started working until 1962, picking cotton in El Centro, California. He returned to work as a bracero in Anaheim in the orange fields. He renewed his contract for the last time and worked in Stockton picking cucumber and tomatoes. Perez remembered that one time he became ill and his boss took him to the hospital in Anaheim. Perez made a lot of friends while he …
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. 1452, Gustavo Eloy Reyes Rodríguez
Interview No. 1452, Gustavo Eloy Reyes Rodríguez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Reyes talks about his family and what it was like growing up on an ejido; as a teenager he had heard about men coming to work in the United States as braceros and how well it had gone for them; in 1960, he paid the one hundred pesos necessary to get proper documentation to enlist in the bracero program; he traveled by train to Empalme, Sonora, México, where at least five hundred men were processed on a daily basis; as part of the contracting process, he underwent medical exams; upon arriving in Calexico, California, on top of being …
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. 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. 1401, Porfirio B. García
Interview No. 1401, Porfirio B. García
Combined Interviews
Porfirio García was born in a town (rancho) called Tendeparacua in the state of Michoacán, México. His parents were also field workers who taught Porfirio and his two brothers how to make tiles for homes, a job that Porfirio worked in until a chance to enter the Bracero Program came to him. The chance to join the Bracero Program came when the governor of Morelia gave the township of Tendeparacua cards to enlist men for the program. Porfirio has worked in many states such as Arkansas, California, Washington State and Texas picking various produce. At the end of the war …
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 1624, J. Halbert Gambrell
Interview No. 1624, J. Halbert Gambrell
Combined Interviews
In this interview, J. Halbert (“Hal”) Gambrell shares his memories of his colorful family, early El Paso, and his military experiences during both World War II and the Korean War. Born in El Paso in 1920, Gambrell entered this world in the family home due to his physician father’s decision to avoid local hospitals overflowing with Spanish Influenza patients. His father had recently returned from service in France during World War I; earlier he had served under General Jack “Black” Pershing during the latter’s 1916 punitive expedition into Mexico in Pershing’s ill-fated attempt to capture Pancho Villa. Gambrell continues to …