Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (1468)
- Labor History (113)
- Social History (37)
- Cultural History (25)
- Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies (18)
-
- Military History (17)
- African American Studies (14)
- Sports Studies (13)
- Medicine and Health Sciences (11)
- Political History (6)
- Aviation (3)
- Engineering (3)
- Business (2)
- History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (2)
- Architecture (1)
- Art Practice (1)
- Community Health (1)
- Construction Engineering (1)
- Creative Writing (1)
- Diplomatic History (1)
- Education (1)
- Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (1)
- European History (1)
- Jewish Studies (1)
- Latin American History (1)
- Mental and Social Health (1)
- Regional Sociology (1)
- Keyword
-
- University of Texas at El Paso. Institute of Oral History—interviews. (872)
- Oral History (587)
- Bracero (559)
- Labor History (556)
- University of Texas at El Paso. Institute of Oral History--interviews (556)
-
- University of Texas at El Paso. Institute of Oral History—interviews (141)
- Mexico-Revolution (96)
- University of Texas at El Paso (78)
- University of Texas at El Paso--History (68)
- Institute of Oral History—interviews. (63)
- Border-Union Strikes (60)
- Illegal Aliens-In United States (60)
- World War II (52)
- Institute of Oral History interviews (50)
- The Depression (46)
- Discrimination (45)
- Prohibition (44)
- El Paso-History (43)
- University of Texas at El Paso. Institute of Oral History--interviews. (40)
- Farah Strike (37)
- Hispanic Entrepreneurs Oral History Project (36)
- Mining-Mexico (34)
- Unions (33)
- ASARCO (30)
- History (28)
- Mexican-American--Relations with Anglos (27)
- Paso del Norte Entrepreneurs Oral History Project (25)
- Chicano-The Word (24)
- Chicano-Movement (23)
- El Paso-Medical Community (22)
- Publication Year
Articles 481 - 510 of 1746
Full-Text Articles in Oral History
Interview No. 1238, Jose V. Perez
Interview No. 1238, Jose V. Perez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Perez talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; moreover, he offers several anecdotes about his life in México; during the mid-1940s, he worked in the United States without proper documentation before learning about the bracero program; in 1956, he decided to enlist in the program; he describes the centers he went though in Monterrey, Nuevo León and Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, where he paid five hundred pesos to go through the process more quickly; from the center he was transported by cargo train to the border in El Paso, Texas; he was also stripped, medically …
Interview No. 1246, Isaias Sanchez
Interview No. 1246, Isaias Sanchez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Sanchez talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; when he was fifteen years old, he wanted to join the bracero program, but he had to wait until he completed his military service; he describes the difficulties he faced trying to enlist and the centers he went through in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Monterrey, Nuevo León and Empalme, Sonora, México; as part of the contracting process, he was stripped, medically examined and deloused; although re-contracting at these centers was initially difficult, over time he got to know people who helped him and was later able to buy …
Interview No. 1243, Marcos Ruíz
Interview No. 1243, Marcos Ruíz
Combined Interviews
Mr. Ruíz briefly talks about his life in México; when he was seventeen years old, after he completed his military service, he moved to Mexicali, Baja California, México, where he learned about the bracero program; he went through the contracting center in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México; from there, he was transported by train to the border, where he was stripped and medically examined; many men fainted when blood samples were collected, because they had not eaten; worse yet, they were forced to strip in spite of the women present; an American official told them it did not matter, made them bend …
Interview No. 1251, Roberto Sotelo A.
Interview No. 1251, Roberto Sotelo A.
Combined Interviews
Mr. Sotelo briefly discusses his family; during the early 1950s, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he describes the contracting process he underwent at the centers in Monterrey, Nuevo León and Empalme, Sonora México, including medical exams; when going through Empalme, he worked in California, and when he went through Monterrey, he worked in Texas; from the centers he was transported by trains or buses to the border, where he was further examined and deloused; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona, California and Texas picking various crops; he goes on to detail the different …
Interview No. 1252, Vidal Tafoya
Interview No. 1252, Vidal Tafoya
Combined Interviews
Mr. Tafoya briefly talks about his family and what his life was like growing up in México; he recalls that a great flood ruined all the crops, which led to government officials giving out cards to enlist in the bracero program on several ejidos; he went to Empalme, Sonora, México, where he encountered difficulties, because he had not completed his military service; eventually, he was able to pass through to the center in Mexicali, Baja California, México, where he was examined and fumigated; he was then transported by bus to the San Joaquin Valley Association where ranchers chose the workers …
Interview No. 1244, Manuel Sanchez Moreno
Interview No. 1244, Manuel Sanchez Moreno
Combined Interviews
Mr. Sanchez briefly talks about his family; when he and his brother went to visit their sister in Mexicali, Baja California, México, a group of men convinced them to enlist in the bracero program, and they helped them at the center in Empalme, Sonora, México; as part of the process, they were stripped and medically examined; they began to doubt their decision to join, because everything was so far beyond what they had imagined; Manuel recalls that many men tore up their contracts when they did not get assigned to the places they wanted; as a bracero, he labored in …
Interview No. 1254, Salvador Velazco
Interview No. 1254, Salvador Velazco
Combined Interviews
Mr. Velazco talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; he recalls that at first, people were afraid of getting sent off to war if they enlisted in the bracero program; Salvador initially came to the United States, in 1947, without documents; roughly a month later, he went to the Coachella Valley Farmer’s Association (CVFA) and acquired a bracero contract; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California, picking and packing various crops and driving a tractor until 1960; he goes on to detail housing, accommodations, amenities, provisions, duties, routines, payments, remittances, treatment, friendships, …
Interview No. 1241, Isabel Rodríguez
Interview No. 1241, Isabel Rodríguez
Combined Interviews
Ms. Rodríguez remembers her father, Francisco, enlisting in the bracero program in 1960, when she was roughly five years old; he later obtained his second contract in 1963; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California, picking lettuce, onions, radishes and squash; when he initially left, her mother and two oldest brothers had to care for their animals and the crops he had already planted, including beans, corn and squash; in addition, her mother also had another plot of land with sugar cane; they had to hire men with mules to help bring in the crops, and the …
Interview No. 1256, Eulalio Verazas
Interview No. 1256, Eulalio Verazas
Combined Interviews
Mr. Verazas talks about his life growing up in México and how much he suffered; he worked in the United States without documents for a brief time; by the early 1940s, he had already married and enlisted in the bracero program; as part of the contracting process he was stripped, medically examined and deloused; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California and Texas, picking and packing various fruits and vegetables; he goes on to detail his different worksites, housing, duties, payments and correspondence; while his wife was in México, people began to spread rumors about Eulalio not …
Interview No. 1257, Jesus Villalba C.
Interview No. 1257, Jesus Villalba C.
Combined Interviews
Mr. Villalba talks about his family and what his life was like growing up in México; during his early twenties he married; economic necessity drove him to enlist in the bracero program in 1959; his wife was reluctant to let him go for fear he would get sick, injured or not return; as part of the contracting process, he went through the center in Empalme, Sonora, México, where he waited for thirteen days; he underwent medical exams in México and the United States; moreover, he was also fumigated upon entering the United States; during this process, he suffered greatly, because …
Interview No. 1258, Brijido Solíz
Interview No. 1258, Brijido Solíz
Combined Interviews
Mr. Solíz talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; in 1955, he was living in Poza Rica [de Hidalgo], Veracruz, México, when he decided to enlist in the bracero program; at the time, he was working on an ejido, but he was not earning enough to make a living; he went to Mexicali, Baja California, México to begin the contracting process; upon crossing into the United States he was medically examined and fumigated; on some occasions, he was able to obtain a specialized workers contract, as a palmero, or date picker, which allowed him to …
Interview No. 1206, Agustin Bautista
Interview No. 1206, Agustin Bautista
Combined Interviews
Mr. Agustin Bautista recalls growing up in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, México; he states that he is the youngest sibling in his family; additionally, he explains that he was contracted for the first time on 1943, at Empalme, Sonora, México; he details how the contracting and processing of braceros was done, the treatment they received in Empalme, and how they were transported to the United States-México border; furthermore, he explains how officials had braceros shave their heads before crossing into the United States to prevent lice from spreading and how they were deloused; he relates how he worked in Arizona, California, Oregon, …
Interview No. 1209, Marcelino Burcíaga
Interview No. 1209, Marcelino Burcíaga
Combined Interviews
Mr. Burcíaga recalls growing up in Canatlan, Durango, México; he states that his father was a carpenter and a shoemaker; at an early age, he began working in agriculture; he states that in 1961 he decided to join the bracero program because of financial difficulties; he describes being contracted in Mexicali, Baja California, México and being sent to Empalme, Sonora, México for processing; while in Empalme, he states that he was given thorough medical exams; he details the treatment he received in that center, and then he explains how he was transported to the United States-México border; once he became …
Interview No. 1211, Pedro Carmona
Interview No. 1211, Pedro Carmona
Combined Interviews
Mr. Carmona remembers growing up in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, México the middle child of eight siblings; he states that his parents worked in agriculture; additionally, he recalls working from an early age, and not being able to attend school because of the need to earn a wage; he discusses how he heard about the bracero program in 1945, and his decision to join the program in 1948; furthermore, he explains how he had to pay a mordida or bribe to get on the list of workers for the program; he does not go into detail about the process of being contracted …
Interview No. 1212, María Serrano, María Carmona
Interview No. 1212, María Serrano, María Carmona
Combined Interviews
Ms. Carmona and Ms. Serrano discuss their childhoods and what life was like in México for them; they both explain how the bracero program impacted them directly; specifically, Ms. Carmona describes the hardships her family endured while her father worked as a bracero; she states that it was hard to never know when her father would return; additionally, she explains how her mother coped with the situation and how the children had to work from an early age to help make ends meet; for Ms. Serrano, the bracero program impacted her through her marriage; she relates how hard it was …
Interview No. 1220, Pedro García N.
Interview No. 1220, Pedro García N.
Combined Interviews
Mr. García talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; he explains that government officials went into different towns to get people to enlist in the bracero program; during the 1940s, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he comments that it was extremely difficult to join, because there were a number of strict requirements; as part of the process, he was stripped, medically examined and fumigated; if men did not pass due to illness, they were given a week to recover before going through the entire process again; every time he obtained a new …
Interview No. 1248, Jesus Solis
Interview No. 1248, Jesus Solis
Combined Interviews
Mr. Solis talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; although joining the bracero program was never an economic necessity for him, he longed to come to the United States to know what it was like; when he was in his early twenties, he went with two of his friends to the contracting center in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México; they paid a lawyer who was responsible for the list of eligible workers two hundred pesos to get on the list; by the next evening they were on a train headed for the United States; during the process, …
Interview No. 1259, Jose M. Zepeda
Interview No. 1259, Jose M. Zepeda
Combined Interviews
Mr. Zepeda talks about his life in México, including his various odd jobs; he initially learned about the bracero program through newspaper announcements; during the 1960s, after completing his military service, he went to Empalme, Sonora, México with a group of roughly four hundred men to pick cotton and get the necessary papers to enlist in the program; upon arriving in the United States, he was inspected like a piece of fruit and fumigated; many men were embarrassed by the entire process; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California, picking asparagus, cotton, dates, strawberries and tomatoes; he …
Interview No. 1249, Nabor Solorio Lara
Interview No. 1249, Nabor Solorio Lara
Combined Interviews
Mr. Solorio briefly talks about his family; in 1958, he married, and a year later he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he went through the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; there were long waiting lines, and he had to sleep on his shoes at night so they would not get stolen; as part of the process, he was stripped and medically examined on both sides of the border, but he was also deloused in the United States; as a bracero, he labored in Arizona and California, picking and packing carrots, cotton, lettuce and tomatoes; he goes on …
Interview No. 1172, Marselina Meza Lo.
Interview No. 1172, Marselina Meza Lo.
Combined Interviews
Ms. Meza describes her family and what life was like growing up in a small town; her family owned a parcel of land where they planted beans, corn, and wheat; she recalls never going to school very much, because she helped care for her younger siblings; her father was a bracero in the late fifties and early sixties; he worked in California and Texas, usually on forty-five day contracts, three to four times a year; when he was gone, she and her mother were left to care for the children and work the land; in 1962, she married Nemencio Meza …
Interview No. 1177, Heriberto Rivas L.
Interview No. 1177, Heriberto Rivas L.
Combined Interviews
future for himself in helping his dad work the land nor did he see the opportunity to further his education; when he was sixteen, he came to the United States illegally; he was caught by immigration officials, and they told him about the bracero program; in 1955, he was able to obtain a bracero contract in Hermosillo, Sonora, México; he describes sneaking into the center, because there were more than twenty thousand men, and he knew he would not make it; he was then transported by train to Mexicali, Baja California, México, and then to Calexico, California; while there he …
Interview No. 1182, Margarita Saldivar
Interview No. 1182, Margarita Saldivar
Combined Interviews
Ms. Saldivar briefly mentions her family and childhood; what she remembers most is her father, Francisco Leopoldo Saldívar, always talking to her about the United States and how it was a completely different country where people lived very well; he frequently spoke of the relationships he formed and how he felt free; on weekends he would make pancakes and bacon, because he missed the food so much; although he worked a lot, he enjoyed his time in the United States and longed to return, but he never had the opportunity; he enlisted when he was eighteen years old and regularly …
Interview No. 1166, Pedro Benitez
Interview No. 1166, Pedro Benitez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Benitez vividly describes his childhood, including the deaths of his mother and grandmother, being abandoned by his father, and the various resulting difficulties he and his two sisters faced; he sobs at the recollection of such events; growing up, he wandered from place to place in search of work and a place to stay; he later began picking cotton in the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Sonora; while in Sonora, during the early fifties, he picked two thousand kilograms of cotton, which allowed him to travel to Empalme, Sonora, to enlist in the bracero program; as a bracero, he …
Interview No. 1167, Rafael Cortez
Interview No. 1167, Rafael Cortez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Cortez describes how the Mexican government would often send notices about forty-five day contracts with the bracero program to various cities throughout the country; upon receiving these announcements, men would travel to designated work locations in order to obtain the necessary paperwork for contracting centers; Rafael went to the center in Empalme, Sonora, México, to enlist in the program; he states that there were over twenty-five thousand men waiting at the center, but there were only between three and five thousand men processed daily; Rafael goes on to describe the medical assessments he underwent while at the center; upon …
Interview No. 1180, Carlos Fuentes
Interview No. 1180, Carlos Fuentes
Combined Interviews
Mr. Fuentes briefly describes his family, childhood, and adolescence; he becomes emotional and cries upon recalling his decision to become a bracero in the hopes of financially helping his family; initially, he went through the contracting center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, to enlist as a bracero; he goes on to explain the requirements, general exams, including immunizations and delousing procedures, and the overall process he underwent at the various centers he went through; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California, Michigan, Texas, and Wyoming, picking beets, cotton, cucumbers, lemons, and lettuce; he details the different worksites, …
Interview No. 1173, Sabas Luna
Interview No. 1173, Sabas Luna
Combined Interviews
Mr. Luna recounts his childhood and adolescence, particularly his experiences as a young campesino; he recalls his dad working as a bracero, which helped his family financially, but left him without a father’s guidance; consequently, he and his older brother had to care for the family and show their younger siblings how to work; at eighteen, he obtained his first bracero contract in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, which took him to Arkansas; it rained too much there for him to earn any money; the following year, he went through a center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, which took him to a …
Interview No. 1178, Jesús Rivera L.
Interview No. 1178, Jesús Rivera L.
Combined Interviews
Mr. Rivera talks about his father who became a permanent resident of the United States in the early 1900s and was repatriated during the massive deportations of the 1930s; in 1942, his father returned to the United States as a bracero and stayed with the program until 1953; as the eldest son, Jesús was left to care for his family while his father was away; in 1956, against his father’s wishes, he went to Empalme, Sonora, México, to enlist as a bracero; he describes the difficulties of surviving while waiting as well as the rudeness of the exams; from there …
Interview No. 1174, Aurelio L. Marin
Interview No. 1174, Aurelio L. Marin
Combined Interviews
Mr. Marin recalls his father and uncles working as braceros; they would often tell him what life was like in the United States; at the age of eighteen, he decided to follow in their footsteps with the hopes of earning enough money to return to México and buy land; after receiving his military ID card and the required letter of recommendation, he went to Empalme, Sonora, México, but he had to pay money and pick cotton before being able to begin the contracting process; there were thousands of men waiting for a contract; the men were examined while there, but …
Interview No. 1181, Perfecta Rivas De Rodriguez
Interview No. 1181, Perfecta Rivas De Rodriguez
Combined Interviews
Ms. Rivas de Rodriguez briefly discusses her family and childhood; she recalls hearing about the courtship between her mother and father; in the midfifties her father enlisted in the bracero program, which financially helped her family, and they were able to move out of her paternal grandfather’s home and into their own; she remembers that there were always notices around town to sign up for the program; the men had to stay anywhere between eight and fifteen days in Empalme, Sonora, México; while waiting some men ate banana peels or nothing at all, and they used cardboard as blankets; the …
Interview No. 1184, Carmen Velazquez
Interview No. 1184, Carmen Velazquez
Combined Interviews
Ms. Velazquez briefly describes her childhood and family; she recalls being young and naïve enough to believe that coming to the United States guaranteed money; when she was sixteen years old, she married José Bartolo Velázquez; shortly after their nuptials, he went to Empalme, Sonora, México, to enlist in the bracero program; while he was away, she and her ten children lived with her father; she remembers not having enough money for cloth diapers, having to tear up whatever clothes she could find, and constantly washing; what little money he did manage to send she used to buy necessities for …