Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Oral History Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2006

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type

Articles 61 - 90 of 213

Full-Text Articles in Oral History

Interview No. 1148, Francisco De Casas M. May 2006

Interview No. 1148, Francisco De Casas M.

Combined Interviews

Mr. Casas describes what it was like growing up on a ranch and how he helped with the land and the animals; he initially learned about the bracero program through people that would go to the ranches and charge roughly three hundred pesos to enlist people; in 1948, he enlisted as a bracero and went through a contracting center in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México; from there he traveled by bus to the border; he was later examined, which included getting x-rays and being deloused; as a bracero, he worked in Arizona and California planting, watering, picking, and packing various fruits and …

Go to article

Interview No. 1158, Rosario Renteria May 2006

Interview No. 1158, Rosario Renteria

Combined Interviews

Ms. Renteria talks about her family at length, including each of her siblings, and their corresponding occupations and families; her father, Eugenio Rentería, was a campesino, who later enlisted in the bracero program; she describes him as an extremely hard worker, fighter, and survivor; as a bracero, he worked in Calexico, Coachella, and Indio, California, picking cotton and dates; he often traveled back and forth between the United States and México; while working in Calexico, he was transferred to Indio; although he could not write, he regularly had someone help him so he could send letters and money home; Rosario’s …

Go to article

Interview No. 1160, Jesus Tellez Sanchez May 2006

Interview No. 1160, Jesus Tellez Sanchez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Tellez recalls his hometown, going to school, and working with his father; in 1953, he was able to get on the list of eligible workers in order to enlist in the bracero program; he went through the contracting center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México; from there he was transported by train to El Paso, Texas, where he was medically examined, which including being stripped and deloused; the men who fumigated the braceros, however, wore uniforms for protection as well as masks; while at the processing center in Rio Vista, he was fed eggs, beans, and tortillas; before leaving for his …

Go to article

Interview No. 1161, Clemente Velazquez May 2006

Interview No. 1161, Clemente Velazquez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Velazquez recollects the humble home where he grew up with its roof made of grass and rocks; when he was twelve years old, he was responsible for about twenty cows on the hacienda; he was already married by the time he was roughly fifteen years old; not long after, he came to the United States illegally to work; he remembers hearing his uncles talk about the bracero program; in 1956, he was able to get on the list of eligible workers in order to get contracted in Empalme, Sonora, México; when not on the list, he had the option …

Go to article

Interview No. 1162, Pedro Velazquez L May 2006

Interview No. 1162, Pedro Velazquez L

Combined Interviews

Mr. Velazquez recalls learning to work the land with his family; in 1959, he traveled to Empalme, Sonora, to enlist in the bracero program, but his name was not on the list of eligible workers; in order he had to get the necessary papers, he had to pick two thousand kilos of cotton, which was very hard work; from then on, he preferred to pay a coyote to get the documentation; from there he went to Mexicali, Baja California, México, and the center there was only open from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM; his first contract took him to Arizona, …

Go to article

Interview No. 1066, Fortino Covarrubias May 2006

Interview No. 1066, Fortino Covarrubias

Combined Interviews

Mr. Covarrubias recalls growing up and seeing several of the men in his community going to work in the United States, which inspired him to do the same; in 1949, shortly after completing his military service, he enlisted in the bracero program; he went to Empalme, Sonora, México, where he suffered greatly during the four months he waited for a contract; upon crossing into the United States, he was stripped, medically examined and deloused, like an animal; as a bracero, he completed one contract and labored in the fields of California, picking grapes, strawberries and tomatoes; he goes on to …

Go to article

Interview No. 1079, Jose Alvarez M. May 2006

Interview No. 1079, Jose Alvarez M.

Combined Interviews

Mr. Alvarez remembers growing up hearing his father talk about the United States; he was about ten years old when his father was a bracero; he often sent money, and the family lived off of that and what little they could bring in from the fields; his father completed roughly five contracts; after he passed away, José decided to enlist in the bracero program in 1953; he and his two brothers signed up on the list of eligible workers in their hometown of Jamay, Jalisco, México; even though he was only sixteen at the time, he was still able to …

Go to article

Interview No. 1080, Ismael Rodríguez May 2006

Interview No. 1080, Ismael Rodríguez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Rodríguez talks about his childhood and how sad it was, including his father’s death when he was only six years old; as a young man, he looked for work wherever he could find it; when he learned about the bracero program, he saw it as an opportunity to save money and help his family; in order to join, he had to put himself on the list of eligible workers; as part of the contracting process, he had to present his birth certificate, proof of military service and other documents; in addition, he was medically examined and deloused; as a …

Go to article

Howard R. Dufour: The Cold War Aerospace Technology History Project (Interview 2), James A. Kohler, Howard R. Dufour May 2006

Howard R. Dufour: The Cold War Aerospace Technology History Project (Interview 2), James A. Kohler, Howard R. Dufour

Cold War Aerospace Technology Oral Histories (MS-431)

James Kohler interviewed Howard DuFour on May 24, 2006 for the Cold War Aerospace Technologies History Project. In the interview Mr. DuFour discusses his role in the development of military technology during the Cold War. This is the second of three interviews with Mr. DuFour.

Go to article

Interview No. 1312, Pedro Rivera May 2006

Interview No. 1312, Pedro Rivera

Combined Interviews

Mr. Rivera Duran briefly talks about his hometown and what his life was like growing up; he briefly recalls his family and his childhood; he remembers hearing stories about the bracero program and decided to join; he went through the hiring process at San Luis de la Paz to become a bracero; he traveled from Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico to Mexicali; he briefly describes the transportation and the required documents; as part of the process, he was medically examined, vaccinated, and deloused; he spent most of his time in the San Fernando Valley and Escondido, California; he worked in the citrus …

Go to article

Interview No. 1291, Jesús M. Calles Quijada May 2006

Interview No. 1291, Jesús M. Calles Quijada

Combined Interviews

Mr. Calles Quijada talks about his hometown and working in agriculture and with livestock while growing up; he talks about how his father’s land was eventually taken from him; he briefly discusses how he met his wife, Magdalena Vazquez; he remembers the contracting process and describes the medical exams and required documents; he was stripped, examined, and deloused; he describes the process as humiliating, especially for the indigenous that came from the South; Mr. Calles Quijada talks about working ten hours a day cleaning ditches and irrigating the fields in Imperial Valley; Mr. Calles Quijada also labored in the fields …

Go to article

Interview No. 1294, Josefina Fajardo May 2006

Interview No. 1294, Josefina Fajardo

Combined Interviews

Ms. Fajardo vividly describes details of her childhood and adolescence; although she moved around often, she settled for a time in Mexicali, Baja California, México; a few blocks from where she lived people regularly gathered in front of a school during bracero contracting sessions; many of them waited for days, slept outside on the floor, and ate whatever they could or begged for food; she saw what they had to endure and felt sorry for them; later, she unknowingly started dating a bracero; he told her he worked at a bar, because he was too embarrassed and did not want …

Go to article

Interview No. 1296, Rafael Hernández May 2006

Interview No. 1296, Rafael Hernández

Combined Interviews

In search for employment, Mr. Hernández traveled from San Luis Potosí to Hermosillo, Mexico where he found out about the bracero program; he was required to demonstrate that he was capable of picking cotton; he picked seven hundred kilos of cotton in fifteen days; he was given a letter which certified that he was a farm laborer and available for employment; he then traveled to the processing center in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; he recalls that one of the requirements for the braceros was to have calloused hands; he and approximately 150 other men traveled by train from Hermosillo to Mexicali, …

Go to article

Interview No. 1292, Maria Luisa Chávez Vda. De Flores May 2006

Interview No. 1292, Maria Luisa Chávez Vda. De Flores

Combined Interviews

Maria Luisa Chávez Vda. de Flores met her husband in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; he was visiting his brother; he was forty-two years old and she was sixteen years old; Mr. Guadalupe Flores Avelino and his four siblings were orphans; her husband was from Jiménez del Teul, Zacatecas; she recalls that her husband contracted for the bracero program at Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; he labored in the cotton fields and in agriculture picking tomatoes; after he completed his contract(s) he returned to Mexico; Maria Luisa Chávez Vda. de Flores recalls that they lived in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for two years and then …

Go to article

Interview No. 1298, Adelino López Gutiérrez May 2006

Interview No. 1298, Adelino López Gutiérrez

Combined Interviews

Mr. López describes the long lines and the actions taken by people in order to obtain an eligibility letter at Justo Sierra, Jalisco, Mexico; he traveled to the processing center in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; he recalls the entire process, including lists of eligible workers, waiting times, and transportation; as part of the process, he was stripped and examined, which was embarrassing because their were women present; he traveled to the receiving center; he goes on to detail the camp size, living conditions, provisions, duties, payments, deductions, remittances, treatment, friendships, correspondence and recreational activities; he recalls the use of short-handled hoes …

Go to article

Interview No. 1300, Faustino Martínez May 2006

Interview No. 1300, Faustino Martínez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Martínez briefly recalls his childhood and the work that his father and mother did; he was in his hometown when he heard about the bracero program; he decided to enlist in the bracero program and went through the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; he was stripped and medically examined; he details the harsh conditions he and other men endured while waiting there; he was sent by train to Mexicali; upon crossing into the United States, he was deloused and so were his luggage and clothing; he travelled by Greyhound bus to his first contract in the San Joaquin …

Go to article

Interview No. 1297, Jesús Humberto Félix Beltrán May 2006

Interview No. 1297, Jesús Humberto Félix Beltrán

Combined Interviews

Mr. Félix acquired his first bracero contract in 1954, which took him to El Centro, California; his first year was the hardest, because he did not know what to do or how to work quickly enough to earn a profit; oftentimes, men who were new ended up owing money after only one week of work; when his contract ended he was given a special workers card, which allowed him to pass through a contracting center in San Luis, Sonora, México, within a day; he also mentions that he was given vaccinations, without ever being told what they were for, and …

Go to article

Interview No. 1295, Adolfo González May 2006

Interview No. 1295, Adolfo González

Combined Interviews

In 1954, Mr. González went through the hiring process to become a bracero; he went through the contracting center in Mexicali, Mexico; he goes on to detail the camp size, living conditions, provisions, duties, payments, deductions, remittances, treatment, friendships, correspondence and recreational activities; he recalls working for Spanish-speaking Japanese foremen in Imperial Valley (1954-56) who did not give the braceros a day of rest; later, he asked for a transfer to another company; he was sent to work in the fields of Salinas and Yuma, California; he describes his workdays as very long and strenuous; he recalls using short-handled hoes; …

Go to article

Interview No. 1299, Carmen Lua May 2006

Interview No. 1299, Carmen Lua

Combined Interviews

Mrs. Lua discusses her childhood and the financial difficulties she and her family endured; several of her siblings died of hunger; Carmen’s mother moved from San Gregorio, Michoacan, Mexico, to Mexicali, Mexico, in order to be close to her husband who was working as a bracero in the U.S.; Mrs. Lua recalls that her father rarely sent money home; consequently, her mother took in other people’s laundry to support the family; Carmen also helped her family by washing dishes in order to supplement the family’s income, as a result, she never received any formal schooling; in 1942, Mr. Lua traveled …

Go to article

Interview No. 1305, Santiago Navarro May 2006

Interview No. 1305, Santiago Navarro

Combined Interviews

Mr. Navarro briefly recalls his childhood and the financial difficulties he and his family endured; he talks about his hometown and what his life was like growing up; when he was eighteen years old there was a drawing for the military but he was not selected; he briefly details working with his brother (1946-48); it was there that he heard about a call for braceros; he recalls the process, including lists of eligible workers, waiting times, and transportation; he went through the processing center in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; upon being hired, he was sent to a processing center in El …

Go to article

Interview No. 1302, Manuel Montes Robles May 2006

Interview No. 1302, Manuel Montes Robles

Combined Interviews

Mr. Montes Robles talks about his hometown and what his life was like growing up; he recalls traveling and looking for work; in the process, he lost track of his family, however, he eventually found them; Mr. Montes and his brother began crossing illegally in search of employment; he learned of the bracero program through a newspaper ad; in 1946, he decide to enlist in the bracero program and went through the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; he recalls the entire process, including lists of eligible workers, waiting times, and transportation to and from the center; as part of …

Go to article

Interview No. 1309, Francisco Plascencia Sandoval May 2006

Interview No. 1309, Francisco Plascencia Sandoval

Combined Interviews

Mr. Plascencia Sandoval briefly recalls his hometown and working in agriculture while growing up; he recalls that there were no schools in his hometown, so consequently he did not receive any formal education; he talks about his father working in the mines of Arizona; in 1954, he decided to enlist in the bracero program and went through the contracting center in Mexicali; as part of the process, he was medically examined and deloused; he recalls that one of the requirements for the braceros was to have calloused hands; some of the men would burn their hands in order to meet …

Go to article

Interview No. 1311, Maria L. Ramos Terriquez May 2006

Interview No. 1311, Maria L. Ramos Terriquez

Combined Interviews

Maria L. Ramos Terriquez briefly recalls her childhood and the financial difficulties her family endured; her father was a bracero; he contracted in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; she discusses the remittances sent by her father to her grandmother; she states that her grandmother kept the money, opened a store, and did not help support her or her siblings; she states that her grandmother, Andrea, would make her wash her uncles clothing; in addition, she adds that her uncles were verbally and emotionally abusive; she graphically describes an event in which she encountered her mother feeding a woman with leprosy; she, her …

Go to article

Interview No. 1306, Juan E. Noriega May 2006

Interview No. 1306, Juan E. Noriega

Combined Interviews

Mr. Juan E. Noriega was an undocumented worker but he received a letter from his boss and he was able to contract as a bracero in El Centro, California; he worked twelve hour shifts as an irrigator; after five years, in 1959, he returned to Sonora, Mexico and renewed his contracted; he was sent to Tracy, California; he goes on to detail the camp size, living conditions, provisions, treatment, and recreational activities; he worked in the tomato and onion fields for six months; he briefly discusses the dances that were held in Brawley, California; he and his brother rented a …

Go to article

Interview No. 1304, Rosa María Navarro May 2006

Interview No. 1304, Rosa María Navarro

Combined Interviews

Mrs. Navarro Quemé briefly recalls her childhood and the financial difficulties she and her family endured; at the age of five, she began picking cotton to supplement the family’s income; her mother took in laundry on the occasion that her father did not send money home while working as a bracero; Mrs. Navarro Quemé discusses the American Consul’s notification of her father’s hospitalization; she says that her father told them that the braceros were made to donate blood every eight days so that it could be sent to the soldiers fighting in WWII; she suspects that his illness was caused …

Go to article

Interview No. 1310, Enriqueta Quintero May 2006

Interview No. 1310, Enriqueta Quintero

Combined Interviews

Mrs. Quintero describes her hometown and what her life was like growing up; she explains that the young women of her home town were taken by force by the local men; in 1949, at the age of fourteen, she decided to marry in order to avoid the men of her town; in 1950, she gave birth to a daughter; her husband returned to the United States the following year; she describes his family as well-to-do; Mr. Quintero was a bracero in California until 1964; she details the suffering he endured and the low pay that he received while working as …

Go to article

Interview No. 1314, Manuel Romero May 2006

Interview No. 1314, Manuel Romero

Combined Interviews

Mr. Manuel Romero talks about his hometown and working in agriculture and with livestock while growing up; he and his sisters were orphans; he was sent to live with his godfather; he details the harsh treatment he endured while living with his godfather; he owned several ranches in Mexicali, Mexico but he sold some of the land because he did not have water to irrigate; he briefly talks about U.S.- Mexico relations and irrigation; in 1954, he heard about a call for braceros; in 1957, he traveled to the processing center in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; he details the harsh conditions …

Go to article

Interview No. 1315, Manuel Salamanca May 2006

Interview No. 1315, Manuel Salamanca

Combined Interviews

Mr. Manuel Salamanca recalls the humble beginnings of his childhood and how he and his siblings suffered; he discusses the advice his eldest brother gave him and his reasons for moving to the United States; Mr. Salamanca discusses the harsh treatment he endured at the hands of his sister-in-law; he went without food for several days because she did not want to raise him; in 1942, at the age of eighteen, he heard about a call for braceros; he traveled to the processing center in Mexicali, Mexico; he briefly discusses the processing center; as part of the process, he was …

Go to article

Interview No. 1319, Adolfo Valdez Verduzco May 2006

Interview No. 1319, Adolfo Valdez Verduzco

Combined Interviews

Mr. Valdez Verduzco talks about his hometown of Casa Blanca, Sinaloa, Mexico and what his life was like growing up; his parents moved from Sinaloa to Mexicali, Mexico in search of employment; in 1946, he crossed into the United States illegally; in 1954, he went through the hiring process to become a bracero; in addition, he mentions going through centers in El Centro, Bella Vista, and Santa Clara, California, Mexicali, Mexico and Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; his first contract took him to work in the potato fields of Stockton, California; he returned to Mexico and renewed his contract in Empalme, Sonora, …

Go to article

Interview No. 1313, Daniel Rodríguez Rea May 2006

Interview No. 1313, Daniel Rodríguez Rea

Combined Interviews

Mr. Daniel Rodríguez Rea briefly talks about his hometown and working in agriculture; in 1949, he left his hometown and began working in the cotton fields of Texas; he eventually relocated to Mexicali, Mexico; in 1954, Mr. Daniel Rodríguez Rea went through the hiring process to become a bracero; he mentions going through the center of Mexicali, Mexico; he recalls the process was difficult and potential braceros were required to pay twenty-five dollars in order to get in line; he also describes the medical exams and required documents; as part of the process, he was medically examined and deloused in …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last