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Articles 91 - 120 of 561
Full-Text Articles in Oral History
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 …
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 1351, Pedro L. Lechuga
Interview No. 1351, Pedro L. Lechuga
Combined Interviews
Mr. Lechuga briefly mentions his family; he recalls hearing rumors about men earning a lot of money in the United States; in 1952, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; although his wife was against it, she knew he had to leave; he went through the center in Chihuahua, México, and he describes the necessary documents and medical exams he underwent; when crossing the border in El Paso, Texas, he endured further assessments; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas cleaning, pruning and picking beets, cotton, cucumber and green …
Interview No. 1355, Zenon Martínez Banda
Interview No. 1355, Zenon Martínez Banda
Combined Interviews
Mr. Martínez recalls hearing people talk favorably about the bracero program and wanting to enlist; while in his early twenties, he decided to join the bracero program; he describes the requirements and necessary paperwork to enlist; additionally, he recounts going through the center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México and entering the United States through Hidalgo, Texas; he also went through the center in Chihuahua and Sonora, México and entered through El Paso, Texas and Nogales, Arizona, respectively; Zenon also describes the medical exams and fumigation procedures he underwent; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona, California and …
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. 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. 1367, Ana María Perla
Interview No. 1367, Ana María Perla
Combined Interviews
Mrs. Perla talks about her family and the difficult financial situation they faced, which led to her father’s decision to enlist in the bracero program; she remembers getting letters from him to let the family know how he was doing and how much he missed them; her mother even took a family portrait to send to him; Ana was especially excited, because she was able to get a new dress for the occasion; when he returned home, between contracts, he made dolls out of old rags for her to play with; he also enjoyed cooking for the family and making …
Interview No. 1369, Alfonso Ramirez
Interview No. 1369, Alfonso Ramirez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Ramírez briefly talks about his family and what his life was like growing up on an ejido; when he was thirteen years old, he began working for a railroad company in Chihuahua, México; he also continued laboring in the fields and caring for the animals on the ejido; shortly after, his father enlisted in the bracero program and completed roughly six contracts in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas cleaning, pruning and picking beets and lettuce; in 1964, during the last year of the program, Alfonso also joined the program; he describes going through the contracting process in …