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

Oral History Commons™

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

Oral History

Discipline
Institution
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type

Articles 781 - 810 of 1185

Full-Text Articles in Oral History

Interview No. 982, Ignacio Nájera May 2003

Interview No. 982, Ignacio Nájera

Combined Interviews

When Mr. Nájera began the enrollment process in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México he showed his Mexican military ID and a letter of recommendation; he recalls that sometimes when traveling from Chihuahua to El Paso, Texas, the braceros had to pay in order to get a place on a train or bus; his first work contract took him to the lettuce fields of Hereford, Texas; while there, he was burned with a liquid that was used to disinfect the lettuce; he worked in Montana for three years, where they paid him $14.50 per acre that he picked; in Pecos, Texas the braceros …

Go to article

Interview No. 962, Guadalupe Balderrama May 2003

Interview No. 962, Guadalupe Balderrama

Combined Interviews

Mr. Baderrama briefly recounts his childhood, and how times were very hard for him and his family; he was only able to go to school for three years; he went to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, to begin the hiring process for the Bracero Program; in 1953, he was sent to El Paso, Texas; his first work contract took him to Canutillo, Texas; as a bracero, he worked in cotton, cucumber, and beet fields; he recalls that many braceros bought their groceries from the rancher’s stores; whenever the braceros had free time, they liked to play billiards.

Go to article

Interview No. 976, Florencio Magallanes May 2003

Interview No. 976, Florencio Magallanes

Combined Interviews

Mr. Magallanes briefly recalls his childhood during which time he went to school for only three years; he was hired as a bracero in 1954, and worked in cotton and beet fields; he worked in Pecos, Texas, where the living conditions were harsh; there were between 200-300 braceros living in the same barracks; the food service was terrible as well; sometimes there was not enough food for all the braceros, but they had to pay for the food regardless of whether they ate or not; whenever they had free time, they liked to drink beer and have races.

Go to article

Interview No. 968, Guadalupe Estrada Estrada May 2003

Interview No. 968, Guadalupe Estrada Estrada

Combined Interviews

Mr. Estrada initially learned of the Bracero Program while working the fields of his hometown in San Francisco de Borja, Chihuahua, México; his first work contract was in Lamesa, Texas, for twenty-eight days; he was paid $1.50 per pound of cotton that he picked; while working, he hurt his hand and a rancher took him to the hospital; he also worked in Dell City, Texas and Las Cruces and Deming, New Mexico; when he returned to México it was difficult for him to find work.

Go to article

Interview No. 983, Roberto Orduño García May 2003

Interview No. 983, Roberto Orduño García

Combined Interviews

Mr. Orduño was hired as a bracero in 1956; in order to be hired, he lied about his working experience in the cotton fields; the rancher who hired him noticed that he did not have any experience working in the fields; instead he was put to weigh the cotton that each bracero picked; in 1958, he came back home to Cusihuiriachi, Chihuahua, México, because his father was very ill; he recalls how the ranchers would freely lend and borrow the braceros to each other depending on the amount of work to be done; during their free time, he and other …

Go to article

Interview No. 984, José Parra May 2003

Interview No. 984, José Parra

Combined Interviews

Mr. Parra learned of the Bracero Program from an Immigration official while he was working illegally in Texas; the first time he was hired as a bracero, he was sent to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, but then he had to return to Chihuahua, México, in order to renew his work contract after that; he recalls that there were centers strategically placed near towns where there were ranches so that the braceros could quickly be sent to the ranches where they would work; the main difference for him between working as a bracero and working illegally was the freedom …

Go to article

Interview No. 965, Aurelio Delgado Moreno May 2003

Interview No. 965, Aurelio Delgado Moreno

Combined Interviews

In 1954, when Mr. Delgado became a bracero, he was married and had two children; he recalls that the officials from the United States chose braceros based on the way they walked and the condition of their hands; his first work contract took him to Pecos, Texas; the living conditions there were problematic because there were up to forty braceros per barracks; many of them stayed up late playing cards or talking; he remembers that there was one bracero that was particularly good at playing cards; as a result, this bracero and a rancher went from town to town playing …

Go to article

Interview No. 985, Refugio Pérez Lolla May 2003

Interview No. 985, Refugio Pérez Lolla

Combined Interviews

When Refugio was only nine years old, he was put in charge of his father’s land because he was in the United States working as a bracero; his father worked in Dell City and Pecos, Texas, picking cotton and watering the fields; every six months his father would visit his family; Refugio decided to go to the United States to work because his father worked there; Refugio was unable to work for very long because he was apprehended by Immigration officials twice; he entered the United States through Palomas, Chihuahua, México, and walked for several days; he was hired in …

Go to article

Interview No. 972, Elías García Venzor May 2003

Interview No. 972, Elías García Venzor

Combined Interviews

Upon entering the United States, Mr. García was sent to Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, where he was given a physical exam; those who were sick or physically unable to work were sent back to México; he worked for about ten or eleven years as a bracero; his four brothers were also braceros; his worst experience was when he worked in Pecos, Texas, because he earned very little money for very difficult work there; the living conditions were also difficult because there were between 200-300 braceros per barracks; because they had no showers, they filled steel tanks …

Go to article

Interview No. 974, Eulalio Hernández Guzmán May 2003

Interview No. 974, Eulalio Hernández Guzmán

Combined Interviews

Mr. Hernández went to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, in the hopes of being hired as a bracero; he had to wait for two weeks before he could actually begin the hiring process; he and other braceros were given vaccinations, but none of them were ever told what the immunizations were for; his first work contract took him to Wyoming; he was transported there by airplane; he recalls that the trip took seven hours and that it was very noisy; as a result of the trip, he developed an ear ailment for which he was never medically treated; he remembers that in …

Go to article

Interview No. 971, Francisco García Carrillo May 2003

Interview No. 971, Francisco García Carrillo

Combined Interviews

Mr. García recalls that during the hiring process, people from the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, and Zacatecas received privileges; during the general hiring process, American officials would ask people if cotton and apples could be picked the same way; anyone who answered that they could, would be dismissed; Mr. García also remembers that he and his friends would drink milk prior to taking X-rays so that their lungs would appear healthy and clean; after working as a bracero for a time, he was promoted to steward; during the holidays, the braceros would celebrate by grilling chicken for dinner and …

Go to article

Interview No. 1572, John Tomlin Apr 2003

Interview No. 1572, John Tomlin

Combined Interviews

Mr. Tomlin recalls how his mother ran the farm after his father’s passing by using Italian and German POWs; in 1946, after finishing his tour of duty in the Army, he returned home and began attending New Mexico State University; the following year in 1947, he started running the farm on his own while he went to school; in 1948, he began hiring braceros; he used a crew of thirty men during the cotton harvest, which ran from mid September to the beginning of December; he had about six braceros who stayed on year-round driving tractors and irrigating; oftentimes, he …

Go to article

Interview No. 1574, Raymundo Villa Apr 2003

Interview No. 1574, Raymundo Villa

Combined Interviews

Mr. Villa recalls his childhood growing up on a farm near Ysleta, Texas; he remembers that before the braceros were hired as workers, German POWs and the Tigua Indians would often pick cotton on the farm where he lived; when the braceros were contracted, he acted as an interpreter and aide because his boss could not speak Spanish and they could not speak English; oftentimes he had to help his father work on the farm, and he was unable to finish high school; he recalls picking cotton, the size of the sacks they would use, and how much they were …

Go to article

Interview No. 1570, Sam Sanchez Apr 2003

Interview No. 1570, Sam Sanchez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Sanchez recalls his childhood and early adolescence; he would often work in the fields with his father picking cotton; during the early years of World War II, Italian POWs and undocumented workers often helped with the harvesting of the cotton as well; he recalls missing the first two or so months of school to help with the crops; in addition, he also recounts how he would often go to Rio Vista, a processing center for braceros in Socorro, Texas, to pick up food slops from the mess hall for his father’s pigs; later, when he graduated from high school, …

Go to article

Interview No. 1062, Ceferino Palomares Apr 2003

Interview No. 1062, Ceferino Palomares

Combined Interviews

Mr. Palomares discusses his family and childhood; he initially learned about the Bracero Program through an advertisement in the local newspaper; his brother, Alfonso, encouraged him to enroll in the program; in 1944, they were both hired at the contracting center in their hometown of Tampico, Tamaulipas, México; consequently, Ceferino continued to go through the center in Tampico for all of his subsequent work contracts; his first contract took him to work on the railroads in Union City, Pennsylvania; when his contract ended six months later, he returned to México; the following year, in 1945, he went to work in …

Go to article

Interview No. 1119, Anónimo Por Petición Apr 2003

Interview No. 1119, Anónimo Por Petición

Combined Interviews

Mr. XX was hired as a bracero at a recruiting center in Zacatecas, México; he recalls that there were also other recruitment centers in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Aguascalientes in México; there were two types of braceros, specialized and common; the specialized braceros were hired for eighteen months and received higher salaries; the common braceros were hired for only three months at a time; he worked as a specialized bracero weighing cotton; his job was to make sure that the cotton was not mixed with rocks, wood, or any other objects that would make the cotton weigh more; …

Go to article

Interview No. 1554, Minerva Christine Ann Cheatum Apr 2003

Interview No. 1554, Minerva Christine Ann Cheatum

Combined Interviews

Minerva C. Cheatum was born in El Paso, Texas; shortly after she was born her mother died, and she was consequently raised by her maternal grandparents in Clint, Texas; while still attending high school, she began working as a clerk and typist at Rio Vista, a bracero processing center in Socorro, Texas; she started in August of 1957 and continued working there seasonally until 1962. Ms. Cheatum tells how she came to live with her maternal grandparents shortly after her mother’s passing; she continued to live with them even after her father remarried and moved to California; her grandfather had …

Go to article

Interview No. 1571, Faye Terrazas Apr 2003

Interview No. 1571, Faye Terrazas

Combined Interviews

Ms. Terrazas recalls responding to an advertisement and being hired to work as a clerk and typist at Rio Vista, a bracero processing center in Socorro, Texas; she worked there seasonally during the spring and summer from 1954 to 1957; her primary responsibility was filling out the contracts for the braceros; she offers detailed descriptions of the facilities and the process for filling out the contracts; there were specific insurance specifications that detailed what the braceros were entitled to receive in the event of an injury or accident; her knowledge of the other screening procedures is somewhat limited; she gives …

Go to article

Interview No. 1573, George Veytia Apr 2003

Interview No. 1573, George Veytia

Combined Interviews

Mr. Veytia briefly recalls his family and childhood; he graduated from Texas Western in 1954, and shortly thereafter joined the Army, where he served until 1956; after being released from the Army, he came to work as a claims adjuster for an insurance company; his primary responsibility was to receive all the claims from the Bracero Program in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas; he describes his position with the company, the various types of policies that were applicable in different situations, their coverage, the company’s range of action, and the average number of insured braceros during a harvesting season; in …

Go to article

Interview No. 969, Juan De Dios Estrada López Mar 2003

Interview No. 969, Juan De Dios Estrada López

Combined Interviews

Mr. Estrada recalls a recruitment/processing center for braceros in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, called El Trocadero; the hiring process there was easier if your name was already on the county’s list; another center for braceros was located in Dell City, Texas; ranchers came here and hired braceros; legal and illegal workers were hired at the same time, but illegal workers received fewer wages; in their free time, the workers would go to the movies; sometimes the ranchers would give them rides on their planes for $2.00.

Go to article

Interview No. 961, Jesús Aranda Morales Mar 2003

Interview No. 961, Jesús Aranda Morales

Combined Interviews

Mr. Morales traveled to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, in order to begin the hiring process for the Bracero Program; the only requirement was a Mexican Military ID card; he waited at El Trocadero, a processing center there in Chihuahua, for eight days to be hired; from there he was taken to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, where he had to pay $1.00 in order to get a place where he could spend the night; he was then sent to Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas; he was then finally taken to Dell City, Texas, where there was a kind of Bracero …

Go to article

Interview No. 963, Nicolás Carreón Vega Mar 2003

Interview No. 963, Nicolás Carreón Vega

Combined Interviews

Mr. Carreón briefly recounts his childhood; he focuses on his time in the United States as a bracero from 1953 until the mid 1960s; he discusses work contracts and the possibilities under which a mica card could be obtained; he worked in the cotton fields of Texas and New Mexico, the beet fields of Colorado, and on ranches in Arizona as well; while working in Artesia, New Mexico, he caught pneumonia and was hospitalized for a month; in 1955, he worked without a contract in Pecos, Texas, was caught and sent to jail; in 1958, the cotton field he worked …

Go to article

Interview No. 977, Manuela Márquez Flores Mar 2003

Interview No. 977, Manuela Márquez Flores

Combined Interviews

Mr. Márquez traveled to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, in order to begin the hiring process; he recalls that there were thousands of people from cities all over México waiting to be hired as braceros; because many of them did not have any money, they looked for food in trash cans; Mr. Márquez was hired as a bracero when he was twenty-seven years old; he also remembers that at Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, whenever a potential bracero was turned away due to illness, the rest of the braceros would collect money for that man so he could return …

Go to article

Interview No. 978, Perfecto Márquez Mar 2003

Interview No. 978, Perfecto Márquez

Combined Interviews

When Mr. Márquez was hired as a bracero in 1957, he was married and had two children; as part of the hiring process, he and a group of other braceros were physically examined while in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México; upon being hired, they were then transported from there to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and were not allowed to bring any personal belongings with them; they were physically examined again in El Paso, Texas and in Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas; while in Rio Vista, the Mexican Counsel spoke with the braceros about what was expected of them, and the …

Go to article

Interview No. 979, Noberto Mata Baylón Mar 2003

Interview No. 979, Noberto Mata Baylón

Combined Interviews

When Mr. Baylón was only sixteen years old, he worked in the United States illegally; in order to cross into the United States, he walked through the mountains, which took him an entire day to do; in 1956, he went to El Trocadero, a processing center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, to begin the hiring process; he paid the security officer in order to get a good place in line while waiting to be hired; in Pecos, Texas, he had very bad experiences because the wages were too low and there was too much work to be done; in addition, there …

Go to article

Interview No. 1135, Anastacio Montalvo Mar 2003

Interview No. 1135, Anastacio Montalvo

Combined Interviews

Mr. Montalvo briefly recalls his childhood and the Cristero War, which took place during that time; later, in 1942, he began the hiring process for the Bracero Program in Querétaro, México, using someone else’s name; while there, he was medically examined and then sent to the border by train; upon arriving at the reception center, he and other braceros saw movies that gave them information regarding their rights and obligations; he describes his first job in the United States, which was hammering the rail road tracks in California, and his second job, which was picking cotton in Texas; in addition, …

Go to article

Interview No. 1143, Manuel Vazquez Mar 2003

Interview No. 1143, Manuel Vazquez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Vazquez briefly recalls his childhood; in 1945, he was hired as a bracero, and taken to work in El Paso, Texas; the only requirement for him to work was his Mexican military I.D. card; he recalls that representative from the Mexican consulate approved the work contracts for the braceros, but they denied renewals for those who had already been contracted three or four times; because of this, he often had to return to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, in order to obtain new work permits; upon passing through the Stanton Bridge in El Paso, Texas, he and other braceros were often examined …

Go to article

Interview No. 1142, Gregorio Trejo Mar 2003

Interview No. 1142, Gregorio Trejo

Combined Interviews

Mr. Trejo very briefly recalls his childhood; when he was nine years old, he and his family moved to Plateros, Zacatecas, México; from there they moved to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, before returning to Zacatecas; because one of the recruiting and contracting centers was in Zacatecas, Zacatecas, he was aware of the Bracero Program; he recalls that the governor of Zacatecas did not want workers from the cities of Fresnillo or Plateros to be hired as braceros because there was plenty of work for them to stay and do in the mines; in spite of this, he managed to have his …

Go to article

Interview No. 1260, Antonio García Mar 2003

Interview No. 1260, Antonio García

Combined Interviews

Mr. García recalls his childhood and family; he went to school through the fourth grade, and he quit school at the age of thirteen in order to work; when he was seventeen, he decided to enlist in the Bracero Program; although he was not yet of age, he arranged for his military ID card to state that he was eighteen years old in order to begin the hiring process; he goes on to describe what the contracting center in Durango, Durango, México was like; his first contract took him to work in the cotton fields of Texas; he describes what …

Go to article

Interview No. 1583, Julius Lowenberg Mar 2003

Interview No. 1583, Julius Lowenberg

Combined Interviews

Mr. Lowenberg briefly describes his family; after graduating from high school, he worked for the South Pacific Railroad as a machinist apprentice; he later came to work for the Public Health Office at the Stanton Bridge in El Paso, and at Rio Vista, a bracero processing center in Socorro, Texas; despite the fact that he had little training, his primary duties involved taking x-rays of the braceros as they were coming into the United States; he describes what he did for each location, what a typical work day was like, and the medical examinations and the delousing process the braceros …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last