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University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas at El Paso. Institute of Oral History--interviews
Articles 91 - 111 of 111
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Interview No. 1125, Eduardo De Santiago
Interview No. 1125, Eduardo De Santiago
Combined Interviews
Mr. De Santiago worked on a ranch in Zacatecas, México, prior to becoming a bracero; in 1954, when he learned of the Bracero Program, he made a list of all the people who worked with him that wanted to go to the United States as braceros; he was of course included on that list; upon beginning the hiring process in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, the braceros were asked to undress for physical examinations; they were then vaccinated and deloused; in Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, ranchers from Pecos, Texas, came to hire braceros; none of the workers wanted …
Interview No. 1137, Isidro M. Peña
Interview No. 1137, Isidro M. Peña
Combined Interviews
Mr. Peña describes his early adolescence and the various kinds of work he did; in 1957, he decided he wanted to work as a bracero; the first thing he had to do was pay someone to put his name on the county’s list of people to be called as workers; he then went to El Trocadero, a processing center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, in order to officially begin the hiring process for the program; after this, he was transported from Chihuahua to the border by train and then taken to Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, where he …
Interview No. 1124, Samuel Chavira
Interview No. 1124, Samuel Chavira
Combined Interviews
Mr. Chavira briefly recalls his childhood; at the age of thirteen, he began working odd jobs wherever he could find them; for a brief time, he worked in construction; he knew of the Bracero Program because he lived in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, which was one of the programs main contracting centers; in 1950, he began the hiring process to become a bracero; he goes on to give a detailed explanation of the various phases during hiring, including his transfer to Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, where he was medically examined; in addition, he describes filling out the …
Interview No. 1140, Carlos Sánchez Montoya
Interview No. 1140, Carlos Sánchez Montoya
Combined Interviews
Mr. Sánchez recalls his childhood and early adolescence; he began helping his father work in the fields when he was fourteen years old; a severe draught at that time caused his family to move from Guadalupe Victoria, Durango, México, to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua; while there, he began working in construction; he explains how he learned of the Bracero Program and the hiring process he went through at the contracting center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua; from there, he was taken to Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, where he was medically examined; he describes what the living conditions on the …
Interview No. 1118, Rodolfo Aranda Morales
Interview No. 1118, Rodolfo Aranda Morales
Combined Interviews
Mr. Aranda recalls that up to 10,000 braceros were hired per day in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México; in Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro Texas, the braceros were separated according to which state they were from because this was thought to have a direct correlation with their skills; many farmers did not like to hire braceros from the south of México, because they did not have enough experience; in general, the braceros from the south of México earned much less than those from the north; Mr. Aranda often sent money orders to his family, but due to problems he encountered, …
Interview No. 1262, José Félix Prieto
Interview No. 1262, José Félix Prieto
Combined Interviews
Mr. Félix recalls that as a child, he would eagerly wait for his father to come home form working as a bracero; he knew at a young age that he also wanted to come to the United States to work as a bracero; when he was eighteen, he began marching in the Mexican army in order to obtain his military ID card so he could enlist as a bracero; in 1959, he went to Empalme, Sonora, México, to begin the hiring process; he describes what the center was like and how he waited twenty-one days for a contract; in addition, …
Interview No. 1136, Delia Francisca Montero De Tiscareño
Interview No. 1136, Delia Francisca Montero De Tiscareño
Combined Interviews
Ms. Montero briefly describes her childhood; when she was two years old, she and her family moved from Durango, Durango, México, to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México; she went to school in El Paso, Texas and in 1945, she graduated from high school; shortly thereafter, she began working as a clerk and typist at an American immigration office in Ciudad Juárez; her job was to help the incoming braceros fill out the necessary paper work for their contracts; she describes how the ranchers would wait for the braceros to finish filling out the papers so they could immediately take them back …
Interview No. 1123, Ismael Chavira López
Interview No. 1123, Ismael Chavira López
Combined Interviews
Mr. Chavira briefly recounts his childhood; his first paying job was as a construction worker; in 1953, he went through the hiring process in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, to become a bracero; he chronicles the entire process, which began in a rural area of Chihuahua and ended with the medical examinations at Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas; in addition, he describes the various processing center facilities, the length of contracts, and the conditions under which these contracts were extended; while working as a bracero, his daily activities included irrigating and picking cotton; he describes the wages he earned, …
Interview No. 1127, Benito Fierro
Interview No. 1127, Benito Fierro
Combined Interviews
Mr. Fierro recounts his childhood and the difficulties he and his family faced; he describes the various stages of the hiring process, including the contracting center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, and the medical examinations he underwent at Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas; as a bracero, his work included the following: picking and irrigating cotton crops, picking peas, harvesting lettuce, pulling sugar beets, and cleaning the fields in which they grew; he explains the different wages he received for the various jobs he performed and what he did when his contracts expired; in addition he recounts his experiences …
Interview No. 1139, Esteban Saldaña
Interview No. 1139, Esteban Saldaña
Combined Interviews
Mr. Saldaña spent his childhood and adolescence helping his father work the land and care for the animals they owned; he married when he was only seventeen years old, and he had children shortly thereafter; when he was twenty-one years old, he stopped working for his father in order to become a bracero and make more money to support his family; he had heard of the Bracero Program through media and news advertisements; for this first contract, he went to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, which in turn took him to work in Lovington, New Mexico, for three months; he later went …
Interview No. 1121, Juan Cossio
Interview No. 1121, Juan Cossio
Combined Interviews
Mr. Cossio recounts the difficulties he faced as a child and during his adolescence; when he heard about the opportunities the Bracero Program provided, he decided to become a bracero; he recalls the hiring process and the contracting center he went through in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México, as well as the procedures and medical examinations he underwent in Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas; in addition, he relates his experiences living on the farms, including what they cooked and ate, what happened when someone was sick, what they did in their spare time and on weekends, the different …
Interview No. 1134, José De La Luz Mares
Interview No. 1134, José De La Luz Mares
Combined Interviews
Mr. Mares recalls being trained as a shoemaker by his father; due to financial difficulties, he had to leave his father’s shoe store to look for work elsewhere; in 1955, he began the hiring process for the Bracero Program in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México; he and other braceros were transported from Chihuahua, to El Paso, Texas, in freight cars that had previously been used to carry concentrated amounts of lead and zinc; the boxcars were not cleaned prior to being used to transported the braceros; in addition, the braceros were sealed in the cars and left there for the entirety of …
Interview No. 1133, Lorenzo Maynes
Interview No. 1133, Lorenzo Maynes
Combined Interviews
Mr. Maynes recalls his childhood and early adolescence; he briefly describes what life was like for him during World War II; eventually, he became the head foreman on a farm whose primary focus was cotton; he was periodically sent to Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, to pick up braceros and bring them back to the farm; oftentimes, he was responsible for hiring anywhere from 50 to 200 braceros; he explains what Rio Vista was like and how the farmers would choose which men to hire; in addition, he describes what the farm where they lived was like, …
Interview No. 1126, Manuel Enríquez Savignac
Interview No. 1126, Manuel Enríquez Savignac
Combined Interviews
Mr. Enríquez recalls his childhood and adolescent years; from the ages of fifteen to nineteen, he worked in aviation and consequently traveled often; while traveling and working, he met someone with whom he began a business partnership; together they opened a travel agency in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México; because so many of their clients were from Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas, they eventually came into contact with officials from the American government; they worked out a contract through the Bureau of Employment Services to provide catering for the braceros in Chihuahua, Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez, México; consequently, they provided …
Interview No. 1131, Alvaro Hernández B.
Interview No. 1131, Alvaro Hernández B.
Combined Interviews
Mr. Hernández briefly recalls his childhood and the financial difficulties he and his family endured; he moved from Julimes, Chihuahua, to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, where he went to school up to the sixth grade, but he left school in order to go back to his hometown of Julimes to help his father work in the fields; in 1943, when he was fourteen years old, he crossed into the United States illegally; he spent a few months working in the cotton fields of Mesquite, New Mexico, and soon returned home; in 1944, he crossed again to work with the same rancher, and …
Interview No. 1016, Jesús Rosales Ríos
Interview No. 1016, Jesús Rosales Ríos
Combined Interviews
Mr. Rosales remembers the Cristero Revolution from when he was four years old; he became a bracero in 1956, and recounts his work picking grapes in California and cotton in Texas; additionally, he recalls how he learned to irrigate crops; this duty became his primary job; he recounts how he was hospitalized once and had surgery paid for by his employer; furthermore, he expresses that he received good treatment from his employers, and that he is proud of having been a bracero.
Interview No. 993, Jesús Andrade Rodríguez
Interview No. 993, Jesús Andrade Rodríguez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Andrade briefly recalls his family and childhood; growing up, he and his family endured extreme economic hardships; in 1948, when he was eighteen years old, he enrolled in the Bracero Program; he describes the difficulties he went through during the hiring process as well as the humiliating medical examinations he and other braceros underwent at the reception center in Eagle Pass, Texas; as a bracero, he picked cotton in New Mexico and Texas, cleaned sugar beet fields in Montana, and he also worked in a pickle bottling factory in Michigan; he goes on to explain the daily activities on …
Interview No. 1018, Mauricio Salcido Hernández
Interview No. 1018, Mauricio Salcido Hernández
Combined Interviews
Mr. Salcido worked in the Bracero Program from 1957 to 1964; he recalls the hiring process for braceros, the medical exams they endured and how they were treated at the reception centers in Empalme, Sonora, México and the United States; additionally, he describes picking cotton in Arizona, cucumbers in Michigan, sugar beets in Montana, and irrigating cotton in Texas; he explains his pride in having been a bracero, the benefits of being a contracted migrant worker, and how his earnings during the Bracero Program helped him purchase the properties he owns.
Interview No. 996, José Guadalupe Blanco Ortega
Interview No. 996, José Guadalupe Blanco Ortega
Combined Interviews
Mr. Blanco recalls his family, childhood, and adolescence; in 1948, he married his wife, and the following year, before the birth of their second child, he decided to enroll in the Bracero Program; he describes how he and a group of men walked through the mountains for three days to get to a town where they could take the train to Durango, Durango, México; from there they traveled to Chihuahua to officially begin the hiring process; he describes the entire hiring and contracting process including the medical exams and disinfecting procedures; as a bracero, he worked picking cotton in New …
Interview No. 1001, Alfredo Fuentes Soto
Interview No. 1001, Alfredo Fuentes Soto
Combined Interviews
Mr. Fuentes briefly recalls his family, childhood, and adolescence; his family’s financial difficulties led him to enroll in the Bracero Program in 1956; he narrates the entire contracting process as well the medical exams he underwent beginning in Durango, Durango, México, and continuing through to Chihuahua; in addition, he describes how he was transported on a cargo train from the contracting center in Chihuahua to Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas; while there, he had to go through disinfecting procedures; in addition, he goes on to explain what daily life was like on the farm, including the work, …
Interview No. 1334, Evangelina Basua
Interview No. 1334, Evangelina Basua
Combined Interviews
Ms. Basua describes her family and what her life was like growing up; when she was young, her brother José worked as a bracero, and he often brought her dolls from the United States; she goes on to discuss the circumstances surrounding her marriage to Virgen Beltrán Ochoa, when she was sixteen; they heard about the bracero program on the radio, and he went to Empalme, Sonora, México to enlist; as a bracero, he worked in Arizona and California picking cotton and cutting lettuce; his hands were ruined, especially because of all the thorns in the cotton; he was usually …