Ignacio Ochoa Perdomo
Description
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Ignacio Ochoa was born in 1923, at Petatlán, Guerrero, México; he was the first of six siblings, and his mother died when he was twelve years old; from an early age he worked cutting wood; at age fifteen, he moved to Mexico City, México; in 1943, he worked on a Mexican naval boat; he joined the bracero program in 1957, and worked in California and Washington; there he picked asparagus, avocadoes, grapes, green beans, lemons, peas, pumpkins, oranges, strawberries, and watermelon.
Summary of Interview: Mr. Ochoa recalls growing up in Petatlán, Guerrero, México, his mother dying when he was twelve years old, and working from an early age cutting wood; he states that he moved to Mexico City, México at the age of fifteen, and that he started working on a Mexican naval boat in 1943; he remembers joining the bracero program in 1957, and working in California and Washington; there he picked asparagus, avocadoes, grapes, green beans, lemons, peas, pumpkins, oranges, strawberries, and watermelon; additionally, he details what the hiring process in Empalme, Sonora, México was like, the contract he signed, and how he didn’t know what it said because it was in English; he describes what daily life was like in bracero camps, what housing they had, and the food they ate; furthermore, he discusses a time when the braceros went on strike over the quality of the food; he also explains the treatment they received from foremen, and how Mexican foremen were worst than American ones; moreover, he relates losing his house in the 1963 earthquake, why he returned to the United States to work as an undocumented laborer, and how he would like to have a visa to live in the U.S.
Summary of Interview: Mr. Ochoa recalls growing up in Petatlán, Guerrero, México, his mother dying when he was twelve years old, and working from an early age cutting wood; he states that he moved to Mexico City, México at the age of fifteen, and that he started working on a Mexican naval boat in 1943; he remembers joining the bracero program in 1957, and working in California and Washington; there he picked asparagus, avocadoes, grapes, green beans, lemons, peas, pumpkins, oranges, strawberries, and watermelon; additionally, he details what the hiring process in Empalme, Sonora, México was like, the contract he signed, and how he didn’t know what it said because it was in English; he describes what daily life was like in bracero camps, what housing they had, and the food they ate; furthermore, he discusses a time when the braceros went on strike over the quality of the food; he also explains the treatment they received from foremen, and how Mexican foremen were worst than American ones; moreover, he relates losing his house in the 1963 earthquake, why he returned to the United States to work as an undocumented laborer, and how he would like to have a visa to live in the U.S.
Text
[Empty]
Creator
Domínguez, Violeta
Date
2002-06-02
Bibliographic Citation
Domínguez, Violeta, "Ignacio Ochoa Perdomo," in Bracero History Archive, Item #125, http://braceroarchive.org/items/show/125 (accessed May 17, 2012).
