Josie Carrillo Johnson

Title

Josie Carrillo Johnson

Description

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Josie Carrillo Johnson was born in the United States to a Mexican-American woman and a bracero man; she is one of five siblings; her mother had two children from an earlier marriage; her father was from Chihuahua. Chihuahua, México; he came to the United States as a bracero, and met her mother during this time; Josie grew up traveling with her parents to every bracero camp her father was sent to; she worked taking water to the braceros in the fields, carrying sacks, and cooking.


Summary of Interview: Ms. Carrillo discusses how her parents met, and how her family ended up working in bracero camps; she states that her mother met her father after divorcing a man with whom she had two children; her father was a bracero from Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, and her mother was a Mexican-American woman from a small ranch in Colorado; she recalls what life was like for them in the bracero camps, and how they were usually the only family in those places; additionally, she describes working from the age of five taking water to the men in the fields, helping in the movement of vegetable sacks, and, later, working in kitchens preparing food for the braceros; she details how hard life was in the camps, the little food they had, and the long days they worked; furthermore, she explains how her grandparents discovered the conditions they had in those camps and decided to take them back to Colorado; she recounts attending elementary school and being punished for speaking Spanish; moreover, she expresses that her mother left her father due to domestic violence, and then married a third time; she concludes by stating that she went to college and later became an elementary school teacher.

Creator

Navarro, Kristine
Carrillo Johnson, Josie

Date

2005-07-27

Subject

Daughter of a bracero

Contributor

Cristóbal Borges

Rights

Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso

Language

eng

title (Spanish)

Josie Carrillo Johnson

creator (Spanish)

Navarro, Kristine

contributor (Spanish)

Cristóbal A. Borges

Rights Holder

Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso

Original Format

Mini Disc

Duration

48:00

Bit Rate/Frequency

24 bit
96 k

Interviewer

Navarro, Kristine

Interviewee

Carrillo Johnson, Josie

Location

San Jose, California

File Name Identifier

Carrillo_Johnson_SJC002

Citation

Navarro, Kristine and Carrillo Johnson, Josie, “Josie Carrillo Johnson,” Bracero History Archive, accessed March 29, 2024, https://braceroarchive.org/items/show/144.