José Hernández Romero
Description
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: José Hernández was born on November 10, 1929, in Jalisco, México; he was the youngest of five children; his father died when he was nine years old, and he began working on a farm shortly thereafter; ironically, when he was twenty years old, he enrolled in the bracero program as a kind of dare; as a bracero he worked throughout California, picking beets, cotton, lettuce, and tomatoes; eventually, he became a supervisor and later a barber for the braceros; he ultimately emigrated to the United States and continued to work in the farming industry.
Summary of Interview: Mr. Hernández briefly recalls his childhood and adolescence; he began working on a farm when he was nine years old, and by the time he was sixteen, half of what the farm yielded was his to keep; later when he was twenty years old, a friend of his dared him to enlist in the bracero program, and he did; he went through the contracting center in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México; from there was transported by bus to Mexicali, Baja California, where he was medically examined and deloused; he was then taken to El Centro, California, and finally to Salinas, California, to work in the beet fields; when his contracts ended, he returned to México, and he went through the contracting process all over again; he went through contracting centers in Irapuato, Guanajuato, and Empalme, Sonora, México; as a bracero he worked throughout California, picking beets, cotton, lettuce, and tomatoes; eventually, he became a supervisor and later a barber for the braceros; in 1960, he returned to México to work the land he had purchased with the money he gained working as a bracero; later, with the help of his previous employer, he was able to emigrate to the United States where he continued working in the farming industry; he worked for eight years as a head foreman before returning to the fields.
Summary of Interview: Mr. Hernández briefly recalls his childhood and adolescence; he began working on a farm when he was nine years old, and by the time he was sixteen, half of what the farm yielded was his to keep; later when he was twenty years old, a friend of his dared him to enlist in the bracero program, and he did; he went through the contracting center in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México; from there was transported by bus to Mexicali, Baja California, where he was medically examined and deloused; he was then taken to El Centro, California, and finally to Salinas, California, to work in the beet fields; when his contracts ended, he returned to México, and he went through the contracting process all over again; he went through contracting centers in Irapuato, Guanajuato, and Empalme, Sonora, México; as a bracero he worked throughout California, picking beets, cotton, lettuce, and tomatoes; eventually, he became a supervisor and later a barber for the braceros; in 1960, he returned to México to work the land he had purchased with the money he gained working as a bracero; later, with the help of his previous employer, he was able to emigrate to the United States where he continued working in the farming industry; he worked for eight years as a head foreman before returning to the fields.
Text
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Creator
Velásquez, Steve
Date
2005-07-28
Bibliographic Citation
Velásquez, Steve, "José Hernández Romero," in Bracero History Archive, Item #157, http://braceroarchive.org/items/show/157 (accessed May 17, 2012).
