Juan de Dios Estrada López

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Juan de Dios Estrada López was born in Rancho Rosas, Municipio de General Trías, Chihuahua, México, in 1929 [in 1993, the Mexican Congress changed the name of this Municipio to Santa Isabel]; upon his father’s passing, he began working on ranches at the age of ten; in 1954, he moved to the city of Chihuahua where he learned about the bracero program; he worked in the cotton fields of Texas and New Mexico and the beet fields of Colorado and Nebraska.

Summary of Interview: 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.

Parra-Mantilla, Myrna

de Dios Estrada López, Juan

2003-03-31

Parra-Mantilla, Myrna, "Juan de Dios Estrada López." Bracero History Archive, Item #20 (accessed January 07 2009, 12:19 pm)