Fernando Gámez García
Title
Fernando Gámez García
Description
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Fernando Gamez García was born on June 24, 1945, in Hierbabuena, Michoacán, México; he was the oldest boy of three, and also had four sisters; he went to school up to the fifth grade then started working; his father was a bracero who worked in the program on and off from 1943 to 1964; in 1964, his father got him legal papers to cross to the United States, and joined him in Oceanside, California.
Summary of Interview: Mr. Gamez Garcia remembers growing up in Hierbabuena, Michoacán, México, and going to school up to the fifth grade; he states that his father joined the bracero program in 1943, and worked as a bracero on and off until 1964; furthermore, he recounts his father’s memories of the process of becoming a bracero, his contracting, the treatment they received while crossing into the United States, how braceros were fumigated, and the treatment they received from foremen; he describes what life was like while his father was gone, the hardships his mother went through, and how he missed and worried for his father, especially when he had to cross into the U.S. as an undocumented worker; he explains that the first time his father got contracted he did it in Mexico City, México, and that people from Michoacan were given preference because a volcano had erupted in the state; moreover, he relates that his father got him and the rest of his family papers to cross into the United States in 1964, and that they joined him in Oceanside, California; he concludes by stating that his father felt content that he was able to help his family by joining the bracero program, but that he had to suffer much hardship.
Summary of Interview: Mr. Gamez Garcia remembers growing up in Hierbabuena, Michoacán, México, and going to school up to the fifth grade; he states that his father joined the bracero program in 1943, and worked as a bracero on and off until 1964; furthermore, he recounts his father’s memories of the process of becoming a bracero, his contracting, the treatment they received while crossing into the United States, how braceros were fumigated, and the treatment they received from foremen; he describes what life was like while his father was gone, the hardships his mother went through, and how he missed and worried for his father, especially when he had to cross into the U.S. as an undocumented worker; he explains that the first time his father got contracted he did it in Mexico City, México, and that people from Michoacan were given preference because a volcano had erupted in the state; moreover, he relates that his father got him and the rest of his family papers to cross into the United States in 1964, and that they joined him in Oceanside, California; he concludes by stating that his father felt content that he was able to help his family by joining the bracero program, but that he had to suffer much hardship.
Creator
Carrillo, Alma
Gámez García, Fernando
Date
2006-05-22
Subject
Son of a Bracero
Contributor
Cristóbal Borges
Rights
Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
Language
spa
title (Spanish)
Fernando Gámez García
creator (Spanish)
Carrillo, Alma
contributor (Spanish)
Cristóbal A. Borges
Rights Holder
Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
Interviewer
Carrillo, Alma
Interviewee
Gámez García, Fernando
Location
Blythe, CA
Original Format
Mini disc
Duration
50:56
Bit Rate/Frequency
24 bit
96 k
96 k
File Name Identifier
Gamez_Garcia_BLY008
Citation
Carrillo, Alma and Gámez García, Fernando, “Fernando Gámez García,” Bracero History Archive, accessed November 4, 2025, https://braceroarchive.org/es/items/show/289.