Ana María Perla

Ana María Perla

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Ana María Perla was born December 25, 1936, in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México; her mother’s name was María Torres, and her father’s name was Teodoro Delgado; she is the youngest of her four siblings; Ana was formally educated through the fourth grade; her father served in the bracero program during the 1940s, and he later passed away in 1951; shortly after, in 1952, Ana married a man who had previously worked as a bracero with her father; Ana was eventually able to arrange for legal status in the United States, and she ultimately became a citizen during the late 1990s.

Summary of Interview: Mrs. Perla talks about her family and the difficult financial situation they faced, which led to her father’s decision to enlist in the bracero program; she remembers getting letters from him to let the family know how he was doing and how much he missed them; her mother even took a family portrait to send to him; Ana was especially excited, because she was able to get a new dress for the occasion; when he returned home, between contracts, he made dolls out of old rags for her to play with; he also enjoyed cooking for the family and making pancakes and tortillas; as a bracero, he became ill and was hospitalized twice; he was then told if he could not work, it was best for him to return to México; shortly after his homecoming, he was hospitalized for pneumonia; he had to have liquid removed from his lungs, and he consequently underwent three separate surgeries; Ana cared for her father, the entire time he was ill; it was a great shock for her to see him so weak and sickly, because he had previously been so big and strong; he eventually died in 1951; later, Ana met a man who had previously worked as a bracero with her father; shortly after, they married, and he continued working as a bracero; before he left, he made arrangements at a store so Ana could continue to get whatever she needed without any problems; although Ana’s husband had a positive experience with the program, she continued to have a negative opinion of it, because of what happened to her father.

Treviño, Maribel

Perla, Ana María

2008-01-12

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

spa

Ana María Perla

Treviño, Maribel

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

No

44:00

24 bit
96 k

Treviño, Maribel

Perla, Ana María

Phoenix, Arizona

Perla_AZ057