Heriberto Martínez Díaz

Title

Heriberto Martínez Díaz

Description

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Heriberto Martínez was born on August 22, 1929, in Venustiano Carranza, Durango, México; he was the second of three brothers; at age seven, he worked sowing beans, chili, corn, and cutting wood; at the age of fifteen, he worked loading trains; in 1953, he became a bracero and worked in California, Missouri, Montana, and Texas; he picked carrots, cotton, lemons, and sugar until 1964.


Summary of Interview: Mr. Martínez recalls growing up in Francisco I. Madero, Durango, México; he remembers finding out about the bracero program in 1953; as a bracero, he worked in California, Missouri, Montana, and Texas; he recounts how he enlisted in the program and the requirements he needed to fulfill; additionally, he describes several trips he made to contracting centers in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, and Jalisco, México; he also details his time at Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, and the medical test he had to endure; furthermore, he describes the daily activities he performed in the field, how the work was conducted, the different wages braceros were paid, and the methods of payment; he also discusses what their housing was like, how he saved money, what they did during weekends, and how braceros played dominoes, cards and dice; moreover, he talks about his life after being a bracero, why he is proud to have been one, and how it changed his and his family’s life.

Creator

Martínez, Laureano
Martínez Díaz, Heriberto

Date

2003-05-17

Subject

Bracero

Rights

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

Language

spa

title (Spanish)

Heriberto Martínez Díaz

creator (Spanish)

Martínez, Laureano

Rights Holder

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

Online Submission

No

Original Format

Mini Disc

Duration

1:10:40

Bit Rate/Frequency

24 bit
96 k

Interviewer

Martínez, Laureano

Interviewee

Martínez Díaz, Heriberto

Location

DUrango, Durango, México

File Name Identifier

Martinez_Diaz_DGO021

Citation

Martínez, Laureano and Martínez Díaz, Heriberto, “Heriberto Martínez Díaz,” Bracero History Archive, accessed November 13, 2024, https://braceroarchive.org/items/show/199.