Pedro García

Pedro García

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Pedro García was born on May 4, 1932 in Cederal, San Luis Potosí, México; he was one of eleven siblings; his father worked in agriculture, but died when he was seven yeas old; his mother is still alive at 104 years old; as a child, he took care of animals in a ranch; he never had formal schooling; in 1944, he left home and went to Texas to pick carrots and cotton; he stayed in the United States as an undocumented worker, and later acquired his papers and worked in mining.


Summary of Interview: Mr. García remembers growing up in Cederal, San Luis Potosí, México, and what his life was like as a child; he recalls wanting to leave home in 1944 and traveling to Texas to work picking carrots and cotton; furthermore, he recounts working as an undocumented worker in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas; he states that he traveled to Blythe, California and that he couldn’t find work because all the jobs were filled by braceros; he describes trying to become a bracero, but being harassed and forced to leave while waiting in line; moreover, he expresses that braceros received better treatment from foremen and bosses; he tells of a time when a boss attempted to pay him less because the boss thought he was an undocumented worker, but by this time he had his papers and was able to secure a fair pay; he discusses some stories that braceros told him about the program, and then relates that he left México because the pay was much better in the U.S.; he concludes by saying that he misses México, but that he has made his life in the U.S with his wife and eleven children.

Acosta, Anais

García, Pedro

2006-05-22

Bracero

Cristóbal Borges

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

spa

Pedro García

Acosta, Anais

Cristóbal A. Borges

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

Mini DIsc

30:00

24 bit
96 k

Acosta, Anais

García, Pedro

Blythe, CA

Garcia_BLY009