Continuation of standard work contract for Miguel Zavala Lopez
Continuation of standard work contract for Miguel Zavala Lopez signed on March 22, 1956 with the California Packing Corporation.
Continuation of standard work contract (back)
Continuation of standard work contract of Miguel Zavala Lopez
Continuation of standard work contract of Miguel Zavala Lopez showing backside with pay rates per crop.
Continuation of standard work contract of Miguel Zavala Lopez signed on May 10, 1957 with the Watsonville Growers Association.
Alien laborer's identification card (back)
Alien laborer's identification card of Miguel Zavala Lopez
Alien laborer's identification card of Miguel Zavala Lopez dated 12 Sep 56. MICA.
Alien laborer's identification card (front)
Alien laborer's identification card of Miguel Zavala Lopez with photogrpah. MICA.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: John G. Gray was raised in Monette, Arkansas; his father owned a grocery store in town and eventually started farming as well; John later married in 1954 and left home; two years later, his father passed away, and he came back home to help take over the farm; in 1957, he hired braceros to help pick cotton; he also served as a secretary for the local association and helped coordinate which braceros went where. Summary of Interview: Mr. Gray briefly talks about his father who passed away in 1956 and how he went back home afterward to help take over the farm; although his father had mechanical pickers, it was too wet to use them in 1957, and John had to employ the help of braceros; he explains that at the time, farmers were financed through cotton gins, which is how they were able to hire braceros; they were transported to the gins in trailer trucks with open backs, where they all stood to accommodate greater numbers; John spoke a little bit of Spanish and served as a secretary for the local association to help coordinate which braceros went where; he kept groups of braceros together as often as he could; the farmers were responsible for providing housing, bedding, stoves, pots, pans and two burners for every three men; in addition, each bracero was given $5.00 and taken to the store to buy groceries; he also explains that the town of Caraway, Arkansas had a population of one thousand people, and the five thousand men that the bracero program brought provided a huge boost in the economy; most braceros were particularly drawn to buying pocket knives; John relates a humorous incident in which his men tried to cook soybeans to eat, but they became very ill due to the excessive oil; he even tried to take them into town for a drink once, but he lost too many of them in the whore house and decided not to do that again; even so, he remembers thinking of himself as pretty tough, but the braceros even outworked him; until then he had never seen anyone work as hard.
Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso
Image of photo of men table eating a meal [El Rio ?]
Image of braceros in front of building (and water tower). Possibly El Rio Processing Center
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Vance E. Beasley was born on March 11, 1916, in Heber Springs, Arkansas; in 1927, his family moved to Heth, Arkansas; he was the third eldest of his six siblings, four brothers and two sisters; with the exception of one of his sisters, the rest of his siblings passed away; he was educated in public schools, but he often went in late and left early in order to help with the crops; in 1939, he graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in agriculture; soon after he married, and he and his wife had three children; he later went on to help his father and brother with their farming partnership, CJ Beasley and Sons. Summary of Interview: Mr. Beasley describes his family and what his life was like growing up; he also talks about his wife and children; during the midfifties, his father asked him to help with the family farm and the partnership of CJ Beasley and Sons; the dwindling labor supply led to their hiring of braceros, particularly for help with cotton, their primary crop; they took on thirty-five to forty braceros per season, and they stayed for contracts of roughly two and a half months; the farmers were required to provide basic necessities such as housing, bedding and cooking supplies; in addition, the braceros were given picking sacks, which were roughly seven feet long and could hold up to one hundred pounds; there was always at least one man in the group of braceros who spoke English and served as a leader; he would receive pay for all the workers and distribute it accordingly; he was also responsible for helping the men buy groceries; Vance repeatedly mentions the incredible work ethic of the braceros; they picked cotton better than any other workers; in fact, he mentions an instance in which he hired workers from Memphis, Tennessee, but they drank too much and did not pick the row of cotton as clean as the braceros did; he found it easier to pay them to leave; eventually, mechanization took over and eliminated the need for manual labor, which in his opinion, ultimately led to the end of the bracero program.
Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Antonio García was born on June 13, 1937, in Tepehuanes, Durango, México, but he grew up in Nuevo Ideal, Durango; he was the eldest of five siblings, two of which died when they were young; when he was five years old, his mother died, and he was raised by his father and step-mother; his father was a farmer who worked as a bracero for a short time; when Antonio was seventeen, he enlisted in the bracero program; he continued working with the program on and off until the early 1960s. Summary of Interview: Mr. García recalls his childhood and family; he went to school through the fourth grade, and he quit school at the age of thirteen in order to work; when he was seventeen, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; although he was not yet of age, he arranged for his military ID card to state that he was eighteen years old in order to begin the hiring process; he goes on to describe what the contracting center in Durango, Durango, México was like; his first contract took him to work in the cotton fields of Texas; he describes what the living and working conditions were like while he was there; about a week after being there, he became very ill, and he was unable to work for over two weeks; he believes it was the food that made him so sick; although he was taken to the doctor and given medication, it did not help, and he eventually returned to México; after spending several months in México, he decided he wanted to try working as a bracero again; he describes the contracting centers he went through in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, and Empalme, Sonora, México, as well as the various places he worked in throughout California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Jesús Ponce was born on July 11, 1919, in Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, but he was raised in México, Distrito Federal; he was the second eldest of eight siblings; during his first year in secondary school, he had to quit in order to work; when the factory where he worked closed, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; in 1944, he became a bracero, and he worked on the railroads in Chicago, Illinois; two years later, in 1946, he emigrated into the United States, and he continued working on the railroads in Chicago; he worked for a total of thirty years before retiring; in 1980, he became a United States citizen. Summary of Interview: Mr. Ponce recalls his family, childhood, and adolescence; when he was fifteen, he quit school and began working at a factory; in 1944, the factory closed, and he decided to enlist in the Bracero Program; he goes on to describe the medical exams, including the delousing procedures he went through at the contracting center in México, Distrito Federal; from there he was transported by passenger train to Bensenville, Illinois, just outside of Chicago; he describes the living situation there as horrible; there were several cargo trucks without wheels on the floor, and inside of each one of them, there were about forty bunk beds, which is where they were expected to sleep and live; the only bathrooms were outside, and they had to bathe out of buckets; he later became friends with a woman who allowed him and other workers to stay in her home, rather than in the trucks, while they worked; every six months he acquired new work contracts without having to leave the country, but in 1946 he was no longer allowed to do so; after returning to México; in May of that same year, he was able to emigrate into the United States; he went on to work on the railroads for a total of thirty years before retiring; in 1980, he became a U.S. citizen.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: José Félix was born on September 21, 1939, in Tepetongo, Zacatecas, México; as a child he would eagerly wait for his father to come home from working as a bracero; he knew at a young age that he also wanted to become a bracero; in 1959, he began the hiring process for the bracero program; he worked in various cities throughout California, Illinois, and Texas. Summary of Interview: Mr. Félix recalls that as a child, he would eagerly wait for his father to come home form working as a bracero; he knew at a young age that he also wanted to come to the United States to work as a bracero; when he was eighteen, he began marching in the Mexican army in order to obtain his military ID card so he could enlist as a bracero; in 1959, he went to Empalme, Sonora, México, to begin the hiring process; he describes what the center was like and how he waited twenty-one days for a contract; in addition, he explains how he was medically examined and then transported to Mexicali, Baja California; he goes on to detail the medical exams he underwent in Calexico, California, including x-rays, blood samples, and the delousing process; his first work contract took him to Stockton, California, for three months; after his contract expired he returned to México, and he later went through the contracting center in Guasave, Sinaloa, México, which took him to work in Salinas, California, picking lettuce; he later went through another contracting center in Matamoros, Taumalipas, and he worked picking cotton in Texas; when his contract expired, he again returned to México; sometime later, he was able to arrange the necessary paperwork for him to emigrate into the United States.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Roberto Almaraz Valdivia was born in Tabasco, Zacatecas, México, but raised in Villanueva, Zacatecas; his parents worked in agriculture, and he had four sisters and three brothers; he was formally schooled through the fourth grade; when he was roughly twelve years old, he began working in agriculture as well; in 1952, he enlisted in the bracero program; as a bracero, he worked in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Texas, picking beans, beets, cotton, cucumber, grapefruits, limes, oranges, and tomatoes; he continued working with the program until 1960. Summary of Interview: Mr. Almaraz briefly discusses his family and childhood; in 1952, he enlisted in the bracero program in Villanueva, Zacatecas, México; from there, he traveled to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; he mentions the physical examinations and delousing process he underwent as part of the contracting process; from Empalme he was taken to El Centro, California, which is where the ranchers chose the workers they wanted; while there, the workers also signed their contracts, which were initially for forty days, but they could be extended for six month periods at a time, until they had completed eighteen months of work in total; as a bracero, he worked in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Texas, picking beans, beets, cotton, cucumber, grapefruits, limes, oranges, and tomatoes; he goes on to discuss the various worksites, duties, living conditions, provisions, payment methods, and recreational activities; in addition, he describes the letters he sent home to his mother and girlfriend, whom he later married in 1957; while in Oxnard, California, he became good friends with the foreman, and he eventually worked his way up to second in command; he was later able to get permission to rent a small house with other co-workers; he continued working with the program until 1960.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Bob Porter was born in Roscoe, Texas, in 1929; a year later, his family moved to the Las Cruces, New Mexico area, and later they moved again to Hatch, New Mexico, which is where he grew up; in 1954, upon finishing a tour of duty in the military, he began working for the Doña Ana County Farm Bureau; while there, he administered the bracero program for two years; he later took a position with the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, spending his last fifteen years there as director and CEO. Summary of Interview: Mr. Porter briefly recalls his childhood; in 1954, he began working for the Doña Ana County Farm Bureau as an assistant director, and he then moved up to director; while there, he administered the bracero program for two years; the Doña Ana program was the largest one with 6,000 braceros during the cotton season; at that time, about 500 braceros were transported daily between Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico; while at the reception center, the braceros were medically examined and given time to clean up and rest from their trips; the centers operated year round with some of the braceros working on ranches and in vegetable production; he recalls a trip he took to México, for a special crossing of braceros, in which a few hundred workers were requested by local farmers, but thousands showed up waiting to be hired; there were meetings and negotiations between the Department of Labor and area farmers; he also mentions labor strikes in the area, and he recalls one instance in which Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta came through town; in his opinion, the Department of Labor’s stringent and increasing demands led farmers to purchae mechanization, which ultimately ended the bracero program.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Consuelo Lerma was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on December 1, 1917; in 1949, she began working for the Singer Sewing Center in Las Cruces; after receiving training, she began teaching sewing classes for the wives of braceros and other low-income farm women. Summary of Interview: Ms. Lerma recalls that in 1949, she began working for the Singer Sewing Center in her hometown of Las Cruces, New Mexico; she went to El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, to receive training on how to use the machines and their various attachments and how to teach others to sew; shortly thereafter, she then began teaching a sewing class for the wives of braceros and other low-income farm women; the classes were offered through the Home Education Livelihood Program and jointly sponsored by the government and area churches; the government provided the fabric and necessary materials, and the Singer Company supplied the machines; the classes were given in Vado, New Mexico, in the morning, afternoon, and evening once a week; the women taking her class spoke only Spanish, and she taught them what little English she could; they were from the San Miguel, La Mesa, and Vado area; the women focused primarily on making dresses. [Interviewer’s Note: Ms. Lerma was uncertain of the exact years she taught the classes, but she was adamant about these women being the wives of braceros.]
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Cora C. Reyes was born in Mesilla, New Mexico, on January 1, 1926, to a family of farmers; her family moved to La Mesa, New Mexico, in order to take in her aunt’s orphaned children; in 1944, she married Silvestre Reyes, who was also from a family of farmers; the Reyes family often hired braceros throughout the duration of the bracero program; Summary of Interview: Mrs. Reyes briefly recalls her childhood and early adolescence; she went to school only through eighth grade, because she had to help her parents at home and on their farm; in 1944, she married her husband, Silvestre Reyes, who was also a farmer; the Reyes family often hired braceros, and there were some who continued to work for the family for over thirty years, which included the time during the bracero program and upon their naturalization; the Reyes’s built a house for three particular braceros who brought their families with them and stayed on the farm year-round; the seasonal braceros would sleep on bunk beds in the barn, but they would share the facilities in the main house; on holidays, many of the braceros would return to México to see their relatives; Mrs. Reyes recalls one tragic accident where a worker was strangled by a cotton picking machine; her husband would hire undocumented workers who were in need of work, and he would hide them whenever immigration officers would show up; she concludes that she thought very well of the braceros and had few if any problems with them; in addition, she comments that many of the local farmers would not have survived without the help of the braceros.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: John L. Agustine was born in El Paso, Texas, on August 29, 1914; his father worked in the mines of Lordsburg, New Mexico; he received a degree in agriculture from New Mexico State University and taught for a brief time; from there, he went on to become an assistant agent for Doña Ana County, where he served as a liaison for the bracero program. Summary of Interview: Mr. Augustine’s first working experience was teaching vocational agriculture in the Farmington Public School System; from there, he went on to become an assistant agent for Doña Ana County under Mr. Lee Gould; upon Mr. Gould’s retirement, Mr. Augustine served as county agent for about ten years; these ten years roughly coincide with the first decade of the bracero program; as an acting liaison for the bracero program, it was his job to ensure that things ran smoothly; he would report the number of necessary workers the farmers needed to the contracting agency; in addition, he intervened and settled disputes between farmers and braceros, and he also required farmers to provide adequate housing according to the program standards; he also recalls the specific harvest seasons braceros were hired and their corresponding duties; to the best of his recollection, there were never any major problems with the program; the use of the braceros provided a symbiotic relationship in which the needs of both the braceros and the farmers were met.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: John Tomlin was born on April 20, 1926 in Albuquerque, New Mexico; his father died of polio when he was an infant, leaving his mother to run the family farm on her own; he later went on to serve in the military, receive his master’s degree, and ultimately work as a farmer; from 1948-1964, he hired braceros to help him tend the land. Summary of Interview: Mr. Tomlin recalls how his mother ran the farm after his father’s passing by using Italian and German POWs; in 1946, after finishing his tour of duty in the Army, he returned home and began attending New Mexico State University; the following year in 1947, he started running the farm on his own while he went to school; in 1948, he began hiring braceros; he used a crew of thirty men during the cotton harvest, which ran from mid September to the beginning of December; he had about six braceros who stayed on year-round driving tractors and irrigating; oftentimes, he had to go the El Paso Coliseum to hire workers because the working contracts needed to be renewed periodically; he provided housing with showers, utensils, and bedding in addition to equipment such as hoes, shovels, and boots for irrigating; the braceros often went home to México on holidays or to care for sick relatives; they did not work Saturday afternoons or on Sundays; he goes on to recount anecdotes of the braceros in general and stories of particular workers he was fond of.