Miguel Jáquez López
subject: Bracero
description: Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Miguel Jáquez was born on May 7, 1931, in Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, México; he grew up in Súchil, Durango, with his nine siblings; when he was eight years old, he began working cutting wood and planting beans and corn; one of his brothers was a bracero and encouraged him to enroll in the bracero program; in 1953, he enlisted, and he worked in Arizona, Arkansas, and Texas, picking cotton; he continued working with the program until 1959. Summary of Interview: Mr. Jaquez recalls his family, childhood, and adolescence; one of his brothers was a bracero and encouraged him to enroll in the bracero program; in 1953, he enlisted, and began the hiring process; he describes the contracting centers in Durango, Durango, Monterrey, Nuevo León, and Empalme, Sonora, México, and the entire hiring process, as well as the extensive medical exams; as a bracero, he worked in Arizona, Arkansas, and Texas, picking cotton; he goes on to explain what daily life was like on the farm, including work, wages, payments, contract amendments and extensions, housing, food, weekend outings, and common complaints; in addition, he mentions specific instances of racism the braceros experienced in various towns; he concludes with fond memories of his overall experiences as a bracero.
creator: Martínez, Laureano
creator: Jaquez López, Miguel
date: 2003-05-27
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Ramón Ávila Hernández
subject: Bracero
description: Nombre del entrevistado: Ramón Ávila Hernández Fecha de la entrevista: 2 de junio de 2003 Nombre del entrevistador: Laureano Martínez Esta es una entrevista con el señor Ramón Ávila Hernández, en la ciudad de Durango, Durango, el día 2 de junio de 2003, conducida por Laureano Martínez, para el Proyecto Bracero del Instituto de Historia Oral, de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso. LM: Buenas tardes don Ramón, ¿cómo está? RA: Bien, bendito sea Dios. LM: Me gustaría comenzar esta entrevista preguntándole, ¿dónde y cuándo nació? RA: Pos nací en Durango, Durango. LM: ¿Cuándo? RA: El 20 de octubre de 1939. LM: ¿Cuántos años tiene? RA: Voy en sesenta y cuatro, treinta y nueve cumplidos, ya ando en los sesenta y cuatro. LM: ¿Cómo se llama su papá? RA: Ramón Ávila Lizardo. LM: Y, ¿su mamá? RA: Francisca Hernández Reyes. LM: ¿De dónde son originarios ellos? RA: Pos de aquí de Durango, ¿no? 2do: De Zacatecas. RA: ¿Mande? 2do: De Zacatecas. RA: De Zacatecas es mi papá. LM: De Zacatecas, ajá. Y, ¿su mamá? 2do: De aquí de Durango. LM: ¿A qué se dedicaba su papá o a qué se dedica su papá? RA: Bueno, cuando yo tuve uso de razón mi papá trabajaba en el Cerro Mercado. LM: En el Cerro Mercado. Es una mina, ¿verdad? RA: Sí. LM: ¿Qué hacía su papá ahí? RA: Pos era barretero, ¿verdad? LM: Barretero. Y, ¿su mamá? RA: Pos ama de casa. LM: Al hogar. RA: Exactamente. LM: ¿Cuántos fueron ustedes de familia? RA: Catorce. LM: Catorce, ¿cuántos hombres y cuántas mujeres? RA: Somos… 2do: Cuatro hombres. RA: Cuatro hombres y diez mujeres. LM: De esos, ¿tú eres el mayor? RA: El mayor de todos. LM: ¿Fue usted a la escuela, don Ramón? RA: Sí. LM: ¿Hasta qué año? RA: Hasta el cuarto año. LM: Hasta el cuarto año. ¿Por qué? RA: Porque ya no había más en el rancho onde estábamos nosotros ahí, hasta ahí había nada más. LM: ¿Dónde vivían?, ¿en qué rancho? RA: En Benjamín Aranda, Municipio de Canatlán. LM: O sea que nació usted aquí en Durango y se fue. RA: Sí, de la edad de once años nos fuimos para el ran…
creator: Martínez, Laureano
creator: Ávila Hernández, Ramón
date: 2003-06-02
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Roberto Heynes García
subject: Bracero
description: Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Roberto Heynes was born on May 1, 1917, in Tepehuanes, Durango, México; he was the youngest of four siblings; their parents died when he was only a year old, and they were raised by their maternal relatives; during his teenage years, he worked in the mines; in spite of the fear instilled by rumors that Mexican workers could also be sent to fight in World War II, he enrolled in the bracero program in 1944; as a bracero, he worked in California and Illinois as a railroad line worker until 1956. Summary of Interview: Mr. Heynes recalls his childhood and adolescence; sometime later, he had heard of the bracero program and the rumors that Mexican workers could also be sent to fight in World War II; in spite of this, he and a friend enrolled in the program in 1944; they signed their contracts in Querétaro, Querétaro, México; from there, they were transported by train to the border; as a bracero, he worked in California and Illinois as a railroad line worker, shoveling gravel on roadbeds and repairing the rails; he goes on to explain, what his first activities for the railroad company were, the training he underwent, his work hours, wages, methods of payment, contract amendments and extensions, the housing in hotel rooms, and the food; in addition, he comments that he was treated well by his American employers and the people in general; he concludes with fond memories of his experiences as a bracero and with the thought that the program should be reinstated.
creator: Martínez, Laureano
creator: Heynes García, Roberto
date: 2003-05-31
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Rosendo Alarcón Carrera
subject: Bracero
description: Nombre del entrevistado: Rosendo Alarcón Carrera Fecha de la entrevista: 28 de mayo de 2003 Nombre del entrevistador: Laureano Martínez Esta es una entrevista con el señor Rosendo Alarcón Carrera en la ciudad de Durango, Durango, el día 28 de mayo de 2003 conducido por Laureano Martínez para el Proyecto Bracero del Instituto de Historia Oral de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso. LM: Don Rosendo, buenos días. RA: Buenos días. LM: Don Rosendo me gustaría comenzar esta entrevista preguntándole, ¿dónde y cuándo nació usted? RA: Yo nací en San José de la Boca, Municipio de Tepehuanes. LM: ¿Cuándo? RA: En 1938, el día primero de este, el 27 de enero. LM: Veintisiete de enero. RA: De 1938. LM: ¿Cuántos años tiene usted, don Rosendo? RA: Sesenta y cinco. LM: Sesenta y cinco, muy bien. ¿Cómo se llamó su papá? RA: Juan Alarcón Quiñónez. LM: Y, ¿su mamá? RA: Catalina Carrera Cervantes. LM: ¿A qué se dedicaban sus padres? RA: Pos agricultores. LM: Era agricultor su papá. RA: Ey, trabajaba en el campo. LM: ¿Sembraban? RA: Sí. LM: ¿Qué sembraban? RA: Maíz, frijol, chile. LM: Y, ¿su mamá? RA: Pos ama de casa. LM: Qué bien, ¿tenía gallinitas ahí donde vivían? RA: Ey, gallinitas, marranos, vacas, chivas. LM: ¿Cuántos fueron ustedes de familia? RA: Diez. LM: Diez, ¿cuántos hombres y cuantas…? RA: Seis hombres y cuatro mujeres. LM: De esos diez, ¿usted que lugar ocupa? RA: El segundo. LM: Usted fue el segundo de los más grandes. RA: Sí. LM: ¿Tiene un hermano, un hermana? RA: Un hermano, mayor que yo. LM: ¿Sus padres eran originarios de ahí de la región? RA: Sí. LM: ¿De ahí mismo? RA: Sí, de ahí mismo. LM: Cuéntenos un poquito, ¿cómo es ese lugar donde usted nació?, ¿cómo es San José de la Boca? RA: Pos es un pueblito muy bonito, porque hay un río que es el Río Tepehuanes, es agua muy cristalina, muy bonita. Nosotros de ahí salimos como de nueve años a un rancho que se llama El Agua Caliente, acá en Melchor Ocampo a un lado de Santiago Papasquiaro. Y ahí vivimos bastante tiempo, hasta…
creator: Martínez, Laureano
creator: Alarcón Carrera, Rosendo
date: 2003-05-28
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Paulino Martínez
subject: bracero
creator: Martínez, Paulino
date: 03-06-23
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Ramon Martínez
subject: bracero
creator: Martínez, Ramon
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Un Simple Bracero
creator: Mary Vargas
contributor: Mary Vargas
rights: You are being asked to contribute your story to the Bracero History Archive, which is developing a permanent digital record of the Bracero program. Your participation in the project will allow future historians, and people such as yourself, to gain a greater understanding of this program and its effect on the people involved. You must be 13 years of age or older to submit material to us. Your submission of material constitutes your permission for, and consent to, its dissemination and use in connection with the Bracero History Archive in all media in perpetuity. If you have so indicated on the form, your material will be published on the Bracero History Archive website (with or without your name, depending on what you have indicated). Otherwise, your response will only be available to approved researchers using the Bracero History Archive. The material you submit must have been created by you, wholly original, and shall not be copied from or based, in whole or part, upon any other photographic, literary, or other material, except to the extent that such material is in the public domain. Further, such material must not violate any confidentiality, privacy, security or other laws. By submitting to the Bracero History Archive you release, discharge, and agree to hold harmless the Bracero History Archive and persons acting under its permission or authority, including a public library to which the collection might be donated for purposes of long-term preservation, from any claims or liability arising out of the Bracero History Archive's use of the material, including, without limitation, claims for violation of privacy, defamation, or misrepresentation. The Bracero History Archive has no obligation to use your material.

Thom E. Beasley
subject: Farmer
description: Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Thom E. Beasley was born in 1949, in East Central Arkansas, between Hughes and Forrest City, Arkansas; his grandfather, father and uncle owned a farming partnership by the name of CJ Beasley and Sons; they had roughly five thousand acres of land, one thousand five hundred of which were dedicated to cotton alone; they hired workers throughout the duration of the bracero program. Summary of Interview: Mr. Beasley talks about his family as well as the farming partnership owned by his grandfather, father and uncle, by the name of CJ Beasley and Sons; although the bracero program began before Thom was born, he remembers braceros being around as he was growing up, until the program ended in 1964; the braceros came to the farm headquarters, and from there they were taken to tenant houses in school buses; they slept in bunk beds and were supplied with mattresses, blankets, cooking and heating stoves and propane; although there was no indoor plumbing, they did have outhouses; moreover, they stayed in the same places the year-round employees did; oftentimes, the same braceros were hired; Thom recalls that one of their biggest complaints was about the water, because it gave them gas due to the high levels of calcium and iron; if they were ever sick, they were taken to the doctor in town; the braceros’ daily routine consisted of making and eating breakfast very early, and then picking in the fields until 11:00 AM, at which point they made lunch and took a siesta until about 2:30 PM, before returning to pick until dark; there were never any problems with their siesta, because they prepared their food from scratch and still managed to out produce everyone else; braceros often picked an average of five hundred pounds of cotton per day; some picked up to seven hundred pounds; Thom repeatedly mentions how amazed and impressed they all were at the braceros’ work ethic; he also mentions a curious incident in which a few years after the program end…
creator: Melaney Bowman
date: 2008-09-26
rights: Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso
language: English

Pat Cobb
creator: Melany Bowman
date: 2008-09-26
rights: Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso
language: EN

Max Smallwood
creator: Melany Bowman
date: 2008-09-25
rights: Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso
language: EN

James Bourland
subject: Discusses working on a farm
creator: Melany Bowman
date: 2008-09-25
rights: Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso
language: ENG

Frances & Max Smallwood
creator: Melany Bowman
date: 2008-09-25
rights: Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso
language: EN

Jim Stotts
creator: Melany Bowman
date: 2008-09-25
rights: Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso
language: EN

Barbara Lancaster
creator: Melany Bowman
date: 2008-09-26
rights: Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso
language: EN

Continuation of standard work contract
subject: Continuation of standard work contract in 1954 with Imperial Valley
description: Continuation of standard work contract signed in 1954 with Imperial Valley Farmers Association.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
creator: Imperial Valley Farmers Association
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Continuation of standard work contract
subject: Continuation of standard work contract in 1958 with Imperial Valley
description: Continuation of standard work contract signed in 1958 to work with Imperial Valley Farmers Association.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
creator: Imperial Valley Farmers Association
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Continuation of standard work contract (back)
subject: Continuation of standard work contract (back) of 1958 with Imperial Valley
description: Continuation of standard work contract (back) of 1958 with Imperial Valley Farmers Association.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
creator: Imperial Valley Farmers Association
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2002-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Letter of good credit from bank
subject: Letter of good credit for farmer to bring in Mexican worker
description: Letter of good credit for Vincent Borchard to bring in Mexican immigrant workers.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
creator: C.A. Jacobson, Manager of Security-First National Bank
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Marriage certificate
subject: Marriage certificate between J. Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel and Melitona Santacruz
description: Marriage certificate of Jose Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel and Melitona Santacruz.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
creator: Jose Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Marriage certificate (back)
subject: Marriage certificate (back) of Jose Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel and Melitona Santacruz
description: Marriage certificate (backside) of Jose Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel and Melitona Santacruz. Married in Zacatecas, Mexico on February 6, 1945.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
creator: Jose Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Birth certificate
subject: Birth certificate of Melitona Santacruz obtained in April of 2000
description: Birth certificate of Melitona Santacruz obtained in April of 2000.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
creator: Mexican government
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Affidavit not to immigrate
subject: Affidavit not to immigrate to the United States nor to allow children to immigrate
description: Affidavit of consent for Melitona Santacruz not to immigrate to the United States nor to allow children to immigrate while minors.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Death Certificate
subject: Death certificate for Guadalupe Jose Santacruz
description: According to the death certificate, Guadalupe Jose Santacruz died of natural causes on February 25, 1993.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
creator: State of California
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-24
contributor: Monica Pelayo
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Burial Certificate
subject: Burial Certificate of Jose Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel in Mexicali, Baja California
description: Burial Certificate for Jose Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel in Mexicali, Baja California.
creator: Melitona Santacruz
creator: Mexican government
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Burial certificate (back)
subject: Burial certificate (back) for Jose Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel
description: Burial certificate (backside) for Jose Guadalupe Santacruz Rangel stamped March 9, 1993.
creator: Melitona, Santacruz
creator: Mexican government
source: Coachella
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-20
contributor: David Villarreal
rights: UTEP
language: eng