Instruction book, page 30-31
subject: instruction book
description: Instruction book and travel guide for braceros, pages 30 and 31. Workers rights - last page.
creator: Juan Loza
creator: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores
source: Chicago
publisher: UTEP
date: 2005-00-00
contributor: Steve Velasquez
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Instruction book, page 32
subject: instruction book
description: Instruction book and travel guide for braceros, page 32 - blank page.
creator: Juan Loza
creator: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores
source: Chicago
publisher: UTEP
date: 2005-00-00
contributor: Steve Velasquez
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Instruction book, page 4-5
subject: instruction book
description: Instruction book and guide for braceros with suggestion #1. Travel lightly.
creator: Juan Loza
creator: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores
source: Chicago
publisher: UTEP
date: 2005-00-00
contributor: Steve Velasquez
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Instruction book, page 6-7
subject: instruction book
description: Instruction and travel guide for braceros, pages 6 and 7. How to behave and what to be aware of.
creator: Juan Loza
creator: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores
source: Chicago
publisher: UTEP
date: 2005-00-00
contributor: Steve Velasquez
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Instruction book, page 8-9
subject: instruction book
description: Instruction book and travel guide for braceros, pages 8 and 9. Recommendations for work relations.
creator: Juan Loza
creator: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores
source: Chicago
publisher: UTEP
date: 2005-00-00
contributor: Steve Velasquez
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Instruction booklet
subject: Instruction booklet for Jose Ortiz Espino
description: Instruction booklet for Jose Ortiz Espino issued to him 1/11/1944 in Nogales, AZ.
creator: Ernesto & Linda Espino
source: El Paso
publisher: UTEP
date: 2005-11-12
contributor: Monica Pelayo
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Interior of Militar Identificaiton Card
subject: Identification card
description: Interior of Mexican Military Identification card. Rules and regulations printed on one side.
creator: Jose Gamez
creator: Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional
source: El Paso - Las Cruces
publisher: UTEP
date: 2003-00-00
contributor: Steve Velasquez
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Interview form
subject: Interview form for ex-braceros
description: Interview form for Mr. Luis Figueroa Encinas. The questions are in regards to his time as a bracero and how the program affected his life.
creator: Luis Figueroa Encinas
source: Heber, California
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-24
contributor: Monica Pelayo
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Interview form (part 2)
subject: Interview form for ex-braceros
description: In this second page of the interview form, Mr. Luis Figueroa Encinas suggests for another Bracero Program. His opinion is based on the fact that the United States pays more than Mexico does for jobs, and there are too many people dying trying to cross the US-Mexico border looking for a better life.
creator: Luis Figueroa Encinas
source: Heber, California
publisher: UTEP
date: 2006-05-24
contributor: Monica Pelayo
rights: UTEP
language: eng

Interview Photograph
subject: Oral History Interview
description: Photograph of Jesus Soberano Rodriguez giving an oral history interview.
creator: Jesus Soberano Rodriguez
source: Mexico City
publisher: UTEB
date: 2009-08-03
contributor: Kristen Chasse
rights: UTEB
language: eng

Irene Morán
subject: bracero
creator: Carrillo, Alma
creator: Morán, Irene
date: 2008-01-04
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Irene Solís
subject: Wife of a bracero
description: Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Irene Solís was born on May 4, 1941, in Carrillo Puerto, Durango, México; by the time she was sixteen, she was already married and pregnant with her first child; in 1957, her husband, Fernando Barrios Domínguez, enlisted in the bracero program; in addition, her father-in-law and several other men in town were also braceros. Summary of Interview: Ms. Solís recalls that there was no rain during the 1957 sowing season, which left them with no food or money; her husband, Fernando Barrios Domínguez, and other men from town tried to enlist in the bracero program, but they did not make it; later that same year they were able to travel to Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, and obtain a contract; although he never spoke much about his experiences, Irene recalls hearing her father-in-law assert that the men only left home out of necessity; moreover, he repeated that they were treated worse than animals while having to endure being stripped and fumigated; other men reiterated those sentiments; one man even said that he had been violated (violaron) while going through a border contracting center in Mexicali, Baja California, México; many men, including her husband, took such secrets to the grave; while Fernando was gone, Irene took on the responsibilities of a father in addition to those of a mother, which was especially difficult, because no one was there for moral support; when her children were sick, her mother-in-law helped her; in his letters home he told her how much he missed her, but he had no other choice; she goes on to describe in detail, the tragic events surrounding her husband’s death in 1970; consequently, she and her seven children had to move to Tijuana, Baja California, México, with her father; she later came to the United States with her children; time and again she thinks of what other possible things her husband and others had to endure out of simple necessity, which is in part why she continually volunteers to help feed da…
creator: Esparza, Araceli
creator: Solís, Irene
date: 0200-05-12
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Isabel Rodríguez de Moreno
subject: bracero
creator: Rodríguez de Moreno, Isabel
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Isaias Muro

Isaías Sánchez
subject: bracero
creator: Carrillo, Alma
creator: Sánchez, Isaías
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
relation: Sanchez_COA054
language: spa

Isaías Sánchez
subject: bracero
creator: Carrillo, Alma
creator: Sánchez, Isaías
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Isais DeArco

Isaura Covarrubias
subject: bracero
description: Isaura Covarrubias was the third born of her fourteen siblings; she grew up with ten sisters and two brothers, because two of her siblings, twins, died when they were young; her father worked in agriculture, but it was not enough to support the family, which lead to his decision to enlist in the bracero program; he continued working with the program until 1960; Isaura helped raise her younger siblings; she later married when she was roughly seventeen years old and ultimately had eleven children; eventually, she immigrated to the United States and helped her father do the same. Summary of Interview: Ms. Covarrubias talks about her childhood and early adolescence; her father worked in agriculture, but it was not enough to support their family of twelve, which lead to his decision to enlist in the bracero program; at the time, she was thirteen years old; she weeps at the memories of how much she and her family suffered while her father was gone; he endured a great deal as well and often told her stories; it was very difficult while waiting to obtain a contract, but it was often worse when he began laboring in the fields of the United States; he had to stay hunched over all day; the foremen were always hard on the braceros and told them they did not want posts so they could not stand; even so, he continued working with the program until 1960; during this time, Isaura helped raise her younger siblings; when her father was gone, they all lived a very restricted life; he sent whatever money he could, which was sometimes as little as $15.00 and as much as $30.00; with the money he sent home, the children were able to go to school; she did not like it very much and often suffered from headaches, which she attributed to the fact that she never ate very well; he once came home early by surprise, but she did not recognize him and tried to get him out of the house; she later married when she was roughly seventeen years old and ultimately had eleven children; eventually, she immi…
creator: Salgado, Susana
creator: Covarrubias, Isaura
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Isidoro Ramírez
subject: Bracero
description: Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Isidoro Ramírez was born on April 4, 1935, in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, México; he is one of thirteen siblings; at an early age, he began working in agriculture; in 1956, he joined the bracero program; he worked in California picking tomatoes. Summary of Interview: Mr. Ramírez recalls growing up in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, México, and attending formal schooling for a brief period; he states that his parents worked in agriculture, and that he began laboring with them at an early age; additionally, he remembers hearing about the bracero program from men who had returned from the Unites States, and deciding to enlist at age twenty-one; he details his experience in the contracting center of Empalme, Sonora, México, how he had to wait three weeks to sign his contract, and the humiliation of the medical exams; furthermore, he describes his trip to the border, and the process he went through at the reception center in El Centro, California; he worked in California picking tomatoes; moreover, he explains that once they arrived at the reception center, they were picked by foremen as if they were cattle; he continues to outline what daily life was like on the farms, what braceros did during their time off, and where they lived; while discussing his work, he expressed that while he waited for new contracts to be assigned, he would go to San Francisco to work as a garbage man; he concludes by stating that his memories of the program are very negative, and that he suffered much abuse, and a low standard of living while working as a bracero.
creator: Velásquez, Steve
creator: Ramírez, Isidoro
date: 2005-07-13
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Isidro Abrego Alvarado
subject: Bracero
description: Nombre del entrevistado: Isidro Ábrego Alvarado Fecha de la entrevista: 2 de junio de 2003 Nombre del entrevistador: Laureano Martínez Esta es una entrevista con el señor Isidro Ábrego Alvarado en la cuidad 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 Isidro. IA: Buenas tardes. LM: Don Isidro, me gustaría comenzar esta entrevista preguntándole, ¿dónde y cuándo nació usted? IA: Yo nací el día 4 de abril de 1931, en un pueblito que está aquí cercas que se llama el Sauz Bendito. LM: El Sauz Bendito, ¿municipio de dónde? IA: Municipio de Canatlán. LM: Canatlán, Durango, ¿verdad? IA: Sí. LM: ¿Cuántos años tiene? IA: Tengo setenta y tres años. LM: ¿Cómo se llamó su papá? IA: Se llamaba Luis Ábrego. LM: Y, ¿su mamá? IA: Juana de la Cruz. LM: ¿De dónde eran originarios ellos? IA: Ellos eran originarios de un pueblito que se llama Miguel Allende. LM: Miguel Allende, ¿dónde está ese pueblito? IA: Allá está por el Municipio de Nuevo Villado. LM: Nuevo Villado, Durango. ¿Cuántos fueron ustedes de familia? IA: Nosotros fuimos cuatro de familia nada más. LM: Cuatro, ¿cuántos hombres y cuántas mujeres? IA: Tres hombres y una mujer. LM: De esos cuatro, ¿qué lugar ocupaba usted, don Isidro? IA: Yo era campesino allá en aquellos tiempos, era campesino. Yo sembraba maíz y frijol. LM: Y, ¿era usted el más chico o el más grande? IA: El más chico de la familia. LM: Era el menor. IA: Sí, el menor. LM: ¿A qué se dedicaba su papá? IA: Era también campesino él también. Sí, también era campesino. LM: Tenían tierras propias. IA: Sí. Bueno, era ejido. LM: Era ejido. IA: Es ejido todavía. LM: ¿Qué sembraba su papá? IA: Maíz, frijol. LM: Su mamá, ¿se dedicaba al hogar? IA: Sí, al hogar. Ella ahí en la casa nomás, trabajaba ahí en la casa. LM: ¿Tenían gallinitas? IA: Sí, pos sí, cómo no. Pos ni modo, ahí gallinitas, marranos, una vaca y mulas pa sem…
creator: Martínez, Laureano
creator: Abrego Alvarado, Isidro
date: 2003-06-02
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Isidro H. Buso
subject: Bracero
description: Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Isidro Buso was born and raised in Delicias, Chihuahua, México, on March 16, 1942; he was the eldest of his four brothers and sister; his father was a construction worker who taught him the trade; at the age of seventeen, he began working in construction; in 1962, he enrolled in the bracero program; while working as a bracero, his various jobs included picking cotton, driving cattle, and feeding hens. Summary of Interview: Mr. Buso briefly recalls his childhood and adolescence; in 1962, he went through the hiring process in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, and from there was sent to Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas; he gives a detailed description of his various jobs as a bracero, which included, picking cotton, castrating and driving cattle, and feeding hens; in addition, he also discusses housing issues, the various wages earned, the methods of payment, the length of his contracts, and one instance of racism experienced by his friend who was an African American; sometime later, he decided to become a legal resident, and he details the procedures associated with doing so and how it changed his life; he remarks that his dreams and illusions of working in the United States were well worth any inconveniences he might have faced.
creator: Martinez, Laureano
creator: Buso, Isidro H.
date: 2003-03-06
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Isidro Herrera Ortega
subject: bracero
description: Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Isidro Herrera Ortega was born in Zacatecas, México, in 1934; he was the oldest of his three siblings; his parents were seasonal agriculturalists, and they planted beans and corn; when he was eight years old, he began helping his parents work the land and care for animals; he was formally educated through the third grade; his father and some of his uncles enlisted in the bracero program, and in 1955, Isidro also joined; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona and California cleaning, pruning, watering, picking and packing grapes, lettuce and tomatoes. Summary of Interview: Mr. Herrera talks about his hometown and working in agriculture and with livestock while growing up; he knew about the bracero program when it first started in the early 1940s; a number of men joined and returned, including his father and some of his uncles; Isidro decided to follow in their footsteps and enlisted in 1955 with the hopes of having a better life; to begin the contracting process, he traveled by bus to Irapuato, Guanajuato, México; later, he also went through the center in Empalme, Sonora, México; the center in Irapuato was situated on an old military camp, and it held between thirty and forty thousand people at a time; he also describes the medical exams and required documents; some men were on lists of available workers by municipalities, while others were not and relied solely on the people they knew at the center in order to go through; Isidro waited four months to obtain a contract; from there he was transported by bus to Mexicali, Baja California, México; once he crossed the border, he was examined again; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona and California cleaning, pruning, watering, picking and packing grapes, lettuce and tomatoes; he also goes on to detail the various worksites, housing, accommodations, living conditions, provisions, duties, routines, treatment, payments, deductions, correspondence and contract len…
creator: Díaz, Alejandra
creator: Herrera Ortega, Isidro
date: 2008-01-12
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Isidro Peña Millan
subject: Bracero
description: Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Isidro Peña Millan was born on May 15, 1937, in Rancho de Peñas, in the municipality of Satevó, Chihuahua, México; he was the eldest of his nine siblings; when he was nine years old, he and his family moved to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, where he worked odd jobs whenever he could; later, in 1957, he enrolled in the bracero program; as a bracero, he picked cotton in Texas and New Mexico, and continued to do so until 1961. Summary of Interview: Mr. Peña describes his early adolescence and the various kinds of work he did; in 1957, he decided he wanted to work as a bracero; the first thing he had to do was pay someone to put his name on the county’s list of people to be called as workers; he then went to El Trocadero, a processing center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, in order to officially begin the hiring process for the program; after this, he was transported from Chihuahua to the border by train and then taken to Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, where he was medically examined; he goes on to describe his first job picking cotton, the wages he received, the living conditions on the farms where he lived, the food they cooked and ate, their hobbies, and what they did on weekends and in their spare time; in addition, he also explains how braceros were able to extend their working contracts without having to leave the country; years later, he became a United States resident.
creator: Martinez, Laureano
creator: Peña Millan, Isidro
date: 2003-02-26
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Isidro Sicairos
subject: bracero
creator: Cortez, Veronica
creator: Sicairos, Isidro
date: 2006-05-24
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa

Ismael Chavira Lopez
subject: Bracero
description: Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Ismael Chavira Lopez was born on June 17, 1925, in El Belduque, Valle de Zaragosa, Chihuahua, México, but he grew up in Julimes, Chihuahua; he was the eldest of five brothers; at the age of ten, he began helping his father with agricultural tasks; in 1953, he was hired as a bracero and continued working as such until 1964; he worked in New Mexico picking cotton and irrigating the fields. Summary of Interview: Mr. Chavira briefly recounts his childhood; his first paying job was as a construction worker; in 1953, he went through the hiring process in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, to become a bracero; he chronicles the entire process, which began in a rural area of Chihuahua and ended with the medical examinations at Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas; in addition, he describes the various processing center facilities, the length of contracts, and the conditions under which these contracts were extended; while working as a bracero, his daily activities included irrigating and picking cotton; he describes the wages he earned, the methods of payment, and how braceros would send money home to their families in México; in addition, he goes on to detail what the farms where he worked and lived were like, what kinds of food they cooked and ate, what their hobbies were, and how they often received permission from their employers to cross the border on weekends; furthermore, he concludes that he is very proud to have participated in the bracero program, and that it had a huge impact not only on his family, but on him as well.
creator: Martinez, Laureano
creator: Chavira Lopez, Ismael
date: 2003-02-21
contributor: Cristóbal Borges
rights: Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
language: spa