Interviewer

Violeta Domínguez

Project

Bracero Oral History

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee

Patricio Corrales was born in San Mateo Atenco, México, México; at the age of ten, he began cutting wood and sowing corn with his father; later, he worked in construction and in factories; due to his families economic situation, he joined the Bracero Program in 1952; he worked in California and Texas picking carrots, cotton, cucumbers, grapefruits, lemons, and oranges.

Summary of Interview

Mr. Corrales recalls growing up in San Mateo Atenco, México, México, and how he worked from the age of ten cutting wood and sowing corn with his father; he remembers laboring in construction and factory work, and how his family’s poverty pushed him to join the Bracero Program in 1952; additionally, he describes the hiring process at the contracting centers in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México and Empalme, Sonora, México, and the hardships braceros endured there; he states that he worked in California and Texas picking carrots, cotton, cucumbers, grapefruits, lemons, and oranges; furthermore, he details what daily life was like on the farms, the kind of housing and furniture braceros had, the curfew they were forced to follow, and the treatment they received from foremen; he explains what they did during weekends, and how they sent money back to México; moreover, he discusses the shock he experienced living in a new country; he also outlines the differences he saw between Mexican and Mexican-Americans workers, and the benefits the United States economy received from the braceros; he concludes by presenting the positives of having worked as a bracero, and the way the experience helped him and his family.

Date of Interview

7-2002

Length of Interview

118 minutes

Tape Number

No. 1029

Transcript Number

No. 1029

Length of Transcript

50 pages

Interview Number

No. 1029

Terms of Use

Unrestricted

Comments

Interview in Spanish.

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