Interviewer
Grisel Murillo
Project
Bracero Oral History
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee
Jose S. Magana was born in 1963, in Hierbabuena, Michoacán, México; his father was a bracero from 1956 to 1960; in 1976, his father arranged for his family to move to the United States as residents; his father worked in California cutting lettuce; he worked picking lemons and oranges in the United Farm Workers Union.
Summary of Interview
Mr. Magana remembers growing up in Hierbabuena, Michoacán, México; he is oldest sibling in his family, and remembers how hard it was to grow up poor in a ranch in México; he recalls that his father was a bracero from 1956 to 1960, and worked in California cutting lettuce; furthermore, he recounts the memories his father shared with him about the bracero program; he highlights the hardships his father endured, and how his father refused to work in United States again after returning to México, because of the bad treatment he received; moreover; he describes how his father arranged for his family to acquired residency papers in 1976, and how they moved to California; he states that they suffered extreme poverty after moving to the U.S., and that they lived on ranches and in deteriorated housing; additionally, he explains that he worked picking lemons and oranges in California and Florida while being in the United Farm Workers Union; he concludes by stating that his father’s experience in the bracero program had negative and positive aspects to it.
Date of Interview
5-22-2006
Length of Interview
38 minutes
Listen to the Interview
Tape Number
No. 1196
Transcript Number
No. 1196
Length of Transcript
16 pages`
Interview Number
No. 1196
Terms of Use
Unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Interview with Jose S. Magana by Grisel Murillo, 2006, "Interview no. 1196," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso.
Comments
Interview in Spanish.