Ofelia Morales

Interviewer

Mireya Loza

Project

Bracero Oral History

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee

Mrs. Morales was born in Calvillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico; she is one of six children; her father worked in agriculture and her mother was a housewife; as a young girl, she began working as a seamstress; she received very little formal education; she married a bracero, Mr. Felix Loera; her husband returned to Mexico after completing four contracts.

Summary of Interview

Mrs. Morales discusses making blouses at home and selling them to a maquilladora; Mrs. Morales recalls that her father inherited land and he cultivated guayaba; a priest visited with her parents in order to discuss Mr. Felix Loera’s marriage proposal; she recalls her parents being very upset; she was sixteen yeas old when she married Mr. Felix Loera; they had one son, Abadón; they learned of the bracero program in their hometown; she moved back to her parents home while her husband was working in the bracero program; she talks about receiving money from her husband and how she travelled to Calvillo to cash the checks; after his first contract, Mr. Loera returned briefly with clothing materials and clothes for Abadón; Mrs. Morales briefly discusses her husband’s experience as a bracero; she describes the fear that the wives endured while their husbands traveled to the United States as braceros; she describes how they were able to buy land and build a home with the money he earned as a bracero; she continues to earn a living making and embroidering blouses for the maquiladora; her husband did not return to the United States after his fourth contract.

Date of Interview

12-10-2007

Length of Interview

30 minutes

Tape Number

No. 1395

Transcript Number

No. 1395

Length of Transcript

20 pages

Transcriber

Alejandra Díaz

Interview Number

No. 1395

Terms of Use

Unrestricted

Comments

Interview in Spanish.

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