1311
Interview in Spanish.
Summary of Interview
Maria L. Ramos Terriquez briefly recalls her childhood and the financial difficulties her family endured; her father was a bracero; he contracted in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; she discusses the remittances sent by her father to her grandmother; she states that her grandmother kept the money, opened a store, and did not help support her or her siblings; she states that her grandmother, Andrea, would make her wash her uncles clothing; in addition, she adds that her uncles were verbally and emotionally abusive; she graphically describes an event in which she encountered her mother feeding a woman with leprosy; she, her mother, and her siblings, worked in the corn, peanut, potato and wheat fields; she states that her father worked as a bracero in Mexicali, Mexico and in California; despite letters from his boss, Mr. Ramos did not apply for residency; he believed that the working conditions were too harsh and he did not want his children to work in the United States; her father detailed the harsh living conditions the braceros endured; she believes that her father may have had another family in the United States.