Interviewee

Refugio Pérez Lolla

Interviewer

Myrna Parra-Mantilla

Project

Bracero Oral History

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee

Refugio Pérez Lolla was born in Gran Morelos, Chihuahua, México, in 1944; he began helping his father work the fields when he was only eight years old; due to his family’s financial difficulties, his father applied and was hired to work as a bracero; Refugio however, worked illegally in the United States.

Summary of Interview

When Refugio was only nine years old, he was put in charge of his father’s land because he was in the United States working as a bracero; his father worked in Dell City and Pecos, Texas, picking cotton and watering the fields; every six months his father would visit his family; Refugio decided to go to the United States to work because his father worked there; Refugio was unable to work for very long because he was apprehended by Immigration officials twice; he entered the United States through Palomas, Chihuahua, México, and walked for several days; he was hired in Deming, New Mexico, in 1966 when the Bracero Program finished.

Date of Interview

5-9-2003

Length of Interview

25 minutes

Tape Number

No. 985

Transcript Number

No. 985

Length of Transcript

17 pages

Interview Number

No. 985

Terms of Use

Unrestricted

Comments

Interview in Spanish.

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