Interviewer
Verónica Córtez
Project
Bracero Oral History
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee
Amadeo Tapia Q. Was born in Sahuaripa, Sonora, México; he is the youngest of eight siblings; his father worked in agriculture, and was also a civil judge; he had formal schooling until the fifth grade; in 1958, he became a bracero, and worked in Arizona and California picking beets, cotton, lemons, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes; he worked as a bracero until 1962; he became a resident of the United States after leaving the program, and became a U.S. citizen in 1991.
Summary of Interview
Mr. Tapia remembers growing up in Sahuaripa, Sonora, México, and his father’s work as a civil judge; he went to school until the fifth grade; in 1958, he joined the bracero program and worked in Arizona and California picking beets, cotton, lemons, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes, until 1962; he recounts how he joined the program in 1958 and 1959 through a government list, and how for the next two contracts he had to pick cotton to acquire them; he describes what the contracting process was like in Empalme, Sonora, México, the medical exams they got, and the embarrassment of having to be nude in front of thousands of people; moreover, he relates the hardship of traveling to the border in freight trains, the process at El Centro, California, the way they were fumigated, and how they were assigned to farms; he explains what his living conditions were, and the food they ate; furthermore, he states how he was paid, the quantity he got, and the difference in pay from state to state; he also describes what they did for entertainment; additionally, he recounts how he became a resident of the U.S. in 1962, and then a citizen in 1991; he remembers his time as a bracero with pride.
Date of Interview
5-22-2006
Length of Interview
48 minutes
Listen to the Interview
Tape Number
No. 1199
Transcript Number
No. 1199
Length of Transcript
24 pages
Interview Number
No. 1199
Terms of Use
Unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Interview with Amadeo Tapia Q by Verónica Córtez, 2006, "Interview no. 1199," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso.
Comments
Interview in Spanish.