Interviewer

Alma Carrillo

Project

Bracero Oral History

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee

Fernando Games García was born on June 24, 1945, in Hierbabuena, Michoacán, México; he was the oldest boy of three, and also had four sisters; he went to school up to the fifth grade then started working; his father was a bracero who worked in the program on and off from 1943 to 1964; in 1964, his father got him legal papers to cross to the United States, and joined him in Oceanside, California.

Summary of Interview

Mr. Games García remembers growing up in Hierbabuena, Michoacán, México, and going to school up to the fifth grade; he states that his father joined the bracero program in 1943, and worked as a bracero on and off until 1964; furthermore, he recounts his father’s memories of the process of becoming a bracero, his contracting, the treatment they received while crossing into the United States, how braceros were fumigated, and the treatment they received from foremen; he describes what life was like while his father was gone, the hardships his mother went through, and how he missed and worried for his father, especially when he had to cross into the U.S. as an undocumented worker; he explains that the first time his father got contracted he did it in Mexico City, México, and that people from Michoacán were given preference because a volcano had erupted in the state; moreover, he relates that his father got him and the rest of his family papers to cross into the United States in 1964, and that they joined him in Oceanside, California; he concludes by stating that his father felt content that he was able to help his family by joining the bracero program, but that he had to suffer much hardship.

Date of Interview

5-22-2006

Length of Interview

51 minutes

Tape Number

No. 1192

Transcript Number

No. 1192

Length of Transcript

27 pages

Interview Number

No. 1192

Terms of Use

Unrestricted

Comments

Interview in Spanish.

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