Interviewer
Hugo Camacho
Project
Bracero Oral History
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee
Cecilio V. Rodriguez was born on November 22 of 1938 in Choix, Sinaloa, México; His father was a farmer and his mother was a housewife; He was the third oldest of his fifteen siblings; he went to elementary school, but he did not attend all the time; in 1960, he became a bracero and worked picking cotton, tomato, carrots and watermelon in Arizona and California.
Summary of Interview
Mr. Rodriguez worked with his father picking cotton, corn, beans, and peanuts when he was a child. Rodriguez obtained a letter to get hired in the bracero program when he was in Obregon, Sonora. At the age of eighteen, he entered to the United States through Nogales. He picked cotton in Avondale, Arizona and returned to work as a bracero the following year in Stockton, California. Rodriguez worked picking tomatoes in Stockton and earned a salary of $8.00 per week. He was hired for the last time in 1962 in San Benito, California and worked picking tomatoes for Heinz Company. In 1963, Rodriguez got married in Mexico and had four children with his wife. In 1970, Mr. Rodriguez returned to the United States bringing a child with him. Since he worked for twenty years at the Heinz Company, he received the American residency.
Date of Interview
1-12-2008
Length of Interview
51 minutes
Listen to the Interview
Tape Number
No. 1380
Transcript Number
No. 1380
Length of Transcript
56 pages
Transcriber
Unknown
Interview Number
No. 1380
Terms of Use
Unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Interview with Cecilio V. Rodriguez by Hugo Camacho, 2008, "Interview no. 1380," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso.
Comments
Interview in Spanish.