Feliciano Zarupe

Interviewer

UM

Project

Bracero Oral History

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee

Feliciano Zarupe was born in Michoacán, México. Feliciano’s father was a businessman who made hats for selling and/or swapping for other items or food. His mother worked as a housekeeper and she also cooked. Feliciano has two brothers and two sisters. One of Feliciano’s brothers worked in the Bracero Program from 1943 until 1947.

Summary of Interview

Feliciano never went to school and from a very young age he began working, collecting resin from pine trees so it could be processed for various needs. Feliciano entered the Bracero Program in 1960 and the first part of the recruitment process, the physical examination, took place in Empalme. Then they were sent to Calexico where they were dusted against lice. Feliciano first went to Oxnard in Parque del Sol when he arrived in the United States and then was sent to Lompoc in Santa Maria county, California where he worked harvested lettuce for 45 days. A typical day began at 5 a.m. with a breakfast that consisted of oats, milk, bread, and eggs. Lunch was at noon and the meal varied but consisted of beef, roast beef and sometimes liver. There were eighty beds to one barrack. Feliciano was paid $1 per hour and had $0.10 cents deducted. Every pay check Feliciano sent money to his wife in México. After Lompoc, Feliciano went to Salinas, California to work harvesting pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, cauliflower and strawberries. Feliciano worked in Salinas for three years. Feliciano has had a difficult time collecting the 10% that was deducted from his earnings. At the time of the interview Feliciano had been living in the United States without legal documentation.

Date of Interview

11-20-2008

Length of Interview

43 minutes

Tape Number

No.1424

Transcript Number

No. 1424

Length of Transcript

40 pages

Transcriber

GMR Transcription Services

Interview Number

No. 1424

Terms of Use

Unrestricted

Comments

Interview in Spanish.

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