Interviewer
Mireya Loza
Project
Bracero Oral History
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee
Delfino Alfredo Muñoz was born on August 13, 1939, in San Pedro Ixtlahuaca, Oaxaca, México; his parents worked in agriculture, and he had two siblings; as a child, he received relatively little formal education, and at the age of twelve he began helping his father till the land; in his early twenties he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he worked in the cotton fields in Texas Valley and Arkansas; he then got a contract in Stockton picking asparagus and tomatoes; his last contract was in California picking lettuce, celery, broccoli and cauliflower; after the program ended he returned to México.
Summary of Interview
Mr. Muñoz very briefly discusses his family and childhood; He learned about the bracero program when he was roughly twenty years old, he decided to join the program in order to earn a better wage; He explains that he traveled to Monterrey in order to get enlisted in the program, and obtained the job in Texas Valley picking cotton, later he moved to Arkansas to do the same thing. Mr. Muñoz explains how the working conditions changed because of the different weather in each city, Texas has very high temperatures and Arkansas has a cooler weather, which makes it easier to work in the field; then he went to Stockton where he was hired for three months, first picking asparagus, then tomato and finally grape; He then moved to Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico in order to collect a letter that was obtained by picking two-thousand kg of cotton; In 1962, when he received the letter, he moved to California and worked in Salinas and Blythe; He briefly describes the activities they did on the days off; some people enjoyed playing cards, others went dancing, and some would like going out for a drink, and explains how a lot of people did not have this right because they were underage. He mentions that all the braceros had to get along because they would have to live together, in Blythe and Salinas they would provide them with food, but in Arkansas they had to cook, and everyone contributed; He mentions that his brother became a bracero before he did. Mr. Muñoz returned to Mexico when the program ended, he got married and never returned to the United States.
Date of Interview
7-3-2008
Length of Interview
20 minutes
Listen to the Interview
Tape Number
No. 1444
Transcript Number
No. 1444
Length of Transcript
17 pages
Transcriber
GMR Transcription Services
Interview Number
No. 1444
Terms of Use
Unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Interview with Delfino Alfredo Muñoz Pacheco by Mireya Loza, 2008, "Interview no. 1444," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso.
Comments
Interview in Spanish.