Interviewer
Fernanda Carrillo
Project
Bracero Oral History Project
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee
Celia Berton was born in El Paso, Texas, in December of 1934; upon graduating from Loretto Academy, she took a civil service exam; her qualifications for typing and stenography led to her to work for INS, the Immigration and Naturalization Service; she worked as a bilingual court typist for the Bracero Program at Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas.
Summary of Interview
During the summer of 1953, while going to school at Texas Western College, she worked as a bilingual court typist for the Bracero Program at Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas, where she received minimal training; her primary responsibility was to interview braceros in Spanish and fill out their paperwork in English; she explains the procedures the braceros had to go through while there, which included medical exams, a shower, a haircut from the on-site barbershop, photographs, and fingerprints; she worked at Rio Vista, for a total of two years and also half a year at the Santa Fe Bridge in El Paso, Texas.
Date of Interview
1-22-2003
Length of Interview
31 minutes
Listen to the Interview
Tape Number
No. 1552
Transcript Number
No. 1552
Length of Transcript
14 pages
Transcriber
Courtney Richards
Interview Number
No. 1552
Terms of Use
Unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Interview with Celia Berton Castro by Fernanda Carrillo, 2003, "Interview no. 1552," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso.