Interviewer
Fernanda Carrillo
Project
Bracero Oral History Project
Summary of Interview
Minerva C. Cheatum was born in El Paso, Texas; shortly after she was born her mother died, and she was consequently raised by her maternal grandparents in Clint, Texas; while still attending high school, she began working as a clerk and typist at Rio Vista, a bracero processing center in Socorro, Texas; she started in August of 1957 and continued working there seasonally until 1962. Ms. Cheatum tells how she came to live with her maternal grandparents shortly after her mother’s passing; she continued to live with them even after her father remarried and moved to California; her grandfather had a farm, and he often hired braceros to help him with the land; in August of 1957, when she was eighteen years old, she began working as a clerk and typist at Rio Vista, a bracero processing center in Socorro, Texas; she provides a detailed description of the facilities in general, the screening process, how the paperwork was filled out, and how the braceros reacted and what they said; there was a particular form, called a 345, which was essential to the entire process for the braceros; they were given the form at the processing center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, and it was required as a form of identification upon entering the United States; sometimes college students and professional writers would pose as braceros in order to later write about their experiences; she also relays several interesting anecdotes.
Date of Interview
4-3-2003
Length of Interview
58 minutes
Listen to the Interview
Tape Number
No. 1554
Transcript Number
No. 1554
Length of Transcript
28 pages
Transcriber
Vanessa Macias
Interview Number
No. 1554
Terms of Use
Unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Interview with Minerva Christine Ann Cheatum by Fernanda Carrillo, 2003, "Interview no. 1554," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso.
Comments
Transcript is a Draft copy