Interviewer

Fernanda Carrillo

Project

Bracero Oral History Project

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee

Herminina Reza Contreras was born on May 5, 1920, in Douglas, Arizona; she had eight brothers and sisters; because her father worked for the railroads, her family moved to El Paso, Texas, when she was thirteen years old; in 1951, she began working with immigration services; later, in 1953, she went to work for the Department of Labor, and stayed there until 1963; both jobs entailed working closely with the Bracero Program.

Summary of Interview

Ms. Reza briefly recounts her childhood; when she was thirteen years old, she moved with her family from Douglas, Arizona to El Paso, Texas; in 1951, she began working with immigration services, where she was in constant contact with braceros; her boss recommended that she look for work with the Department of Labor, and later, in 1953, she did; while there, she worked for the administrative offices of Rio Vista, a processing center for braceros in Socorro, Texas; she provides a detailed description of the buildings and offices and of the processing procedures; her primary responsibility was to oversee the contracting aspect of the program; she was in charge of making sure the appropriate permits were in place in order for farmers and ranchers to hire braceros and that the proper amount of money for the contracts was received as well; the contractors were primarily from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming; in addition, she mentions the names of several employees she worked with, including Mr. Carlos Corella: she continued to work for the Department of Labor until 1963.

Date of Interview

3-18-2003

Length of Interview

31 minutes

Tape Number

No. 1566

Transcript Number

No. 1566

Length of Transcript

16 pages

Transcriber

Myrna Avalos

Interview Number

No. 1566

Terms of Use

Unrestricted

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