Interview no. 1167

Mr. Cortez describes how the Mexican government would often send notices about forty-five day contracts with the bracero program to various cities throughout the country; upon receiving these announcements, men would travel to designated work locations in order to obtain the necessary paperwork for contracting centers; Rafael went to the center in Empalme, Sonora, México, to enlist in the program; he states that there were over twenty-five thousand men waiting at the center, but there were only between three and five thousand men processed daily; Rafael goes on to describe the medical assessments he underwent while at the center; upon arriving in the United States, he was examined again and deloused; consequently, when blood samples were drawn, many men fainted; after being processed, ranchers would pick and choose which men they wanted to work, like they would animals; the men were singled out based on their size and what crop they would be harvesting; they were then transported by bus to their worksites; as a bracero, Rafael worked on several contracts throughout California and once in Arizona; he details the different cities he was sent to, as well as duties, daily routines, housing, provisions, payment, remittances, and recreational activities; in addition, he states that his initial salary was 75¢ an hour, but he ultimately earned up to $2.25 an hour; moreover, in spite of the fact that none of the men had cars, they would often go to the drive-in movies after work, and they would sit on the floor; although the films were always in English, they all enjoyed themselves nevertheless