Pastures of Plenty: Destination El Norte: Braceros and Campesinos

Summary:

Program 3 in a four-part series on farmworker history

Website:

http://www.coastridge.org/pastures/index/html

Additional Credits and Funding:

Luis Valdez, Host (Zoot Suit, La Bamba)
Funded by the California Council for the Humanities

Timely on:

March 31: Cesar Chavez' birthday

Tones:

Engaging, Real, Thoughtful

Language:

English

Description:

This program explores the long connection between the U.S. and Mexico regarding farm labor. The first segment is about the Bracero guest worker program. The Bracero program was a guest worker program which allowed growers to bring workers under contract as field laborers for a specified time. Ignacio Gomez Rodriguez was a Bracero in the 1950's and talks about how his view of America changed after he got to Salinas, and why he's seeking money still owed to him. We also hear about Leon Ventura, who came as a Bracero and rose up through the ranks to invent a lettuce picking machine. Luis Valdez and Andy Imutan were both part of the United Farm Workers movement, from different angles. Luis Valdez was a migrant farm worker as a child, moving from one farming town to another, then back to their home in Delano. Later he would become involved with Cesar Chavez' movement for justice in the fields by creating Teatro Campesino. Andy Imutan, a Filipino labor organizer, was a leader during the early years of the United Farm Workers union. Cesar Chavez talks about how his early experiences as a migrant farm worker shaped his view of the world.

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