Abrazando el espíritu : Bracero families confront the US-Mexico border / Ana Elizabeth Rosas.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rosas, Ana Elizabeth, 1978- author.

Series:

American crossroads ; 40.

American Crossroads ; 40

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Foreign workers, Mexican--Family relationships--United States--History--20th century.

Foreign workers, Mexican.

Migrant agricultural laborers--Family relationships--United States--History--20th century.

Migrant agricultural laborers.

Mexicans--United States--Social conditions--20th century.

Mexicans.

Families--Mexico--Social conditions--20th century.

Families.

Immigrant families--United States--Social conditions--20th century.

Immigrant families.

Mexico--Emigration and immigration--Social aspects.

Mexico.

United States--Emigration and immigration--Social aspects.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (276 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oakland, California : University of California Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

Structured to meet employers' needs for low-wage farm workers, the well-known Bracero Program recruited thousands of Mexicans to perform physical labor in the United States between 1942 and 1964 in exchange for remittances sent back to Mexico. As partners and family members were dispersed across national borders, interpersonal relationships were transformed. The prolonged absences of Mexican workers, mostly men, forced women and children at home to inhabit new roles, create new identities, and cope with long-distance communication from fathers, brothers, and sons. Drawing on an extraordinary range of sources, Ana Elizabeth Rosas uncovers a previously hidden history of transnational family life. Intimate and personal experiences are revealed to show how Mexican immigrants and their families were not passive victims but instead found ways to embrace the spirit (abrazando el espíritu) of making and implementing difficult decisions concerning their family situations-creating new forms of affection, gender roles, and economic survival strategies with long-term consequences.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Bracero Recruitment in the Mexican Countryside, 1942-1947

2. The Bracero Program as a Permanent State of Emergency

3. Special Immigration and the Management of the Mexican Family, 1949-1959

4. Government Censorship of Family Communication, 1942-1964

5. In Painful Silence: The Untold Emotional Work of Long-Distance Romantic Relationships and Marriages, 1957-1964

6. Hidden from History: Photo Stories of Love

7. Awake Houses and Mujeres Intermediarias (Intermediary Women), 1958-1964

8. Ejemplar y sín Igual (Exemplary and without Equal): The Loss of Childhood, 1942-1964

9. Decididas y Atrevidas (Determined and Daring): In Search of Answers, 1947-1964

Epilogue: The Generative Potential of Thinking and Acting Historically

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780520282674

0520282671

9780520958654

0520958659

OCLC:

889674331