JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
In the West Texas cotton fields and pecan groves near the border lie the remains of buildings that mark an important moment in U.S. history you may not know about. The site served as a recruiting center where men from Mexico arrived during World War II and the Korean War to fill critical labor shortages. Most harvested crops. Some worked for the railroads. They were called braceros, or strong arms, and a new national historical landmark now recognizes their contributions. Angela Kocherga of member station KTEP has our story.
ANGELA KOCHERGA, BYLINE: It was a hidden history amid cotton fields just off a roadway that cuts through the small border city of Socorro. Victor Reta is the historic preservation officer for the city. As we walk through a large courtyard, he points out the deteriorating structures, including a dining hall, temporary sleeping quarters and chapel.
VICTOR RETA: We do have over 20 mixed-material buildings. Some of them are adobe. Some of them are wood. Some of them are metal. Either way, they're each significant, and they're each important.
KOCHERGA: Important because the buildings hold the memories of tens of thousands of men from Mexico who came to work so American men could go off to war. Created by an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico, the Bracero Program provided critical labor for America between 1942 and 1964. Nearly 5 million men took part overall.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CANTO DEL BRACERO")
PEDRO INFANTE: (Singing in Spanish).
KOCHERGA: Mexican singer Pedro Infante recounts the hope and hard life the strong-armed braceros faced when they made the journey north to the U.S. Their first stop was one of five reception centers on the border. The main one was here in Socorro, where the desperately needed workers got a warm welcome, says Sehila Mota Casper, director of the nonprofit Latinos In Heritage Conservation.
SEHILA MOTA CASPER: There were two flags that were standing there side by side, one American flag and one Mexican flag. And there was a big sign that said, bienvenidos, and they had mariachis playing for them.
KOCHERGA: But historians say the men also went through a degrading health screening process. Mota Casper says they were sprayed with chemicals, including the now-banned insecticide DDT.
MOTA CASPER: They would get in. They would be deloused. They would be stripped down naked. Their hands would be checked to see, you know, how many calluses they had. Their muscles would be checked to see if they were strong.
JOSE RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
KOCHERGA: Eighty-one-year-old Jose Rodriguez is part of the last generation of braceros to come through this site in 1964.
RODRIGUEZ: (Through interpreter) I remember the hard work picking melons and carrying the cantaloupes in a sack slung over my shoulder.
KOCHERGA: I met Rodriguez at the senior citizens' center run by the city of Socorro, housed in one of the restored buildings at the historic site. Fundraising is underway to build a bracero museum and cultural center. Rodriguez is glad the history of the bracero is finally being recognized.
RODRIGUEZ: (Through interpreter) It would be beautiful to remember again that time when we were protagonists. I am a bracero.
KOCHERGA: This location, known as Rio Vista, was the first permanent bracero site and the last still standing. Less than 1% of the places listed in the national historic register are associated with Latino history or heritage. Socorro's historic preservation officer Victor Reta.
RETA: We are an NHL. We're a national historic landmark, you know, for the same significance as the Alamo or Ellis Island. So we're so, so, so incredibly grateful that not only our community sees the importance of that but also people at the national levels.
KOCHERGA: And in this region, often known as the Ellis Island of the Southwest, the landmark is also significant for countless families across the country, descendants of the braceros who trace their American story to this spot. For NPR News, I'm Angela Kocherga in Socorro, Texas.
(SOUNDBITE OF MAKAELA SONG, "YOU FOR ME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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