chronicles of a fieldworker: my first live concert was unforgettable

submitted by julio bracamonte jr., former fieldworker
edited by justin orsino & sarina e. guerra

My name is Julio Bracamonte Jr. and I’d like to tell you about an experience I had in the 1960s during the Cesar Chavez march era. I started working in the fields picking and packing grapes in 1963 at the age of 13. I learned how to do a lot of field work early when I was young, but I didn’t like it because of how hard it was. Picking and packing grapes wasn’t tough to learn though, so I got the hang of it quickly. 

One thing that was difficult to do was use the field hoes, because they were different when I worked back then. The handle was short, about 14 inches, and since it was just the blade we had to bend over a lot. The rows in the fields were long, some of them almost a half mile, and as you’re working you’re bending down the whole time. After a while, it became painful, but now things have changed. Today, the hoes have long handles like a broom with a little flat blade, almost like a tiny shovel. The long handle allows you to reach each plant more easily. I believe that change was the result of Cesar Chavez’s work with the labor union, United Farm Workers of America (UFW). Back in the ’60s, farm owners didn’t think about those kinds of things.

In my teenage years and during time off from summer school, I learned how to work in the fields with a group of Filipinos and Mexicans while we traveled from Arizona to the Central Valley earning $1.10 an hour and $.10 a box. When we were stationed in towns, all of us workers were banned from leaving our camps because the bosses didn’t want us drinking and getting into trouble, so instead we played checkers, dominoes, and read books. Some guys were pretty good at drawing and painting, but there wasn’t much time for fun. We started work early, at 5 am just before sunrise, and would go straight through until about 3 pm before being released. There were many, many long days.

Our labor didn’t go unnoticed though, because something unforgettable happened to us in the summer of 1966 while working in Lamont and Earlimart.

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My friends and I had heard that a band by the name of James & The Fabulous Flames would be passing through town while on their way to perform at a concert in Bakersfield. You may not know this, but that band belonged to none other than James Brown–yes, that James Brown!

It turned out that he was so supportive of the Cesar Chavez labor movement and their mission to fight for human rights, that he decided to stop by and play a special show just for us fieldworkers. We found out through the grapevine that he would be performing at this huge barn on the outskirts of Earlimart, so we snuck out of camp that night and got there just in time to see James Brown step off his tour bus. In front of me was a makeshift stage, and around me, 50 to 70 fieldworkers.

He performed two songs, “Please, Please, Please” and “It’s A Man’s World”, which lasted for about a half an hour in total. This memory holds a special place in my heart, and I think back to it often because of how graciously he praised us all for our hard work in the fields. To this day, I feel honored to have seen the musical legend and his band perform live in such a way. 

Back then, I thought Cesar Chavez did well as a leader, but there were always some protesters who didn’t like unions. They would say, “What’s in it for me?” They didn’t want money taken out of their paychecks, but I thought he had good ideas. His protests succeeded in convincing ranchers and owners to pay more attention to the wellbeing of their workers by bringing to light the harsh reality of what they faced day in and day out. So that’s how I see it, Chavez tried, and he tried for us. Some groups didn’t like it, but he was someone who stood up against all odds and fought for what was right. How many others would do that? I believe at one point he even fasted like 200 days or something. Not many would go that far, unless…

Later on in 1980, I faced discrimination at the company where I retired, PG&E. I had effectively been terminated due to being Hispanic, and it was common knowledge in the community that my supervisor at that time was openly racist. I was forced to seek legal advice, and the man who ended up hearing my case was Chavez’s brother, Richard Estrada Chavez, of all people. Weeks went by, and after being off work for nearly ten months, the well-known labor leader and activist worked with the union and an arbitrator to settle with PG&E, and fortunately I got my job back–back pay and all. Because of this and so much more, I truly appreciate all the work Chavez and the UFW did to create such a lasting impact on the lives of countless farm workers, including my own. 

Now if I may speak on a current issue, there’s this Lithium Valley project. It’s a big deal. If people don’t understand the details, the whole thing might cause a fight, so we have to educate those in our community and tell them what this project is, and how it works. The implementation process goes in phases, and personally I think it will take more than three years to finish it. It takes time to build something that big, and I estimate it won’t be fully in use until maybe 2030. The public doesn’t always know these things are going on, and all the effort that goes into it behind the scenes. They think something like this should happen fast, like “Where’s the money?” But it’s not like that. Community meetings help when they are offered, but not everyone can go to them because they’re working. That’s the hard part about educating our people. I think we need another way for information to get to residents, not just “come to meetings”. I read about it a lot. That’s how I learn about what’s happening and how long it takes. I believe we should encourage our friends and family to stay informed and to be involved in the decision making process here locally. We should be patient with such a project but also realistic. This could be a huge turning point for the job market, and it will most likely bring more opportunities for skilled labor to Imperial Valley.

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