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A personal narrative and the sweet sound of traditional Mexican guitar music is what "Bracero Stories," a documentary directed, produced and edited by communication lecturer Patrick Mullins, uses to grab the viewer's attention. The film will be shown as part of UTEP's Hispanic Heritage Celebration 2008 at 6 p.m., Sept. 25 at the Union Cinema.
"Bracero Stories" is a historical film detailing the personal experiences of five former guest workers, who came to the United States to work under the Bracero Program, formally known as the Mexican Farm Labor Program, between 1942 and 1964. After the United States joined the Allied Powers in World War II, laborers for the agriculture and the railroad industry were heavily needed. Once their contract of service expired, some Braceros became repatriated and returned to Mexico, while others continued to live in the United States as citizens.
"The idea was to get the Braceros' personal perspectives, which is the heart of the documentary, but also to get all the different points of view about it, because it became very controversial," Mullins said. "The whole idea of the documentary is to look at that historic program and see what was good about it, and what wasn't so good about it."
Mullins, who also produced and edited, "From Shore to Shore: Irish Traditional Music in New York City," which has aired on PBS in the U.S., Ireland and Australia, came upon this subject when he read an article in the El Paso Times. The article was about UTEP's Institute of Oral History, which was recording audio interviews with braceros, along with photos and historical documents.
"I was pretty new at UTEP, and I was interested in having a project to work on to get me more involved in border culture, and there were some pretty interesting photographs and stories," Mullins said. "I thought this would be an interesting documentary because you're adding the visual component."
The documentary has been in the works for about five years, and has come to fruition with the help of UTEP's Department of Communication, which provided basic support for the making of the film, along with almost two-dozen students, who helped with much of the translation of the interviews.
Violeta Dominguez Lopez, co-screenwriter, became interested in the project and introduced four of the five former guest workers to Mullins. She also conducted the Spanish-language interviews, while Ricardo Valencia, UTEP alumnus, recorded the soundtrack.
With recent controversy surrounding the issue of immigration and the border, the documentary has present-day relevance. Indeed, enacting a program similar to the Bracero Program today has been mentioned by some immigration reform advocates as one path to U.S. citizenship.
"It's certainly been recommended as an integral part of immigration reform; however, as a European diplomat said, 'There's nothing more permanent than a guest worker,' because if the program has a path to legal citizenship, than you're really not talking about a guest worker program in the traditional sense," said Dennis Bixler-Marquez, director of Chicano Studies.
In addition to being a historical document and having contemporary relevance, Mullins says he hopes the documentary would allow people to put a human face on foreign guest workers.
"I hope that when people watch this film, they'll have the same reaction I had when I was editing the footage and that is that you develop a respect for these people, there's a real dignity to their story and how they come across on screen," Mullins said. "The subject is humanized by spending time with them."
Armando Segovia, senior print media major, participated in the documentary as a recreations' actor.
"When Mr. Mullins approached me, he wanted someone with olive skin, and I met those criteria," Segovia said. "He basically used me as a prop."
After taking pictures of Segovia's hands, Mullins decided Segovia would recreate a bracero writing letters and a migrant worker crossing the border to accompany the narratives and anecdotes.
Segovia's hope is that by watching the film, viewers would have a better understanding of the role that migrant workers and immigrants have played in America's economy.
"Right now, especially in this time, there's a lot of hate and misunderstanding about the role that immigrants play in this country," Segovia said. "I hope they see that immigrants don't come here to take welfare, they come to work and make a better life."
Bixler-Marquez believes that it is very important for students to see this documentary.
"This is part of our region's heritage," Bixler-Marquez said. "Many of us have grandparents that can relate to this, you know, we are here because they were there."
"Bracero Stories" will play one time only at the Union Cinema. Admission for students is $1 and $2 for non-students.
"I really hope the documentary breaks down some barriers," Mullins said.
Vanessa Juarez may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.
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