
Gilbert Gonzalez, professor in the School of Social Sciences at UC Irvine, was selected for a 2006 UC MEXUS faculty grant to undertake the initial fieldwork for a documentary film on the Bracero Program, which employed hundreds of thousands Mexican contract workers in the U.S. from 1942 to 1964. The project, which focused on interviewing former braceros as well as the wives and children they left behind during contract periods, provides insight into the transnational nature of the Program. In the course of two years the project filmed over 100 hours of interviews, work sites, old bracero living quarters, processing centers in Mexico and on the border, and sending villages in Mexico. The documentary has completed the production phase and is seeking funds for final editing and completion. Presently, the Fund for Labor Culture and History is serving as the fiscal sponsor. A trailer has been completed and can be viewed at http://www.hardhatvideo.com. Dr. Gonzalez can be contacted at gggonzal@uci.edu.
