Selected interview transcript

This interview transcript has been modified for clarity and conciseness.

We are going to start with some easy questions. What brought you to San Joaquin Valley? Where did you move from?

I came from Mexico hoping for a better life. I used to work in Mexico, I had a normal job, but I was told that in the United States life was better and salaries were higher. I came here to help my kids and family. At first, the plan was staying here for only two months, but I liked the quality of life, so I stayed. 

Is it here where you want to stay?

Now my kids are all grown up, and I have the idea of going back to Mexico. But  if I do it will only be me. All my kids are married, and they all have families. I want to go back to Mexico to be with my parents. 

Do you think the San Joaquin Valley is a good place where kids can grow up?

I liked it, and I thought it was a good place for my kids. They are all grown up now and I am not sure what they think. But I thought it was the right choice.

You are saying that you think it is a good place. Is there a particular place or thing that you like about the community? Why do you think this is a good place to raise a family?

There have been many rains that complicate my work, but at the same time they bring benefits to our sales. 

Can you tell us about the places where you have moved and lived around in the San Joaquin Valley? Where did you arrive first and where have you lived?

When I first arrived from Mexico I stayed with my uncle. I lived with him for two years, but I wanted a place for me. I wanted to bring my family, and it was going to be easier if I had my own place. It was hard to have everyone in the same small space. I got my first apartment, and I was able to put a small business nearby. I liked it, but I had to move because someone broke into the house and they robbed us. I didn't want that happening again.

After that we moved to an old house. I liked that house because I could put my cars inside. But placing my business again was hard, I didn't have enough money to pay rent. My uncle helped me, and we moved to a place were we could stay paying a more affordable rent. Five years later they were going to sell the house so we had to move out. 

We rented another house with our old landlord, and it was good. We lived there for almost seven years. But the same thing happened. The owner sold the house. They gave us two months to look for another place to live, and we had to go. 

At that point it became very difficult for us to find a home. It was only two of my kids and me, so eventually, one of my sons and I moved in with one of my daughters and her family. My other son went to live with one of my other daughters. It was very difficult to find a home because people started asking a lot of requirements and papers that we didn´t have. I had a job, I had the money, but not the papers. 

Now I am living in this apartment, but I barely spend time here. I go to work, and then come here to sleep. I go to work very early, so whenever I have free time I rest and sleep. I have two days off, so I really make that time worth it.

Do you have relatives living close by? 

I have two kids living in the same apartments as I do.  I have a daughter living in San Francisco. I have never been there, but that is what she tells me. I have another daughter living in Visalia and another one in Tulare. Two of my other sons are in Visalia as well. I have two siblings around. One lives close by, the other one lives in Visalia. I don't have a big family, but my kids are around. 

Do you think you live in a community or do generally people stay for themselves?

We have different schedules. I live at 4:00am and everything is very quiet. My neighbors have other schedules. There is more activity in the afternoon. I usually don´t get along with my neighbors, unless they are my relatives. I usually just want to rest. 

Where do you work?

I have always worked at remates, I have done different kinds of remates. Long time ago I started to do sales and I liked it. There was a time that I was not able to sell enough to pay everything that I had to pay so I ended up working in the fields. There are always good and bad days, but I no longer have the strength to go back into the fields. Not long ago I was in the fields for two weeks and I had to quit because of the Sun. I earn less money in the remates, but I like it better. 

Can you describe your typical day 15 years ago?

Fifteen years ago, once I got home after work, my uncle would make me work on other things. It wasn't that hard, but I needed time to rest. At that time I was paid $80 a week, and eventually they raised the salary to $100 a week. I thought that was ok, but then I realized that some coworkers were earning $300 a week for the same job. That is why I wanted to get independent and look for a job that will give me more money and time for rest. I eventually stayed in the same line of business, but started earning more money. I realized that my business helped improve my way of living and I liked that. 

On a typical day of work, at what time do you get home?

Usually it will be around 5:00-6:00pm. If we have a client for something that asks for something else maybe I will arrive around 8:00pm. After I arrive home, I have dinner and go to bed. The next day I wake up at 3:30am. 

How long is your work shift? Is it between 12 or 14 hours per day?

There was a time that I used to work between 12 or 16 hours a day, but that was when my kids were young. Now it is not that bad. I used to leave my house around 5:00am, and I would return at midnight. I decided that I only want to work in the remate days, and that makes me come back home at 5:00pm. 

Before I used to work seven days a week, now I work five. My weekends are for resting.

What do you look forward to the most from your day? What do you enjoy the most?

I like Sundays because I see the people I know, they bring me stuff, they say hello. Sometimes people come during the weeks, but not as much. I think is good for me to see people and hangout. 

What did you want to be when you grew up? 

I wanted to be a Priest. I studied for a while, but I decided to quit and start a family to have a peaceful life. I didn´t think being a Priest was my calling. I started to work to support my family.