By Hannah Z. Morley
Migrants are more than just statistics—they are people with hopes and dreams, who are often forced to put those aside in order to help their families, said UC Santa Barbara historian Miroslava Chávez-García, at a virtual event last weekend.
UCSB History professor Miroslava Chávez-García told her audience’s that Latinx migrants are more than just statistics. Photo by Hannah Z. Morley
“They left rural homes at relatively young ages in search of survival, and ideally stability for themselves, families, and larger communities that they left behind,” she told a UCSB audience.
Chávez-García was discussing her latest book Migrant Longing: Letter Writing Across the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands and she shared her own parents’ letters and journey as an example of how Latinx migrants are more than just “cogs in U.S. history.”
The event was organized by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, UCSB’s History Associates, and by UCSB’s History Department. Chávez-García discussed the period between 1961- 1965 when her parents were courting and when the United States government’s Bracero – “or manual laborer” - program was actively contracting Mexican men to temporarily move to the U.S. as agricultural workers.
After accidentally coming across her parents’ letters while she was college and then receiving them as a gift later in life, the scholar made them the backbone of her book and of Saturday’s talk. Drawing on more than 300 letters exchanged among her family members, Chávez-García’s book offers an intimate and revealing portrait of the new immigrant community.
UCSB historian Miroslava Chávez-García showed her parents’ “courting” letters to depict the lives of Latinx migrants in the early 60s. Photo by Hannah Morley
José Chávez Esparza, Chávez-García’s father, was the most educated man in his family. But, after graduating sixth grade with the dream of becoming an agricultural engineer, José had to drop out of school to help keep his family afloat. He knew that one day he would have to journey to “el norte” (the north) to access the higher salaries in the U.S.
UCSB History professor Miroslava Chávez-García shows her audience a picture of her father to put a face to his heartfelt letters. Photo by Hannah Morley
After agreeing to a contract with the Bracero Program, José was sent to California’s heat soaked Imperial Valley from where he rarely travelled. Consumed by loneliness, José dreamed of having a wife and a family around him.
So, when José met María Concepción “Conchita'' Alvarado on a rare visit home, he immediately became attached to her. And despite their 13-year age difference, the two began writing letters to one another. After many lukewarm responses from Conchita, José eventually began to make unexpected visits to her.
Still, Conchita’s responses remained lukewarm. She wanted to continue her education in Mexico but wasn’t able to go beyond secondary school and became a traveling salesgirl. Her family was short of funds. So, after years of writing, but without ever saying “yes” until she reached the altar, Conchita married José in Mexico. UCSB’s Chávez-García reports that some family members later said her mother got married so that she would no longer be a financial burden, “so that way her family would have one less mouth to feed.”
UCSB History professor Miroslava Chávez-García’s parents in a wedding photo. In her talk last weekend, she described why marriage was their best option. Photo by Hannah Morley
With his employer’s sponsorship, José had a green card, and the couple assumed that once they were married they could move to the United States together. But it wasn’t until Chávez-García and her younger brother were born that the family received permission to move up north. José and Conchita remained married until their untimely deaths in 1981 after a car accident.
What these two, and what Chávez-García suggests many other migrants , have in common is that they both had to put their dreams aside to help their families. In her closing statements Chávez-García said her parents' letters proved that migrants were not as “cheap,” “dispensable,” or criminally-minded as some U.S politicians and their supporters believe they are. “The personal letter reveals that migrants led complex lives and aspired to be fulfilled economically, personally, emotionally, and romantically,” she said.
Hannah Z. Morley is a fourth-year UC Santa Barbara student, majoring in Writing & Literature at the College of Creative Studies. She is a web and social media intern for the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.