My grandfather, Fidel Najar came to the United States at the age of 17 in 1959, along came his parents and 3 siblings. He brought his senior year sweater with him to California- a burgundy sweater with a white strip along the arms that had his school mascot on the chest area, a bull. He attended high school at the Instituto Tecnologico de Durango in Durango, Mexico; only two high schools were in this city at the time. This sweater was special to him because he never had the chance to graduate high school, instead he worked in the crops in both Calexico and Salinas with his father through the Bracero program. This program allowed Mexican men to work legally in the United States. Around age 20, my grandpa met my grandma and created a life with her in Los Angeles. The pair had their first child in 1980, their second in 1982 and married in 1991. In 1997 they welcomed their first grandchild, and in 2022 my grandpa welcomed his last- she is named after my grandma who passed away in 2010, for a total of 5 grandchildren. While his story is much more than working in the crops, our family is forever grateful for his sacrifices to give us the life we have today.

– Allyson Valdez

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant