uniteLandworker article Spring 2024
THE LIFE OF
SALINAS’ LATIN AMERICAN PICKERS
Mi papa es un agricola, My Father, the Farmworker, by J
Ramon Perez, published by Lil Libros. (RRP £16.99)
This beautifully illustrated young children’s book, written
in Spanish and English, illuminates and pays tribute to the Latin American
agricultural wage labourers and small landowners in the USA.
J. Roman Perez’s Mexican father was a member of this
rural working class in the fields surrounding the city of Salinas, California,
better known as the ‘Salad Bowl of the World.’
As a youngster the author combined working alongside his
father picking crops whilst studying hard in school to bolster his future
opportunities. He is thankful that working under the sun and rain made him
understand what his parents had to experience to provide a better life.
By combining with
artist Jose Ramirez then Perez has done a fine job of bringing alive in
such a colourful, simple and loving fashion the life story of his father and
millions like him across the globe who harvest natures gifts of fruits and
vegetables.
Children and adults are in for an educational treat as the
book highlights how these essential food producers work from dawn to dusk,
rising as the sun breaks through before grabbing a cup of coffee whilst his
wife prepares food for the whole family.
Driving to work he then walks thousands of steps on ‘Mother
Earth’ before working tirelessly with his hands and back in the fields,
planting, harvesting and tending to crops which once ready for market are
packed and hoisted on shoulders to be packed on to trucks.
Rain washes away the sweat of the hot sun and as day turns
to night the cold sky turns hands numb and with each breath small clouds form.
Cold hands crack. Eyes become covered with salt before the emerging darkness
brings the relief of the end of an exhausting day and a drive home under the
Moon.
If there is defeat in the eyes as he arrives home then it
must be controlled amidst the dreams of a rosier future for his children who
are seen with his wife reading together and enjoying each other’s company.
Of course, for this future to become a reality for all Latin
American agricultural wage labourers and small landowners in the USA and
elsewhere then much work has still to be done.
Yet, by highlighting the problems then Perez and Ramirez
have done a great job in allowing children and their parents to more easily understand
and show solidarity with a much unappreciated group of workers.
Stop press – praise from pupils and teachers
A friend of mine who is a teaching assistant took the book into her school. She did so anonymously but got the following quotes.
Year 2 pupil: “The pictures are really powerful and you can tell how the people are feeling.”
She especially liked the picture of the rain washing the
farm labourers sweat away. “I can really imagine it raining there and the
farmer might be happy to be cooled down while they’re working.”
A key stage 2 pupil said: “the descriptions are really clear
and help you understand the lives of the characters.”
A teacher said: “the book is extremely accessible for young
children. The images are vivid and attention-catching, which would help engage
pupils. The text is also simple enough to be understood by a range of children
but also layers of meaning that could be unpacked in a lesson. Because it’s
multilingual it could also be used as a resource to teach languages with some
older primary pupils.”
