FREE//GRATUITO
PUBLISHED BY ACCIÓN LATINA
June 16-29, 2022
Vol. 52 No. 12
A GLIMPSE OF THE HIDDEN TRUTH:
HOW TWO MIGRANT SISTERS FOUND WORK IN THE FIELDS AND PERSEVERED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC
UN VISTAZO A LA VERDAD OCULTA: CÓMO DOS HERMANAS JORNALERAS MIGRANTES SUPERARON LA PANDEMIA
Marlyn Sanchez Nol
Marlyn Sanchez Nol El Tecolote
El Tecolote
The following story is by SF State journalism student Marlyn Sanchez Nol, who in Spring 2022 completed her capstone project in the JOUR 695 Senior Seminar class. The following project looks inside the lives of Latina women working in the service and farmworking industry during the pandemic, and has been split into parts. The next and final installment of this series will be published on June 30. All quotes have been translated from Spanish to English by the author.
La siguiente historia es de autoría de Marlyn Sánchez Nol, estudiante de periodismo de la Universidad Estatal de San Francisco, quien en la primavera de 2022 completó su proyecto final para la clase Seminario Senior JOUR 695. El siguiente proyecto, dividido en partes, se adentra en la vida de las mujeres latinas que han trabajado en la industria de los servicios y el trabajo agrícola durante la pandemia. La próxima y última entrega de esta serie se publicará el 30 de junio. Todas las citas han sido traducidas del español al inglés por la autora.
M
aria Angelica Beltran—a single mother of one—has spent the last 23 years in the fields of Salinas. It’s work that she has had since arriving from Jalisco, Mexico when she was 18 years old. “I remember they had asked me if I wanted to work in the fields, and I always liked the fields even in Mexico,” Beltran said. “So I figured I would give it a try here, as well. I sort of just fell in love with it.” Lacking a proper education, Beltran was content with the work, in part because she believed she was too incompetent to leave. According to the Cooperativa Campesina de California, 32 percent of all farmworkers in the United States are women, with 265,000 working in California’s fields. Beltran, 53, works as an agricultural supervisor, a rarity in this male-dominated industry. It’s a position that she reached by having to “start from the bottom.” For 15 years, Beltran cut and packed lettuce all while experiencing different aspects of the job. As her skills grew, her supervisors took notice. “They slowly began asking me for help with different kinds of things: moving forklifts, moving buses, taking care of the group of workers for hours at a time. Eventually, I was offered the opportunity to become a traveling supervisor,” Beltran said. Since then, she has been the only female traveling supervisor in the Coast King Packing company. Within her list of responsibilities, Beltran is in charge of a “squad” of workers made up of six different groups, totalling 18 to 23 workers. She oversees the quality and production of the lettuce cut and packed by these workers. Yet, for the single mother, the
M María Angélica Beltrán, madre soltera de un hijo, que ha dedicado 23 años de su vida trabajando en los campos de cultivo de California, muestra sus manos. Maria Angelica Beltran, a single mother of one who has spent the last 23 years working in California ‘s fields, shows her hands. Photos: Marlyn Sanchez Nol María Angélica Beltrán, de 53 años, la única supervisora itinerante en la compañía Coast King Packing, corta lechuga junto a otros jornaleros en Gonzales, California. 53-year-old Maria Angelica Beltran, the only female traveling supervisor in the Coast King Packing company, cuts lettuce alongside her workers in Gonzales, California. year 2020 was unlike any other. “My biggest fear while working with my people over in Yuma that year was dying due to the virus. I was away from family and all alone, so if I died, I felt like no one would have known,” Beltran said. Beltran emotionally recalled how she would leave her son every few months out of the year for work, agonizing whether that was the right decision. The sleepless nights came with “mother’s guilt” which she simply could not shake, because the thought of missing any aspect of her son’s life was intolerable. “I always felt like I had to do the See FARMWORK, page 9
aría Angélica Beltrán, madre soltera de un niño, ha pasado los últimos 23 años en los campos de cultivo de Salinas, California. Un trabajo que ha desempeñado desde que llegó de Jalisco, México, cuando tenía 18 años. “Recuerdo que me habían preguntado si quería trabajar en el campo, y a mí siempre me gustó el campo, incluso en México”, dijo Beltrán. “Así que pensé en probarlo aquí también. Me enamoré de ello”. Al carecer de una educación adecuada, Beltrán se contentó con el trabajo, en parte porque creía que era demasiado incompetente para dejarlo. Según la Cooperativa Campesina de California, el 32% de los trabajadores agrícolas de los EEUU son mujeres, y 265 mil trabajan en los campos de cultivo del estado. A sus 53 años, ella trabaja como supervisora agrícola, una rareza en esta industria dominada por los hombres. Es un puesto al que llegó teniendo que “empezar desde abajo”. Durante 15 años, Beltrán cortó y empacó lechuga mientras experimentaba diferentes aspectos del trabajo. A medida que sus habilidades crecían, sus supervisores se dieron cuenta: “Poco a poco empezaron a pedirme ayuda con diferentes tipos de cosas: mover carretillas elevadoras, mover autobuses, cuidar del grupo de trabajadores durante horas. Con el tiempo, me ofrecieron la oportunidad de convertirme en supervisora itinerante”, dice Beltrán. Desde entonces, es la única supervisora itinerante de la empresa Coast King Packing. Dentro de su lista de responsabilidades, está a cargo de una “cuadrilla” Vea BELTRÁN, página 11