Maria, Pull the Trigger and Kill (a World War II adventure)

Bracero Program

End of 1942, the Bracero program had gotten issued by the US. They wanted cheap farm workers from Mexico, because so many US citizens served in the war and therefore a farm worker recruiting office had opened in Mexico City.

Late Summer 1943, a day after the dinner with Juan, I read about the Bracero program in our newspaper. The whole night I could not sleep well and during the day, I could hardly perform my work, because my thoughts were all around Juan, marriage or not marriage? However, my heart felt light, when I thought about going to the US. It felt realy heavy, when I thought about dinner time and the firestorm my mom would bring upon me. She would interrogate me about every detail of last night. Finding out, that I did not say YES, would likely get me Queen slapped and that would be the easier part of the firestorm. That Bracero program might be my escape path, but when I thought about it, my heart felt heavy. Something was not quite right after all, but what? In the afternoon, I knew, dinner time and the firestorm was drawing ever closer. Thinking harder and harder about what to do, I did not get a better idea than that Bracero program and later in the day, in a whim, I took the widow compensation I had received from the Mexican government, my former husbands passport, his pilot license, his birth certificate, my papers, packed my suitcase and left for the recruiting office without saying a word to anyone, not even a goodbye. I feared my great plans would get thwarted by getting locked up in my room again. My mom had been right, I was confused. Sin ton ni son. I could at least have said goodbye to my dad, he might have even given me extra money. I could as well have said goodbye to Juan, I'm sure, he would have appreciated it and gave me his blessings. My mom was a different matter, but even not having said goodbye to her, I do regret now.

Took about one and a half hours to get to Mexico City first on foot and then the rest of the way with the railway. In front of the recruiting office was a line, but there were only man and man only, not a single woman. The benefits and requirements they had for the farm aids were written on a black board:

Benefits:

1. 30ct an hour

2. Decent accommodation

3. Healthy food

4. Free transport back to Mexico after 3 months of work

Requirements:

5. Healthy

6. Between 18 and 45 years

7. Male

So this program was not open to women. I should have thought about it. A woman had to stay at home with the kids. In my desperation, I bought male cloths, which fit my well-shaped figure and paid a visit to the barber right after. He was most astonished to see a woman taking a seat in his hairdresser's chair and was even more astonished when I demanded him to cut my beautiful long brown hair off entirely. It took some persuasion until he did it, but half an hour later I left the barber shop almost bald. In a backcourt, I changed into the male cloths, hoping nobody would see me, or at least not embarrass me with exposure. Then I went back to the recruiting office standing in line. The man waiting there were looking funny at me, but did not say a word. When it was my turn, my heart felt so heavy. I had to push through with this now, though. It could not be that bad? What else should I do anyways? Therefore I produced my husband's papers and got enlisted as Alejandro Rodriguez Lopez. They told us to wait until the evening, then a bus would come and bring us to the US.

There was still about an hour left, which I could use to buy some provisions for the way. Soon, I realized, that a dirty, rundown, older man was following me. He was probably right at the age limit or had tweaked his age to be a bit younger so to get enlisted. Then he stood right next to me when I was buying bread in the bakery.