| VISITING OUR ANCESTRAL HOME |
| Thousands of people left the areas of San Luis Potosí and Aguas Calientes between 1920 and 1930 to seek work in the US Midwest. Our grandparents and parents came here to seek a better life, which certainly, we have found, thanks to their struggles and persistence. We did not know the unspeakable humiliation they suffered; they didn't talk about it for many, many years, until now. In honor of our elders who were forced to return to Mexico during the Great Depresssion, either by deportation or by economic circumstances, we traveled to San Luis Potosì in June 2004, to visit the people and places from which many of our families came. We arranged this trip to meet with our counterparts in Mexico, to weave together the story--from both sides of the border--of our families' journey to Mexico during the repatriation. El Colegio de San Luis, Mexico, in collaboration with Fronteras Norteñas, sponsored a three-day conference to examine the binational impact of the U.S. repatriation program, which took place from 1929 to 1939. The program included panels, workshops, discussions, and films focusing on academic research, oral history, methodology, community and family issues, and government policy implications. A film crew accompanied us. Read the article published about the conference. Fronteras Norteñas is a non-profit community organization dedicated to empowering ourselves and our community by reclaiming our spiritual, cultural, and intellectual history. Contributions are welcome. For more information, or to make a donation, email Elena Herrada. View photos from our Mexico trip (under construction) [la familia Herrada] [our group at the fountain in San Luis Potos'i] article on conference in Mexican newspaper [back to main page] |
![[la familia Herrada]](http://www.losrepatriados.org/herradas.jpg){kind=link}
![[our group at the fountain in San Luis Potos'i]](http://www.losrepatriados.org/nuestrogrupo.jpg){kind=link}