By Maria Amezcua
Latinos in Napa History:
The roots of Latinos in Napa Valley, CA can easily be traced out by the Bracero Program. The Bracero Program was an agreement between Mexico and the United States, where manual laborers or braceros would come into the United States for a temporary time and work for Anglo- Americans (Foley 5). This was when “tens of thousands of ‘braceros’ (manual laborers, mainly farm workers)”, Mexican men came into the United States for work and ultimately where many of Napa’s Latino population originated from (Foley 5). Santos, duraznos y vino by Sandra L. Nichols is a Spanish book focused on the migration of a family from Los Haro, Mexico to Napa, CA that made their…show more content… On March 2001, the city of Napa honored Latino leader Cesar Chavez through “promote public education about the Latino leader’s life and accomplishments” writes Kevin Courtney. Along with this, the City Council also promoted a “historical mural” that the city helped pay with 2,500 and asked for the help of local Hispanic artists. The goal of the mural was to “commemorate Chavez and local Hispanic leaders.” The City Council was also giving “2,000 for books about Chavez and the farm labor movement” (Courtney).
The mural was finished in 2002 by artists Cor Grieve and Jose Charles. It shows ”historical personages George Yount, Diego Rivera, Cesar Chavez and Frida Kahlo as well as contemporary personages Tala DeWynter, Rafael Rodriguez, Roberto Rojas, Hope Lugo and Aurelio Hurtado” (Ford). This mural is proudly presented on First Street where many tourists pass by and take pictures of it. I find it very important that it is so visible to the community and to the tourists because it shows that there is a strong Latino community and we are constantly involved in our…show more content… Fix, Michael. McCabe, Kristen. “Profile of Immigrants in Napa County.” May 2012. PDF file. Courtney, Kevin. "Napa to Honor Cesar Chavez for First Time." Napa Valley Register. N.p., 15 Mar. 2001. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
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