CAMARILLO — A mariachi-style musical about the Mexican guest worker bracero program of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s will be staged at CSU Channel Islands’ Malibu Hall on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
“Los Braceros Buena Vista” follows a young man who travels from Mexico to the United States in the 1950s, at the height of the bracero program, which was established by executive order in 1942 and lasted until 1964. The federal program allowed seasonal laborers from Mexico to come to the U.S. to work in agriculture or with the railroads.
Animo Theatre Company Director Miguel Orozco had been directing “El Bracero” by Rosalinda Verde through his nonprofit community theater, and was inspired to write and direct his own version of the show centered on the Buena Vista Bracero camp in Oxnard. It was the largest in the nation, and at its peak, housed about 5,000 workers. Orozco’s aim was to reflect the braceros’ journey, including the struggles they faced.