From South L.A. to Fulbright to Study Bracero Project

When Liliana Montalvo of South L.A. first enrolled at Long Beach State, she never dreamed she'd one day be chosen for a prestigious Student Fulbright scholarship.

What the Fremont High grad also discovered as she studied Mexico-American history was her family's role in it.

The celebrated scholar program that has graduated U.S. presidents, and devised to foster cultural relations between the U.S. and foreign countries, seemed beyond long-shot for this South L.A. woman.

But then she discovered the Bracero Project. In a period of American and Mexican history lasting from 1942-1964, millions of temporary workers from across the border were contracted for U.S. agricultural work.

Montalvo was upset and unsettled by what she saw watching Harvest of Loneliness: The Bracero Program: exploitation of workers and their impoverished living conditions was disturbing. Then she discovered that among them was her own grandfather.

It was the beginning of what has culminated in an extensive research project to be undertaken in Mexico City and funded by the Fulbright program.

“I was shocked by what I saw,” Montalvo said in a statement. “Along with classmate Aniela Lopez and the History Student Association, we began a ‘penny drive’ among the other students to raise awareness of the bracero program. Then we began to interact with the bracero program participants and hearing their stories.”

Montalvo and Lopez, along with 15 other history students, later created the Braceros Oral History Project to interview surviving braceros and their family members in California and Mexico, according to a statement.

While researching the project, Montalvo was surprised to learn that her own grandfather was a Bracero who worked in Riverside, CA.

“It really created a personal connection to the project,” Montalvo said in a statement. “Even though my grandfather passed away when I was a child, I felt like I learn a piece of his story whenever I interview another bracero.”

A fluent Spanish-speaker raised in South Los Angeles and Fremont High School graduate of 2007, Montalvo graduated from CSULB on Thursday with a bachelor’s degree in history.

Montalvo will travel to Mexico City this August to begin a nearly year-long study that will have her scanning through documents the Mexican government has digitized and made available to scholars, according to a statement.

“These records trace more than 500,000 Mexican citizens who left their country,” Montalvo said in a statement. “This access enables me to write a history of the bracero program with documents never used before.”

Part of a larger Fulbright Program instituted by the government in 1946 after being introduced by its namesake, Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, the U.S. Student Program is this nation’s largest student exchange program with more than 150 countries particpating.

Each year, about 1600 Fullbright scholarships are awarded to American students in diverse fields of study, including arts and culture programs.

Although there is no specific description of what a Fulbright awardee is, students wishing to apply must possess a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, as well as a strong academic background, leadership potential, a passion for increasing mutual understanding among nations and cultures, according to the Fulbright web site.

“I was really excited to receive the Fulbright award,” Montalvo said in a statement. “I feel humbled by such an award. I know this is a prestigious prize. I feel happy, proud and even ecstatic. It is a great opportunity I never thought I’d have.”

Montalvo credited the CSULB history department for being awarded the scholarship and said it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t enrolled at the university, according to a statement.

“The department has backed every research idea I have had for the last four years, and that support has been invaluable,” Montalvo stated. “I really feel that I owe much of whatever success I achieve through this Fulbright to the support I received from the History Department at Cal State Long Beach.”

Jane Dabel, associate professor of history at CSULB and Montalvo's mentor - and a 2007 Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award winner - lauded Montalvo’s acheivement.

“In winning this award, Liliana has demonstrated the skills that she has learned as a history major,” Dabel said in a statement. “In particular, this award illustrates her strong research capabilities and her extensive experience inconducting oral history interviews. ...I am quite proud to have Lili represent us as a ‘citizen ambassador’ to the citizens of Mexico.”

Montalvo will keep the history department updated on the project while in Mexico via weekly Facebook posts, Dabel added. Montalvo is expected to return to the U.S. in the spring of 2013.