BY HANK REICHMAN
I’ve mentioned before on this blog that, given the extraordinary events of 1968, this is a big year for 50th anniversaries. But today marks a notable 70th anniversary. On the morning of February 27, 1948, a plane traveling from Oakland to the Mexican border crashed in Los Gatos Canyon, California, about an hour southwest of Fresno. All 32 people on board perished. Twenty-eight were Mexican farmworkers who were in the United States because of the Bracero Program. Introducing a podcast on the tragedy, here’s how the LatinoUSA website describes it:
All the people on the plane died the same way, but in death, they were not treated the same. For the four American crew members, U.S. officials gathered what remains they could, and sent caskets to their families. The remains of the 28 Mexican braceros were not sent back to Mexico to be repatriated or given proper burial by their families. Instead, they were buried in a mass grave under a tiny plaque that read only “28 Mexican citizens who died in an airplane accident near Coalinga.” Even the media that reported the accident referred to the 28 Mexicans only as “deportees.”
These migrant workers were invisible in life and nameless in death.
Now, however, thanks to a 7-year effort by journalist Tim Hernandez, all 28 have been identified. His 2017 book, All They Will Call You, reconstructs the tragedy and reveals the lives of those who perished. Hernandez was inspired by Woody Guthrie’s classic song, ““Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportee),” which initially sought to restore some dignity to those who died anonymously. The song has been recorded by many, including Pete Seeger, Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Judy Collins, Ani Difranco and Ry Cooder, Steve Earle, and Joan Baez. But I’ve always liked the version by The Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson), joined by the great Johnny Rodriguez, which I included on my “Playlist for the Trump Presidency.” Now here’s a live version from a 1987 TV show, “Nashville Now,” by Cash and Rodriguez:
And, of course, here’s Woody’s own version:
- Miguel Álvarez Negrete, original de Puebla, familiares desconocidos
- Tomás de Gracía Aviña, madre Rosa Mercado, calle Juárez, Tepic, Nayarit
- Santiago Elizondo García, de Cotija, Michoacan, padre Valentino Elizondo, Ocotlán, Jalisco
- Rosalio Estrada Padilla, de San Juan de los Reyes, Jalisco, esposa Concepción Padilla
- Bernabé García Lopez, de Magdalena, Jalisco, calle Ochoa 248, Tijuana, B.C.
- Salvador Hernández Sandoval, padre Jesús Hernández, Jalpa, Zacatecas
- Severo Medina Lara, padre Hipólito Lara, Jua—, Zacatecas
- Elías Macías Trujillo, padre Juan Macías, Esenada, B.C.
- José Macías Rodríguez, de Mamalisco, Jalisco, parientes desconocidos
- Luis Medina López, padre Daniel Medina, calle Cinco de Mayo, Monareal, Michoacán
- Manuel Merino Calderón, padre José Merino, Calle Once Oriente 213, Puebla
- Martín Navarro Razo, de La Barca, Jalisco, parientes desconocidos
- Ignacio Navarro Pérez, padre José M. Navarro, esposa María Luisa Zarate, Rancho Cerrito, Michoacán
- Román Ochoa Ochoa, padre Roman Ochoa, esposa María
- Apolonio Placencia Ramírez, padre Ramón Placencia, calle Torquemada 77, Colonia Obrera, México D.F.
- Alberto Raygoza Carlos, padre Cruz Raygoza, calle Florida 325, Colonia Noche Buena, Mexico D.F.
- Guadalupe Rodríguez, padre Guadalupe Rodríguez, avenida República Brasil, México D.F.
- María Rodríguez Santana, esposa del anterior, padre Hilario Rodríguez, de Juchitlán, Jalisco
- Wenceslao Flores, padre Jerónimo Ruiz, de Nochistlán, Zacatecas
- Juan Ruiz Valenzuela, padre Jerónimo Ruiz, de Nochistlán, Zacatecas
- Jesús Santos Meza, padre Sabino Santoy(s), Ahualco de Mercado, Jalisco
- Baldomero Torres Marcas, padre Martín Torres, Mexicali B.C.
- *Ramón Paredes Ramírez, padre Vicente Paredes Villa, Santiago, Guanajuato
- *Guadalupe Ramírez Lara, padre José Ramírez Villa, Santiago, Guanajuato
- *José Sánchez Valdivia, de Nochistlán, Zacatecas, parientes desconocidos
- *Luis Miranda Cuevas, madre Isabel Cuevas, Fortuna 3, Jocotepec, Jalisco
- *Tomás Márquez Padilla, padre Tomás Márquez, San Julián, Jalisco
- *Francisco Durán Llamas, de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, padre José Duran
May they rest in peace. And may their memory inspire us to fight for the rights of immigrants today, no matter their country of origin or legal status.
Thank-you. We need to remember.