Bracero Oral Histories June 26, 2010

Las Cruces, NM – “Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964” remains on display at Branigan Cultural Center through July 24, 2010. Several programs are planned in conjunction with the exhibit.

Saturday, June 26th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Bracero Oral Histories

Anyone who had contact with the Bracero program is strongly encouraged to contact the Cultural Center to set up an interview with the Institute of Oral History at UTEP. The oral history program is an official partner of the Bracero Archives. Dr. Kristine Navarro and students will be at the Cultural Center all day to conduct interviews. For more information on the Bracero Archives visit www.braceroarchive.org

Thursday, July 8 at 1 p.m. - “History Notes”

Guest speaker Cameron Saffell, Curator of History and Oral History Program Director at the NM Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, will talk about the Bracero Program.

Bittersweet Harvest is a traveling exhibit from Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibits. Funding is made possible through the Smithsonian’s Latino Center, which celebrates Latino culture, spirit and achievement in America by facilitating the development of exhibitions, research, collections and education programs. For more information, visit www.latino.si.edu.

The Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main Street, is located at the north end of the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. The exhibits and events are free and open to the public. Effective June 1, 2010, new gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, contact the Branigan Cultural Center at (575) 541-2154 or visit the Center’s web site at las-cruces.org/museums.