Chicano From The Southwest

to [Music] California from Mexico you come to the sacramental valley to toil in the sun your wife and seven children they working everyone and what will you be giving to you brown high Children Of The Sun coming home from school today I pass my uncle Ramon's gas station where my brother Carlos Works Carlos don't listen to your deal don't waste your time behind that P don't listen to him come on let's go you're making a big mistake on us why do you want to quit look I know what I'm doing uncle Ramon the guys are right I'm not getting anywhere hey man here come the cops let let's go why should we what have we done here comes the man all right what are you up to now stick him up come on hey man take it easy with you cool it always bothering someone what are you picking on him for he wasn't doing anything cuz I said so not doing you prefer to hang around these guys to a good honest job get it why don't yall go in there and get out of here it's all right Officer they're not doing anything wrong all right break it up then why the heck should we yeah look wet back you want to go home or do you want to go to jail quick make up your [Music] mind hey ponchu uh what are you doing here huh come on I'm going [Music] home say nothing to Pap about what happened huh why working this afternoon I quit the job I spent half my life at school and the rest of it pumping gas for a lousy couple of dollars look some of those guys are making just as much as Papa already but they don't go to school and where do school get us a lot of chos have high school diplomas and they still don't get the good jobs the Anglers get the good ones but I can make money starting real soon too I've got some friends who can help look punu there's no future here in the bario you saw the police today just because you're Mexican they try to step all over us look but not a word to Pap now you know how he gets all excited okay okay many things about the city I don't understand but one thing I do understand we come here to Los Angeles so we can get good work and now you quit the good job your uncle Ramon gives you how do you expect to help the family if you have no steady work what kind of a son are you well look Papa I want to help the family but I can do better than work at Uncle Ramon's house you mean you found another job well no not exactly but I have plans plans don't have to pay the rent sometimes I wonder why we didn't stay in Texas but you could work in the fields all your life things are bad with Papa and my brother Carlos here they argue so much they never used to when we lived in Texas they both worked TI together picking on the big farms near our home everyone in the family [Music] helped we live just outside Cuna a lot of families left Cuna because there weren't enough jobs to keep them in busy but we were always busy in school every year when there were no more crops to pick papa took usada school early we leave Guna not for good just for the summer to find more crops up to California from Mexico you come to the Sacramento Valley to to in the sun our family was always on the move but we were together everyone and what will you be giving to your Browne Children Of The Sun no one liked the Summers on the road as much as me everyone complained how little the farmers paid us and the work was hard too have you ever picked onions it's all right at first but after a while when we finished the onions we'd move on to strawberries and then two cotton and when oranges ran out we pick peppers and then [Music] lettuce we lived in all kinds of houses and we were always packing and [Music] unpacking when there was no house we live outside we couldn't have fiestas anymore was our friends the way we did at home but sometimes Papa would tell us stories about when he was a boy in Mexico and Carlos would sing songs about Papa your face is lined and wrinkled and your age is 41 your back is bent from picking like your dying time has come your children's eyes are smiling their life has just begun and what will you be giving to your Browne eyed children of the Sun every year Papa talked about getting out of farmw workk he talked about how his brother Ramon was a big success Uncle Ramon wrote letters to Papa from Los Angeles Papa lik to talk about living in the city he said everything was better there a lot of jobs for the men no more stooping over rolls of onions all day last summer Papa stopped talking and we were on our way to Los Angeles up to California from Mexico you come your back is B from p and your fight has just begun you are tired and you're hungry and your days almost done but what will you be giving to your brown high Children Of The Sun living in Los Angeles is much different from Texas but I think I like it here I go to a much bigger school and papa got job he makes more money now but everything in the city costs so much when Carlos got his job at Uncle Ramon's after school he helped Papa to pay the bills we're living at Uncle raman's till we could find a house just for our family Mama stays home with the babies but papa says she might have to go out to work get more money we have a neighbor Neighborhood clinic where mama can take the babies to see Dr [Music] Moreno another new neighbor is Juan Lopez he works on the newspaper larasa a special paper for chanos in alario we have a lot of stores near us too and the panamerican bank down the street has lots of Mexican art even if we don't have any savings inside it's fun to look at the Mexican art outside but the traffic is more than I ever so and we need help to cross the street there are so many nice things in the city that we'd like to have I'd like a color television but Carlos more than anything else wants to own a GTO [Music] we have a neighborhood center where Jose helps us to read [Music] better we read books about Mexico and Indian stories too I like it here at least I did until today when I saw Carlos was the police and everything the guys weren't really doing anything wrong just hanging around the gas station but like Carlos said some anglos got to complain every time they see a Cho it might have been different if the police were chos in Texas Carlos was never angry but he says things are different here Papa doesn't understand Carlos he thinks One Way Carlos thinks another I don't know who is right but Papa was really mad that Carlos qu his job sometimes I wonder why we didn't stay in Texas but you could work in the fields all your life well maybe we should have what good did it do to come to the city did you get a really good job it's better than running all over the country picking fruit hey Pancho I make more money now and very soon we won't have to stay with Ramon's family because we'll owe a house of our own yeah in 10 years what's the matter no more respect than that for your father don't you think I'm telling the truth next you'll be telling us that you want to quit school yeah I may just do that how do you he'd be all right if he could get a full-time job no that's no good hermano that means quitting school so he'll end up by joining the gang that the police stop over at my station today Carlos are you getting in trouble with the police we weren't doing anything Papa and just because you're Mexican go home get back into the bario or go to jail but those guys are troublemakers but they have cars and clothes and they'll wind up in trouble look if you want to really be somebody and be respected well look at Juan Lopez the fellow who works for the newspaper you like so much the one that speaks up for the Mexican people for laaa now he sure didn't become a newspaper Man by quitting school well diplomas don't guarantee anything and especially here in the bario if you're interested maybe you can get into East LA College college maybe your uncle's got something Carlos you could go to college then nothing could keep you down [Music] hey Poncho what do you say I don't know I don't think I'll go to high school either well that's up to you Poncho hey but just because I don't go I'll maybe you different maybe by the time you get old enough to go to high school maybe things will be different I suppose I do graduate Papa and Uncle Ramon would like that I wonder what Carlos will finally decide in this whole big city there must be a good job for Carlos someday and for me too if I go to high school couldn't I become a newspaper man like Juan Lopez or a good good policeman like officer Sanchez or maybe even a doctor like Dr Moreno at the clinic or a teacher like Jose at our neighborhood center if they did it why couldn't Carlos why can't I punch you do [Music] it you are proudman and you Freeman and this Heritage is one that you can be given to your brown Children of the s