Study Guide Foto por RussellFoto Young J. By Cherríe Moraga Photo© Russell J Young Photo by RussellPhoto Young J. Cast members Rosalie Siler, Patricia Alvitez, and Amalia Alarcón Morris Watsonville: Some Place Not Here by Cherríe Moraga depicts a fictionalized version of the cannery strike in the California town, the apparition of the Virgen de Guadalupe, and the Loma Prieta earthquake, and is a sequel to her play Heroes and Saints. While not strictly a historical play, Watsonville is inspired by real-life events based on extensive research Ms. Moraga did with the people of Watsonville. The play features a combination of English and Spanish, a By Cherríe Moraga reflection of the language used in the area. Directed by Elizabeth Huffman This study guide explores the history of the real-life events that inspired the play Study guide research and writing and takes a look at notable women in the by John Epperson and Shira Goldeen labor movement in the United States. We hope this information informs your enjoyment of the production. MILAGRO Study Guide—Watsonville: Some Place Not Here 1 Photo by Erik Hersman Uncredited photograph from the The People's Slate promotional materials. Marchers gather in this photograph that appeared in promotional materials related to the Teamster strike committee election. Source: Remembering the Struggle Archive Inspired by real life events In Watsonville: Some Place Not Here, Cherríe Moraga was inspired by real life events to write the fictional story about a group of chicana women who work in a cannery during a labor strike in Watsonville, CA. THE CANNERY STRIKE The strike at Watsonville Canning and Richard A. Shaw Frozen Foods began on September 9, 1985. When worker pay was cut from $6.66 an hour to $4.75 an hour, the primarily Latina workers refused to accept this without a fight. Watsonville, a small farm town in Central California outside of Santa Cruz, was crippled by the Cannery strike for nearly two years. Despite increases in sales of the frozen foods mass produced at the Cannery, the company claimed that worker pay Unity Staff Photo, Unity Machistas are playing a leading role in supporting had to be cut due to financial struggles. Throughout the 19-month the strikers. strike, strikers received $55 a week in strike pay and food box Photo provided by SFSU Labor Archive deliveries two times a month. & Research Center Source: Remembering the Struggle Archive MILAGRO Study Guide—Watsonville: Some Place Not Here 2 Many of the strikers were Latinas who had been In December of 1531, a young indigenous Mexican working at the Cannery for years. Social service man named Juan Diego claimed that the Virgen de agencies reported that one in seven people in Guadalupe appeared before him and, in his native Watsonville was a striker or a dependent of one. Nahuatl language (the language of the Aztec empire), The entire community’s economy was devastated by she asked for a church to be built at that site in her the strike. Esquiroles or scabs were brought in from honor. She appeared a number of times in the following neighboring areas to work at the Cannery during days, leading to a commitment from the Bishop to build the strike. what became the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in what is now Mexico City. Mexican Catholics have At the time of the Watsonville strike, this was the celebrated the Virgen de Guadalupe on December 12th longest strike in United States history. Throughout the ever since. strike, other companies in the region began lowering pay because they thought that workers would be too On June 17, 1992 Anita Contreras saw an image of afraid to go on strike. the Virgin in the bark of an oak tree at Pinto Lake in Watsonville, CA. Since the apparition of the Virgin, THE EARTHQUAKE Anita Contreras has been referred to as Our Lady of At 5:04 PM on October 17, 1989, a 6.9 magnitude Watsonville. Every year around the anniversary of earthquake struck the Bay Area. The Loma Prieta the sighting of the Virgen de Guadalupe Mexicans Earthquake killed 63 people and injured an additional celebrate, especially those in Watsonville. 4,000. Watsonville, a small town with a 1990 population of 31,099 residents, was only 4 miles from the epicenter of this massive quake. Following the devastating Loma Prieta Earthquake, much of the region was demolished. In Watsonville alone, there were over 300 homes destroyed and upwards of 1500 more were damaged. In the months following the earthquake, thousands of Watsonville residents, a majority of which are people of color, were forced to live in tents. In the weeks following the Loma Prieta Earthquake, most of the major news coverage of the destruction and displacement focused on San Francisco and other large cities. Though Watsonville was the town closest to the epicenter, national news did not talk about the sheer devastation they experienced. The cost of damages from the earthquake in Watsonville totaled over $325 million: approximately $645 million in value of 2018 dollars. In downtown Watsonville, 16 of the major buildings were completely demolished — including Ford’s department store, a staple for local employment and a gathering place for the townspeople. THE APPARITION In the Catholic tradition, the Virgen de Guadalupe (English: Virgin of Guadalupe) is the title associated Shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe at Pinto Lake Photo: Patricia Alvitez with the image of of the Blessed Virgin Mary enshrined within the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. MILAGRO Study Guide—Watsonville: Some Place Not Here 3 TIMELINE OF SHIFTING IMMIGRATION LAWS Immigration laws like the one depicted in Watsonville: Some Place Not Here have not been uncommon in the history of the United States. Many immigration laws are directed at assisting the transition of refugees from war torn regions to The United States of America for resettlement, such as laws that expedite immigration of World War II’s persecuted European Photo by tiger_in_houston Jewish population. Often times, policies are meant to undermine communist regimes, such as laws intended to assist Cuban nationals fleeing Communism. More recently, laws are directed at Central and South American immigrants in the guise of a war on drugs. Prompted by labor shortages in the United States as a result of World War II, the 1942 United States and Mexico enter into the Bracero Agreement , allowing Mexican nationals to enter the United States to serve as temporary agricultural workers. US employers will pay the transportation and living expenses of Mexican laborers, as well as wages equal to those of American workers. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act (ADAA) (102 Stat. 4181) adds “aggravated felony” as a new 1988 but limited ground for deportation. Initially, this category is limited to serious crimes (e.g., murder and drug and weapons trafficking). The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (VCCLEA) (108 Stat. 1791) gives 1994 the US Attorney General the option to bypass deportation proceedings for certain alien aggravated felons, enhances penalties for alien smuggling and reentry after deportation, and increases appropriations for the Border Patrol. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act ( IIRIRA) (110 Stat. 1996 3009) adds new grounds of inadmissibility and deportability, expands the list of crimes constituting an aggravated felony, creates expedited removal procedures, and reduces the scope of judicial review of immigration decisions. The entire immigration system is overhauled with The Homeland Security Act (116 2002 Stat. 2135), which creates the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which assumes nearly all of the functions of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and is restructured to become three new agencies: US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Ostensibly directed to combat terrorism, The REAL ID Act (119 Stat. 302) is a 2005 sweeping change to immigration and establishes statutory guidelines for removal cases as well as increasing the burden of proof for individuals applying for asylum. Among other things, the Act bars the use of habeas corpus as a means for challenging deportation orders and strictly limits the rights of those being deported. Congress enacts the Secure Fence Act . The law mandates the construction of more 2006 than 700 miles of double-reinforced fence to be built along the border with Mexico, through parts of the US states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in areas that experience illegal drug trafficking and illegal immigration. MILAGRO Study Guide—Watsonville: Some Place Not Here 4 Notable Labor Leader: Dolores Huerta Born in New Mexico, Dolores Huerta's father was a champion of workers and union organizer and later served in the state legislature. When her parents divorced, her family relocated to California where her activism was powerfully shaped by her mother and grandmother. Recalling an experience when a school teacher unfairly accused her of plagiarism and gave her poor marks, she came to understand racial bias and she concluded that the world needed to be educated and changed. Huerta started her career as an elementary school teacher, but when faced with poorly clothed youngsters of migrant workers who came to class starving, she said that “I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.” With numerous accomplishments to her credit, she is most known for co-founding the National Farm Workers Association with famed migrant worker and activist César Chávez. She also coined the slogan popularized by Chávez "Sí, se puede" (Spanish for "Yes, one can" or, roughly, "Yes, it can be done"). She was with Robert F. Kennedy the night he was assassinated, having stood at his Dolores Huerta speaking at an event in Phoenix, AZ.