Traqueros

Perhaps no other industrial technology changed thecourse of Mexican history in the United States andMexico as much as the arrival of the railroads. Tensof thousands of Mexicans worked for the railroadsin the United States, especially in the Southwest andMidwest. Extensive Mexican American settlementsappeared throughout the lower and upper Midwestas the result of the railroad. Jeffrey Marcos Garcílazoprovides the first and only comprehensive history ofMexican railroad workers across the United States.“Traqueros is the first large-scale investigation ofthe substance and breadth of traqueros’ experiencesat work and in their `boxcar’ communities. . . .[Garcilazo’s] years of dedicated research haveyielded an intimate yet comprehensive portraitof Mexican immigrant track men and theircommunities.”—Journal of American History“Garcilazo has made a powerful contribution tothe historiography of the railroads as well as thehistory of Mexican workers in the United States. .. . [I]t is refreshing at a time when analyses of therise of big business and railroads operate at a levelof abstraction that has left the picks and shovels ofcommon laborers barely discernible. Traqueros arean invisible labor force no longer.”—H-SHGAPE,H-Net Review

[Traqueros] makes an important contribution to our understanding of migratory workers and the social conditions of working class family life, and it offers a detailed and nuanced portrait of railroad work in the era of Mexican immigrant dominance in southwestern track work.--Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Garcilazo found a fascinating story of labor migration, community formation, familial relations, and social history. . . . The writing is top notch. . . . In writing the first comprehensive treatment of the traqueros, Garcilazo has broken considerable new academic ground.--Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Garcilazo has made a powerful contribution to the historiography of the railroads as well as the history of Mexican workers in the United States. . . . [I]t is refreshing at a time when analyses of the rise of big business and railroads operate at a level of abstraction that has left the picks and shovels of common laborers barely discernible. Traqueros are an invisible labor force no longer.--H-SHGAPE, H-Net Review, "Traqueros is a significant contribution to the scholarly literature of United States labor history, Chicano social history, and ethnic labor history."--Juan Gómez-Quiñones, author of Chicano Politics, "Traqueros is particularly important because of the originality of the research from numerous archives. Several interviews further enrich the work. Highly recommended."--Dionicio Valdés, author of Barrios Norteños

Jeffrey Marcos GarcÍlazo received hisdoctorate from the University of California at SantaBarbara and was assistant professor at the University ofCalifornia, Irvine, USA before his untimely death in 2001.Vicki L. Ruiz is professor of history and Chicano/Latino studies at the University of California, Irvine, USA.