Illustration by Ard Su<\/em><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ custom_padding=”7px||35px|||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.5.1″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.5.1″][et_pb_post_title date=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” admin_label=”Post Title” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ title_level=”h3″ title_font=”Oswald||||||||” title_font_size=”42px” title_letter_spacing=”2px” title_line_height=”1.2em” meta_text_color=”#04a3e3″ meta_font_size=”18px”][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.5.1″ custom_padding=”||12px|||”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.5.1″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text 1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
Farmworkers have always been essential workers to Carlos Marentes \u2014 long before they were declared essential amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 70-year-old has spent more than three decades advocating for their rights.<\/p>\n
Marentes was born in Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, M\u00e9xico, and both of his parents were farmworkers. As a child, he dreamed of achieving the American dream: to have stable work and own his own home. Then, in 1970, he started to work in the fields of Albuquerque, N.M. He saw exploitation and abuses of human rights, and realized how vulnerable farmworkers were.<\/p>\n
His first dream came to an end, but a life of fighting for farmworkers began.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.5.1″][et_pb_audio audio=”https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/09\/MARIA-FINAL-MASTER.mp3″ title=”El Paso man fights for farmworkers during COVID” artist_name=”Maria Ramos Pacheco” album_name=”Next Generation Radio | Texas Newsroom | September 2021″ admin_label=”Story Audio” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ background_color=”#002868″][\/et_pb_audio][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/09\/Maria01.jpg” alt=”\u00d2The American dream is not my Indigenous dream. It’s so different than that,\u00d3 Jolie Varela said. \u00d2As an Indigenous woman, I would like to see our ceremonies restored, our traditions restored, our homelands restored, and our land back. When people come from other places and they come in the name of this American dream or in pursuit of this American dream, I don’t think they realize how that American dream erases Indigenous people, and further infringes upon our rights as Native people.\u00d3 (Photo by Jarrette Werk)” title_text=”Maria01″ align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″]<\/p>\n
Carlos Marentes is the director of the Centro de los Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos, located in El Paso, a couple miles from the U.S.-Mexico Paso del Norte bridge. (Photo by Maria Ramos Pacheco)<\/p>\n
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In 1977, he became a Texas Farm Workers Union volunteer and learned more about organizing and advocating for workers’ rights. A few years later, Marentes came back to El Paso and became the founder of The Border Agricultural Workers Project.<\/p>\n
The project opened a center for farmworkers in 1994. Its goal: offer workers a safe place to stay near the port of entry between the U.S. and Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it\u2019s what America is: to protect the people,\u201d says Marentes, who stresses the center is open to any farmworker, regardless of where they\u2019re coming from or where they are heading \u2014 be it fields in New Mexico, California or New England.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re supposed to protect every single person in this country, whether he was born here or not. But once you are here, you are American,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
It’s this dedication that has earned Marentes deep respect from farmworkers. They trust and listen to him.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px”][\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/09\/Maria02.jpg” alt=”\u00d2The American dream is not my Indigenous dream. It’s so different than that,\u00d3 Jolie Varela said. \u00d2As an Indigenous woman, I would like to see our ceremonies restored, our traditions restored, our homelands restored, and our land back. When people come from other places and they come in the name of this American dream or in pursuit of this American dream, I don’t think they realize how that American dream erases Indigenous people, and further infringes upon our rights as Native people.\u00d3 (Photo by Jarrette Werk)” title_text=”Maria02″ align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 3″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″]<\/p>\n
Marentes speaks with Facundo Garc\u00eda, who works at the front desk of The Borders Farmworkers Center to ensure every worker who arrives writes down their name and temperature. Jorge Zamago (wearing a hat) helps Garc\u00eda with paperwork. (Photo by Maria Ramos Pacheco)<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px”]<\/p>\n
The center offers a space where workers can spend the night and sleep.<\/p>\n
Farmworkers usually must be ready by midnight to get picked up by a contractor. From there, they\u2019re taken to the fields. An average shift runs from around 4 to 5 a.m. until 3 p.m.<\/p>\n
Once they are dropped off back outside the center, farmworkers can take a shower, eat, go to sleep and then repeat this routine.<\/p>\n
During his years of activism, Marentes\u2019s priorities have been fighting for safer conditions for farmworkers, along with living wages.<\/p>\n
When the pandemic arrived in El Paso, priorities shifted: safety and survival.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/09\/Maria03.jpg” title_text=”Maria03″ admin_label=”Image 4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″]<\/p>\n
Marentes joined the Texas Farm Workers Union in 1977 as a volunteer after experiencing the abuses and working conditions in the fields of New Mexico. (Photo by Maria Ramos Pacheco)<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px”]<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember one worker asking me, \u2018Entonces antes no eramos esenciales? So we were not essential before?’ They suddenly got that title,\u201d Marentes says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that title came empty. No better wages, better working conditions, in fact, not even the most basic measures of protection to deal with COVID-19 in the fields.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marentes explained the situation to farmworkers and urged them to take safety protocols to avoid getting infected. According to Marentes, that was almost impossible since workers are usually transported in packed cars, with no room for social distancing.<\/p>\n
Despite these conditions, they kept working. After one farmworker was taken to the hospital, five others tested positive. Marentes knew he needed them to isolate. El Paso officials instructed him to take the workers to a hotel.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I told them that they will have to ride on the back of my pickup, and they told me \u2018OK, we are accustomed to always going in the back of a truck,’\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/09\/Maria04-courtesy.jpg” title_text=”Maria04-courtesy” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 5″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″]<\/p>\n
Marentes had to convince the city of El Paso to vaccinate farmworkers in April 2021 when the COVID-19 vaccine was not widely available. He also had to explain to workers what the vaccine was and why it was essential to get the shot. Here, Antonio Luevano, 54, gets vaccinated at an event Marentes organized for farmworkers and their families. (Photo courtesy of Corrie Boudreaux)<\/p>\n
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In the early days of the pandemic, Marentes recalls, farmworkers were most worried about their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me, \u2018Carlos y que van a comer nuestras familias?\u2019 They asked me how are we going to feed their families if we’re going to be in isolation,\u201d he says. They told him they needed to work.<\/p>\n
Many of the farmworkers Marentes knew didn\u2019t qualify for a stimulus check or government aid. That\u2019s because about half of these workers in the United States \u2014 more than 1 million, according to the Department of Agriculture \u2014 are undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t imagine how hard it was for me to convince these workers to go in isolation. I have to promise them that every day I will send money to their families,\u201d Marentes says.<\/p>\n
Despite the challenges, Marentes has established a community. He continuously reminds farmworkers that what they do is vital to the country. They are part of America.<\/p>\n
Marentes hopes to see the day farmworkers \u2014 as well as other service industry employees, like construction and cleaning workers \u2014 are not invisible to the eyes of society and finally receive the working and living conditions they deserve.<\/p>\n
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What does it mean to be an American? We are finding, coaching and training public media\u2019s next generation. This #nprnextgenradio project is created in Texas, where six talented reporters are participating in a week-long state-of-the-art training program. In this project we are speaking to people representing a diversity of experiences and backgrounds in gender identity, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"coauthors":[16],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/162"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/162\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}