My Grandfather Aniceto

Clarisa C.A.

Period 3

April 18, 2012

My Grandfather Aniceto 

My grandfather, Aniceto Acosta, was born on April 17, 1935 in Hacienda la Trojita. He was the first of two children. Being just little kids, he and his younger sister, suffered through their mother’s death.  He mentioned that he always felt the need of his mother and that he missed her a lot. Later on, as a kid, he moved with his family to Jerez de Garcia Salinas, where he grew up.

Jerez is a city in Zacatecas. “It was originally named after Jerez de la Frontera after the town of the same name in Andalucía, Spain” (Jerez de Garcia Salinas). On September 15 of each year, the residents celebrate the Virgin of Solitude and the Mexican Independence Day. Throughout the year, each church celebrates its patron with food, music and fireworks. The main Festival is The Spring Fair, which takes place during Spring break. “It starts with the Holy Saturday and continues with the Easter week and the week after. On the Holy Saturday the streets are close to burn the Judas effigies; you can see many people riding their horses and bands playing. The celebration involves rodeos, traditional dances, horse racing and cultural festivities” (Jerez de Garcia Salinas). All of these festivities are part of a great and enriched culture, which makes Jerez the special town it is. Jerez is an excellent place to spend vacations with the family, especially during the festivities.

My grandfather had to work as a kid to help his dad. He went to school, but decided to drop out since he didn’t like it. Even though he only got to first grade of elementary school, he learned to read and write by reading the Bible. He is a really religious man that likes to predicate God’s word. When he was in his twenties he married my grandmother, Josefina, and together they had eight kids. Throughout his life, he has been working doing different things.

He started as a truck driver and commercialist. He sold oranges and transported them to places out of town. His job would be really exhausting, since in many occasions his trips were long and he wasn’t able to sleep well. One time, he almost fell asleep as he was driving along the road. My grandma mentioned that he would always like to give the oranges at a really low price and sometimes even for free; of course she didn’t agree with him, because the money he earned wasn’t enough for the family. The truth is that my Grandpa always likes to share and give out food.

When he was around his early 30’s he came to Texas as a hand working man in the cotton fields. The problem was that during that time, there wasn’t enough work because of unknown reasons. So, he was able to stay there for only three months.  The bracer program allowed people from Mexico to come and work tirelessly in the agricultural fields for a certain period of time. The program was instituted by the Mexican government in August 4, 1942. The bracers would sign their contracts without understanding them, because of the language. “By the 60's, an excess of "illegal" agricultural workers along with the introduction of the mechanical cotton harvester destroyed the practicality and attractiveness of the bracer program. The program under which more than three million Mexicans entered the U.S. to labor in the agricultural fields ended in 1964. The U.S. Department of Labor officer in charge of the program, Lee G. Williams, had described it as a system of “legalized slavery"(Marentes Carlos). In other words, the program had been seen in a negative way too. If the program had been controlled and gave rights for workers, including a Spanish contract, the bracer program might have lasted until this day.

Later in life, in order to became a shoemaker, he commenced as the helper and student of one. He would also transport footwear. He used to go to Leon, Guanajuato in order to transport shoes. “The city of Leon has a strong leather industry, offering shoes, boots, belts, jackets, and other leather accessories both to national and international markets. Throughout the year they have conventions and trade shows” (Leon Guanajuato).  Many people say that in these conventions you find the footwear at a really low price. So people like to go to buy their shoes there.  When he started his own business he would get the ideas from what was the style during that time and would design his own shoes. He would make all kinds of shoes, including leather boots. After many years of making shoes, he would only repair them. The people started to get poorer so, they would often owe him money or never went to pick up their shoes. Meanwhile the people that did have money preferred to buy new shoes rather than fixing their old ones. Although he doesn’t have as many clients, he still repairs shoes.

            His job and his personality caused him to have a lot of friends. A lot of people like to stop by his job to greet him and to talk about different topics such as: politics, religion, anecdotes etc. My grandfather is known as a humble and really social person. To me he has given me great advice and has always cared for me. I thank God I am his granddaughter. 

Works Cited

 “Jerez de García Salinas”. Wikipedia. March 19, 2012. Digital.