The Abuelas Project is dedicated to uncovering and preserving Latino histories that have been overlooked by traditional archives, aiming to create a more inclusive historical narrative.
“We wanted to create something that allowed us to look outside of those parameters [in museums and libraries] and acknowledge that colonization has erased our history,” says Mota Casper, who has championed Latino preservation for over a decade.
A key initiative of the Abuelas Project is an interactive website that highlights the Bracero Program, a temporary labor program that brought Mexican workers to the U.S. between 1942 and 1964 to address labor shortages in agriculture and railroads. This program significantly influenced national identities, community development, and U.S.-Mexico relations.
“The purpose [of the Abuelas Project] is to find sites and stories that someone knows to be true, but it wasn’t in the local newspaper, it’s not online, not in the history books,” Mota Casper explained about the project’s mission.
Currently, only one site from the Bracero Program remains: rio Vista Farm. This former processing centre, known as the Rio Vista Bracero Reception Center, was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 2023 through the Underrepresented Communities Grant.
“This history is not only crucial for us just to tell a truthful story, but it’s also to ensure that our contributions are seen and felt for generations to come,” Mota Casper stated.
