Synopses & Reviews
and#147;This account of broken dreams, hopeful fantasies, mutual betrayals, elusive solidarities, and battered bodiesand#151;where the hypocrisies of the American dream collide with the nightmare reality of undocumented day laborand#151;is conveyed with sensitivity and, at times, a humor that almost gives us hope.and#8221;and#151;Philippe Bourgois, author of
In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio and
Righteous Dopefiend and#147;Ordand#243;and#241;ez has written a timely and compelling book about this invisible workforce. Using his razor-sharp ethnographic skills, he takes a close-up look at the lived experiences of these vulnerable, yet determined, hardy men.and#8221;and#151;Beatriz Manz, author of Paradise in Ashes: A Guatemalan Journey of Courage, Terror, and Hope
and#147;Read this. Carefully documented, superbly argued, and crisply written, this book avoids the celebratory tones of many an account of urban marginality and dissects la parada (the corners where day laborers wait for work) as sites of deep-seated vulnerability, racialized exclusion, and abuseand#151;veritable traps where men, while seeking to survive and send much-needed money back home, look for respect and recognition. An indispensable and polemic light on the omnipresent, yet invisibilized, busy lives of day laborers in urban America.and#8221;and#151;Javier Auyero, author of In Harmand#8217;s Way: The Dynamics of Urban Violence
and#147;Ordand#243;and#241;ez takes us beyond the stereotyped images of lowly unskilled workers and reveals the quiet dignity of these men by sharing the story of their lives pre- and post-migration, as well as the everyday negotiations they engage in to make it in America.and#8221;and#151;James Quesada, Professor of Anthropology, San Francisco State University
and#147;Jornalero is a power-packed ethnography of the everyday lives and everyday violence faced by Mexican and Central American undocumented day laborers in a privileged West Coast city. On the street, the men try in vain to turn one-off, underpaid jobs into patron-client relationships. Off the strip, they live in solitude, poverty, and chastity while longing for their loves ones. They fear and#145;la migraand#8217; and deportation as much as they fear going home to find that the and#145;Sanchoand#8217; has seduced their wife and squandered their remittance money. Ordand#243;and#241;ezand#8217;s nuanced narrative is sympathetic but also frank about the rigid racial and sexual hierarchies held by these men, both among themselves and toward their patrons. Jornalero breaks a code of silence about the political and moral economies that shape relations among employers and their casual undocumented day laborers. It is sure to provoke debate among social researchers, activists, and citizens concerned with immigration, inequality, and social justice.and#8221;and#151;Nancy Scheper-Hughes, author of Death without Weeping: The Violence of Everyday Life in Braziland#160;and coeditor of Violence at the Urban Margin
and#160;
Synopsis
The United States has seen a dramatic rise in the number of informal day labor sites in the last two decades. Typically frequented by Latin American men (mostly and#147;undocumentedand#8221; immigrants), these sites constitute an important source of unskilled manual labor. Despite day laborersand#8217; ubiquitous presence in urban areas, however, their very existence is overlooked in much of the research on immigration. While standing in plain view, these
jornaleros live and work in a precarious environment: as they try to make enough money to send home, they are at the mercy of unscrupulous employers, doing dangerous and underpaid work, and, ultimately, experiencing great threats to their identities and social roles as men.
Juan Thomas Ordand#243;and#241;ez spent two years on an informal labor site in the San Francisco Bay Area, documenting the harsh lives led by some of these men during the worst economic crisis that the United States has seen in decades. He earned a perspective on the immigrant experience based on close relationships with a cohort of men who grappled with constant competition, stress, and loneliness. Both eye-opening and heartbreaking, the book offers a unique perspective on how the informal economy of undocumented labor truly functions in American society.
and#160;
About the Author
Juan Thomas Ordand#243;and#241;ez has a PhD in medical anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, and is Professor of Anthropology at the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotand#225;, Colombia.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
A Brief Note on Language
Introduction
WORKING ON THE STREET
1. La Parada de Berkeley
2. Friendship and the Inner Workings of Day Labor
3. Abuse and the Absurd Bureaucracy of Small Things
BETWIXT AND BETWEEN
4. The and#147;Otherand#8221; among Others
5. Bittersweet Nostalgia, Sexuality, and the Body at Risk
CITIZENSHIP AND OTHER SUCH VAGARIES
6. Belonging
7. Terror and the May Migra Panic
Conclusions
References
Index