Las Piscas...1947

By Frank Baltazar

Juan Garcia, was told by his dad that they were going up north to work the piscas, Juan was eleven years old, and he was looking toward what he thought would be an adventure, since he had never being out of the Los Angeles barrio he lived in, he was ready to go see the world.

“Pops, when are we going?
“As soon as Manny, as Manuel Fernandez was know, fixes his truck, mijo”
Juan was so happy to get out of the barrio, he ran to tell all his friends.
“Guys, we, the whole family are going up north to work the piscas” he said to his friends
“What are the piscas?” ask Chuy.
“I don't know, my dad just said the piscas” said Juan.

Two days after Manuel had finish fixing his truck, he told Juan's dad, Jose, that it was time to go up north.
“Pack only what's necessary, Jose, don't want to put too much weight on this old truck” said Manuel to Jose.
Pack and ready to go, Manuel told his wife, Lupe, son, Tony and daughter Maria, to help Jose, his wife, Elsa, Juan and Juan's two younger brothers and sister, Rudy, Luis and Rosa to pack.

On the Road

With Elsa, Lupe and the kids riding in the back of the truck they headed north on Highway 99. Elsa and Lupe packed some burritos before they left the barrio so they could eat as they went up the Ridge Route, after eating, the kids happy to be out of the barrio sang songs they learned from the their parents.

The 1938 Ford flat bed truck with side panels was running good as they pull into a gas station in Bakersfield.
“Okay everybody; use the restrooms while I gas up, Jose, can you check the oil?” said Manuel.
Back on the road Manuel says to Jose, “The oil company's are robbing us, can you imagine fifteen cents for a gallon of gas?”
“And ten cents for a quart of oil” said Jose.
“We better make lots of money in the piscas” both said in unity.

Juan pulls the hair on his six year old sister, Rosa, making her cry.
“Juan, leave Rosa along, just wait until we stop again, you are going to be sorry” said Juan's mother Elsa.
“Mom, I'm not doing nothing to her, she is just a cry baby” said Juan to his mother.
“Don't believe him, mom, he is pulling her hair” said Juan's seven year old brother Luis.
Juan punches Luis in the arm, now Luis is crying'
“Cabron!, just wait!, I'm going to give you some chingasos when we stop!” said Elsa.
They stop in Fresno. Juan jumps off the truck trying to hide from Elsa, but Elsa gets him by the ear and as she pulls on his ear she yells at him “cabron!; I told you to leave your brother and sister along, now cabron; behave yourself”.
“But, mom, I'm bored, are we almost at piscas” said Juan.
“Piscas is not a place, “piscas” is work” said Elsa.
“What ever, are we almost there?”.
“No, now just behave yourself, be good like Manuel's kids.
As Elsa said that Tony pulls Maria's hair, now Maria is crying
“A la chingada!, these kids are going to drive me to drinking; compa, lets have a beer” Jose said to Manuel.
“You start drinking and you are getting some chingasos” said Elsa to Jose
Back on the road without drinking a beer Manuel said to Jose “ you're afraid of your vieja, Jose”
“No, I'm not afraid of her, I just let her think that I am, that way we keep the peace”

North of Madera, Ca. The families head west on California State Route 152, stopping in the small town of Los Banos for gas and to use the restrooms. After resting a bit they get back on the road, go over the Pacheco Pass straight to U.S. 101, north to San Jose, arriving at a apricot ranch that was waiting for them.

Las Piscas

Since apricots grow on trees only Jose and Manuel could worked picking them, Lupe and Elsa worked at a place where the apricots were cut in half and put out to dry.
Once the apricot harvest was done, they went south to Hollister, Ca., to pick plums, they quickly found work at a ranch, where all the kids would be able to work, from the oldest to the youngest, they would get down on their knees and pick the plums of the ground, from sun up to sun down they worked.

In the mornings as the kids worked, they could see woodpeckers pecking on the trees, something they had never seen before.

Juan's brother, Rudy, wanted his pop to buy him a bike when they got back home, but he didn't like working, he would fall asleep under the trees.
“Pop, look at Rudy, he's asleep and he wants you to buy him a bike” Juan would say to his father.
“Well, he is not getting a bike if he don't work” Jose would say.

“Vieja, get the burritos, I'm going to light a fire so we can warm them up. Juan, right after we eat, you check the boxes and make sure they have our number, we don't want to get cheated, we work too hard for that, now wake Rudy up and tell him its time to eat” Jose said to Juan and Lupe.
After lunch it was back to work til sun down.

With dinner done, it was time to relax a bit. The men would built a fire , play their guitars and sing, drink a beer or two. twelve year old Tony, Manuel's son was a favorite of the men, because he could sing like Pedro Infante, Tony and his eight year old sister, Maria, would sing duets for the men.
“Tony, sing some songs that we can dance to” ask Manuel of Tony
“Lets dance” Manuel say to Lupe as Tony starts singing a corrido.
Before you knew it the adults were all dancing, the teenagers were drifting of to hide behind the trees and do what teenagers do.

Sundays were a day of rest, Jose and Manuel would take their families to church, after church they would go into town, do a little shopping, get something to eat.
They would get back to the ranch early so that everybody could rest for the next day's hard work.

Time went by fast and the harvesting was almost done, soon it would be time to go back to Los Angeles, Jose and Manuel would go back to work in the glass factory that they had left behind, the kids would all go back to school. But first Manuel had to fix the rear axle on the truck
“Pinche axle, picked a fine time to break” said Manuel to Jose
“Watch your mouth , Manuel, that's no way to talk in front of the kids” said Lupe to Manuel.
“Sí, Manuel, watch your mouth or your vieja will lay some chingasos on you” laughed Jose.
“Lets show these pinche viejas we are not afraid of them, go get some beers, Jose” said Manuel.
The truck didn't get fixed that day.

Finally the day came to head back home. Harvesting was finish, the truck was fix. Manuel and Jose went to see the boss to get paid, after deducting what they owed the general store, the boss paid Manuel and Jose, $1,450.00, $1,600.00, respectively.

Packed and ready to head home Manuel helps Lupe onto the back of the truck.
“Aí vieja!, with all this work you would think you would had lost some weight, instead it looks like your love handles got a bit more rounder, que no?”
“I wouldn't talk if I was you, cabron, look at your beer belly” shot back Lupe.
Jose is looking at Elsa.
“You better not say a word, Jose” said Elsa.
“I'm not saying anything vieja” said Jose as he turned around and mumble to himself 'but you did gain some weight too'

Heading Home

It was decided by Manuel and Jose to take U.S. 101 south instead of Highway 99. Heading west out of Hollister, they stopped to check out the mission in San Juan Bautista.
“You ladies look around, Jose and I are going this way” said Manuel to the viejas.
“Where are we going?”, Jose, wanted to know.
“To Taste some vino, Jose, to taste some vino!, but don't let the viejas know ”
As they got to the wine tasting room, Lupe and Elsa are waiting for them.
“What took you so long?” Lupe and Elsa said in unity as they laughed.
“Lets taste some vino and you can buy me a bottle, so Lupe and I can drink it while we ride in the back of the truck” Elsa says to Jose as she takes him by the hand and leads him to the testing room.

Back on the road after buying a couple of bottles of wine, they head south, stopping in King City to buy something to eat. After eating, Elsa brings out a bottle of vino and says to Lupe.
“Look what I got here”
“What are you waiting for, open it, we'll show our viejo's we can drink too” said Lupe. After a couple of glasses of wine Lupe and Elsa are feeling happy.
“Tony, get the guitar, sing some songs,” said his mother, as the truck rolls down the highway, Lupe and Elsa feeling the wine join in singing old Mexican songs.
Jose looks out the window and yells at Lupe and Elsa.
“You viejas drunk?”.
“No, viejo, just feeling happy” said Elsa.
Now, it was Lupe who brings out a bottle.
“Want some more, Elsa?”
“Sí, why not? open it”.
By the time they stopped in Paso Robles, Elsa and Lupe were drunk, but feeling happy.

After gassing up and using the restrooms, they were back on the road, Elsa and Lupe had just fallen asleep when the truck started making a loud noise, Manuel pulled the truck over to the side of the road to see what was wrong.
“I think its the axle again”, Said Manuel after taking a look.
“I can fix it, I have some extra parts, but it will take some time, a day or more, we will have to camp here tonight” said Manuel.
“Do we get to sleep under the star's, daddy? Ask Manuel's eight year old daughter, Maria.
“Sí, mija, we get to sleep under the star's”
“Lupe, we are going to have to cook dinner here, so get the small gas stove that I brought from LA, good thing I bought some gas for it too” said Manuel
While Manuel and Jose worked on the truck and Lupe and Elsa cook dinner, the kids are playing on the hills along side of the highway, nine year old Rudy climbed up a hill, as he starts coming down the hill, he couldn't control his momentum and ran head-on into a hollow oak tree at the bottom of the hill.

By the time they were done with dinner it was dark, to dark to work on the truck, so they all sat around in a circle and with Tony playing the guitar sung songs.

Late the next day the truck was fixed and ready to go, with all aboard they started down the highway, rolled into Santa Barbara just before dark and decide to spent the night on the beach. Next day everybody went swimming before they started on the last leg of their trip home.

Back in the barrio, Jose and Manuel went back to work at the glass factory, the kids went back to school, Lupe and Elsa went back to keeping house.
Rudy got his bike

A month later the families got together for carne asada, guacamole, hot salsa, arroz and home made tortillas and to talk about their adventure at the piscas.
“Jose, think you would want to go again?” asked Manuel
“Sí, if its okay with the vieja, I would like to go again”
Sí, it would be okay, but not for two-three years” said Elsa, with Lupe agreeing.