Interview: Marisol Reyes

Marisol Reyes Altamirano is a hard working woman, without professional studies but with a lot of will to continue improving, motivated by her two sons, she always puts a lot of effort in everything she does and she welcomes us, a bit nervous at first, in her office in the field of “Lo del Beltran”.

Coming from Oaxaca, Marisol arrived to Sinaloa at the age of 6 accompanied by her mother. When she was old enough to work, her first activity was as a tomato cutter and today she is the Manager of a Shelter at Agrícola Belher, a company that has allowed her growth.

1. Full name, place of origin and profession

My name is Marisol Reyes Altamirano; I am from Oaxaca. I came to Sinaloa as a child, I only finished elementary school and then I started studying the open middle school. I worked a lot of time in tomato crops, developing a variety of field activities: cutter, writer, steward, and I have been promoted in the company.

After a while, Lic. Dora Ochoa, manager of human resources, offered me to help her with the payment to workers, they used to pay in cash back in the day, now they pay in payroll cards. She invited me to help her pay through a payment window, I said yes and helped her. After that, she offered me to help her with the registration of workers and their families, as an assistant of another social worker, and that is how I started learning, little by little what office work was like.

Before, everything was made by hand, not like now, that work is done with computers. During that time, I did not even know how to turn on a computer, but with the time and patience from my coworkers, I learned.

Then, they gave me a basic course of Excel and Word, and I believe my learning was very fast, now I use computers well and all of their functions.

2. How did you get to Sinaloa?

One day, my mother came here with my uncle, they arrived first, to see how life and work conditions were here. My mother realized they were fine and after that, they came back for us. I arrived to Sinaloa at the age of 6, when my mother brought me and my 3 brothers and me from our town in Oaxaca.

All our life is here now, we grew, we started working, each one created a family; now I have 2 children, a boy who is 8 years old and a girl who is 1. They are still very young and they love each other.

3. Which was your first function inside the Agricultural Company?

Cutting tomatoes was my first function within the company, after that I was a writer; that is, the person who is writing down the amount of buckets each worker is cutting. After that I became a steward, where I was already in charge of a group of people; then I was promoted to quality supervisor, at that time my job was to check the worker groups and make sure the tomato was not smashed, and it has the indicated color, I used to speak to people so that they made a good job.

Now I am the manager of the shelter, here we receive workers and their families. If they arrive at night, a supervisor welcomes them and during the day we make a census with the people, we provide batches and supervisors are in charge of providing them gas, stove, water container and lights so they feel comfortable in their houses.

4. Which are some of the main difficulties you have had encountered during your labor life?

Well, so far, I don´t think I’ve had important difficulties. I think nothing is hard if you set for it and you see how to make it. At first, I think computers were difficult for me, when I first started using them and I thought about how I was going to make it to turn off the computer equipment. But I told myself, “if this device was made by a human and I am a human; I have to understand it, it is not going to beat me, I need to do this”. That is why I say nothing has been complicated to me, you learn from anything that arises, nothing is hard if you set yourself for it, and that way you make it.

5. Which has been your main motivation to work hard and get where you are?

Well, at first it was my desire for improvement, seeing that office work is another type of work, it is not the same cutting tomatoes than being here in charge of the shelter. They are very different jobs and I like this work. Now, my biggest reason is my children.

6. What are your plans for the future?
I live here in the shelter, and I would like to have a house of my own at some point as a patrimony for my children, and my plans are for my children to improve themselves and become successful people. Here in the agricultural company I like what I do, it is something very beautiful that you do not know and you start learning.

7. In which way has the Belher Agricultural Company has supported you with all these?

It has helped in giving me a decent job, most of all, an office charge; even though I had no professional preparation. I studied until middle school and to giving me an office job without a professional title, that is a lot of support, they gave me the trust, the opportunity to work and perform a good job.

8. What would you say to all agriculture workers for them to continue improving themselves?

To put effort, because nothing is hard and to trust themselves, because there are a lot of people who know how to do other jobs, whether plumbing or masonry, and if they have the trust to say what they know how to do, and if there is a chance for them to work in another company area, they can improve themselves.

9. Is there anything else you would like to add?

First all of, this interview was a surprise for me, I did not imagine that I would be interviewed. And that I am trying to keep studying, I’m trying to study the open high school online, I am on the first semester. After that, I would like to study a degree, to improve myself as much as possible.