First person: Journalist spends a day picking strawberries
Los Angeles Times writer Hector Becerra picks boxes of strawberries alongside workers in a Santa Maria, Calif., strawberry field. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Hector Becerra finds kindness and camaraderie with the Mexican immigrants picking strawberries. But he also falls far behind them as his back tightens and his muscles burn.
Read more: A day in the strawberry fields seems like forever
Domingo Suarez, center, carries a box full of strawberries as he works alongside other workers in Santa Maria, Calif. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles Times reporter Hector Becerra, left, is instructed by foreman Antonio Lopez, right, on how to pack a box of strawberries. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles Times writer Hector Becerra packs strawberries into a clamshell box right after picking them. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Noemi Lopez, 21, left, covers her skin to protect against the elements as she prepares to pick strawberries. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Mauro Ortiz carries a box full of strawberries as he works alongside other workers. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Working on a moving platform, Phillip Sanchez carries and sorts boxes of strawberries freshly picked for Dole Foods. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles Times writer Hector Becerra carries a box of strawberries he picked. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Noemi Lopez, 21, picks strawberries as she works alongside other workers in Santa Maria, Calif. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Foreman Antonio Lopez, left, talks with Maria Huitron, right, about boxes of freshly picked strawberries. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Domingo Suarez, center, carries a box of strawberries picked for Dole Foods. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)