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Carlos
Mr. Diaz is a labor contractor in Santa Maria, California, who arranges for braceros to work in the farms there. He treats one of the braceros named Gabriel very poorly. Francisco first hears Diaz ordering Gabriel around, and he then hears from Gabriel that Diaz is a cheat who charges him too much for room and board. One day, Diaz asks Gabriel to tie a plow around his waist and till the field. Gabriel refuses to do this since in Mexico, only farm animals do this kind of work. Diaz is furious and throws Gabriel to the ground and kicks him. When Gabriel angrily jumps to his feet and charges at him, Diaz is frightened and drives away. Francisco sees that Diaz is a bully, and inspired by seeing Gabriel fight back, Francisco, too, finds the courage to fight back against Carlos, an older boy who bullies Francisco. After this incident, Diaz fires Gabriel and Gabriel has to return to Mexico. Through the character of Diaz, Jiménez shows that many braceros struggled in the United States with unfair working conditions and labor contractors who mistreated and cheated them.
Mr. Diaz Quotes in The Circuit
The The Circuit quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Diaz or refer to Mr. Diaz. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Learning the Game Quotes
The contratista walked up to Gabriel and yelled in his face, “Well this isn’t your country, idiot! You either do what I say or I’ll have you fired!”
“Don’t do that, please,” Gabriel said. “I have a family to feed.”
“I don’t give a damn about your family!” the contratista replied, grabbing Gabriel by the shirt collar and pushing him. […] As he hit the ground, the contratista kicked him in the side with the tip of his boot. Gabriel sprung up and, with both hands clenched, lunged at the contratista. White as a ghost, Diaz quickly jumped back. [...]
I felt scared. I had not seen men fight before. My mouth felt dry and my hands and legs began to shake.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mr. Diaz Character Timeline in The Circuit
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Diaz appears in The Circuit. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Learning the Game
...farm, a black truck pulls up behind Papá’s car. The driver of the truck, Mr. Diaz, who is a labor contractor, orders the man riding in the bed of the truck...
(full context)
...mayonnaise sandwich and two jelly sandwiches from his brown paper bag, and he complains that Diaz gives them this meal for lunch every day. Francisco offers him one of his taquitos,...
(full context)
...Mexico a few dollars every month. He’d like to send them more, but after paying Diaz for his room and board, Gabriel has barely any money left. He looks angry as...
(full context)
...day, Ito sends Francisco and Gabriel to work for another sharecropper who needs extra help. Diaz is at this farm, and he immediately begins calling out orders to them. He wants...
(full context)
Diaz walks up to Gabriel and yells at him, calling him an idiot and saying that...
(full context)
Francisco is very scared—he’s never seen grown men fight before. Gabriel tells him that Diaz is a coward. He says that Diaz can cheat him out of his money and...
(full context)
The next morning, Ito tells Francisco that Diaz fired Gabriel and sent him back to Mexico. Francisco is upset and can’t focus on...
(full context)
