For Perez, only
education has been work
SUN PHOTO BY BOB MUDGE
Santiago Perez, a native of Guatamela, shows off his hands, saying his only education has been working in the fields. That’s not what he wants for his children — three girls and two boys.
Santiago Perez has it a bit easier than his fellow farm workers. A staff member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers for three years, he only works in the fields some of the time instead of all the time, as he did for seven years prior to joining the staff.
But he and his family still travel to follow their work, picking tomatoes in Florida for eight months, then heading north, chasing another growing season.