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)

May 2, 2013 1:43 PM PT

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)