Giving Gratitude to Palisade's Migrant Farm Workers

For my first assignment for the Colorado Sun I was asked to photograph the town of Palisade’s annual Despedida, or farewell party for migrant workers from Mexico and Latin America. Palisade Colorado is famous for its peaches and is becoming a well-known viticulture area. The harvesting and cultivation of these and other crops rely on migrant labor.

Hosted by Child and Migrant Services and an appreciative community, workers and their families gathered in the town park for an evening of culture-blending festivities. Men played soccer and tug of war, girls in colorful dresses danced traditional Mexican folk dances, and volunteers served up platters of tacos, salads and cake. Peaches were noticeably absent from the menu.

Please check out more of Barton Glasser’s work here and read the complete story at the Colorado Sun.

Juan-Carlo Moreno, left, and Alvaro Fuentes play soccer during the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. The annual farewell party honors migrant agricultural workers and shows appreciation for the community volunteers who provide services to the workers during the growing season.

Migrant worker Francisco Pacheco shows his calloused hands before eating his dinner at the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.

Maria Lopez serves dinner to migrant workers during the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.

Migrant workers from Guanajuato, Mexico Jesus Garcia, right, Jose Moreno and Moreno’s son Jeronimo, 8, attend the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.

Hannah Oqueli, 5, dances with La Nueva Generación Balie Folklórico dance group during the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.

David Perez waits in the food line during the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.

Gianna Salinas, 15, dances with La Nueva Generación Balie Folklórico dance group during the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.

Migrant worker David Perez, right, and his son Ramon attend the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.

Colombian migrant workers Jose Suarez-Tavera, left, and Christian Cifuentes attend the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.

Julio Guirra, migrant worker from Michoacan, Mexico plays tug-of-war with other guests at the Child and Migrant Services’ Despedida at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Palisade, Colo., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.

Marc Shkolnick

00:19 20 Jun 19

We honestly couldn't be more pleased that we discovered and selected Barton to serve as our wedding photographer. Barton is an extraordinary... professional and creative and highly artistic photographer. He has an amazing knack for capturing the emotions and feelings in each of his photographs and capturing details that might otherwise be overlooked. He was very easy and flexible to work with. I wouldn't hesitate to use his services again and would highly recommend his talents for any wedding or other family celebration.read more

Lauren Busch

23:21 20 Jan 19

Bart took our engagement photos and our wedding photos. He did an unbelievable job of capturing the true personalities of all of us and capturing the... feel of the event. He was also an absolute joy to work with. He coaxed us to be ourselves in front of the camera and gave helpful direction without making anything feel or look staged or fake. There were also many amazing, intimate photos he was able to capture during our wedding ceremony that left us wondering how the heck he got those shots because nobody remembered seeing him during the ceremony, he may have an invisibility cloak. We live in Denver, but we love Bart's work so much that we may start investing a weekend trip to Palisade every time we need family photos because he's just THAT GOOD.read more

Kristal Rhodes

16:33 08 Jan 19

I have worked with many photographers including Barton for multiple magazines over the past 15 years. When it came to picking our wedding... photographer it was an easy choice. Just as expected, Barton was very professional, timely and the photos couldn't have turned out better. He captured every moment, even down to our guests reactions during the ceremony. Everyone who has seen our photos has commented on how beautiful they are. We couldn't be happier.read more

Shelbi Church

04:03 24 Aug 18

Barton photographed our wedding. He is very familiar with the area, which is always a plus. He was very easy to work with and is very experienced. We... are very glad that we chose Barton Glasser Photography to photograph our special day. We absolutely loved how the photos turned out, and we highly recommend him.read more

Lauren Grillo

17:45 17 Nov 17

Bart did a combined engagement and family photo shoot for us as a precursor to our wedding photos. He made the shoot a lot of fun, captured some... amazing creative and expressive shots of my fiance and I plus our kiddos. He expertly captured the essence of our family in shot after beautiful shot. I couldn't possibly be happier with our choice to have him do our photos!read more