Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)

"Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)"
Song by Woody Guthrie
Written1948 (1948)
GenreProtest song
Composer(s)Martin Hoffman
Lyricist(s)Woody Guthrie

"Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)" is a protest song with lyrics by Woody Guthrie and music by Martin Hoffman detailing the January 28, 1948 crash of a plane near Los Gatos Canyon,[1] 20 miles (32 km) west of Coalinga in Fresno County, California, United States.[2][3] The crash occurred in Los Gatos Canyon and not in the town of Los Gatos itself, which is in Santa Clara County, approximately 150 miles away. Guthrie was inspired to write the song by what he considered the racist mistreatment of the passengers before and after the accident.[1] The crash resulted in the deaths of 32 people, 4 Americans and 28 migrant farm workers who were being deported from California back to Mexico.[3]

  1. ^ a b Klein, Joe. (1999). Woody Guthrie: A Life. Delta. ISBN 0-385-33385-4.
  2. ^ "60th anniversary of "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportee)"". Indybay. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  3. ^ a b "DC3 Aircraft Crash Site in Los Gatos Canyon". Three Rocks Research. Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2009-10-16.