When Bonifacio Sánchez left La Nopalera , the town where he was born in Michoacán, Mexico, to come to the United States, he never thought that one day he would work for the state of California and much less that he would be in charge of decorating the majestic Christmas tree of the State Capitol.
“It is a responsibility and a great challenge, but I like to do it,” says Bonifacio, who has worked for 22 years in the maintenance of the large trees of the state government buildings in Sacramento, within the Department of General Services.
But behind one of the key men in the installation and decoration of the California Capitol Christmas tree, there is a whole story.
“I came to this country the same month that I turned 18 years in 1981, with a sister who lived in Palo Alto. My first job was in a car wash as a substitute for a person who had gone on vacation ”, he recalls.
Later he worked for a time in Washington state, but returned to the Bay of San Francisco where he had many jobs including that of a janitor. Until in 1989, she was left without occupation, and a friend told her about an uncle who was a supervisor in a tree pruning company .
“At first I didn’t like it, but later I saw the future and the opportunity to do work on my own”.
Bonifacio worked for 10 years for a business that provided services to the gas and electricity company PG & E, in the pruning of trees near power lines.
“I started from scratch, and I applied myself to know everything about pruning large trees. That’s when the idea of working for the state for labor benefits was born ”.
He later applied for a job at Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation. “I passed the practical and oral exam, but they put me on a waiting list. That’s where I was when the opportunity to work for the state came up, I took the exam and they hired me out of the blue. When they called me from Caltrans, I had to say no and thank them. ”
It was in the summer from 1999 when he started working for the state government.
“In that year I had to help put up the Christmas tree, but I already have between 8 and 10 years that I have been in charge ”
But his work goes beyond the Christmas tree, since he is part of the team that maintains the large trees of the State Capitol.
“Sometimes we have to climb trees of 130 feet in height. We use machines, cranes and trucks with hydraulic baskets. ”
And sometimes, he says, they have no choice but to arm themselves with strength and agility to climb the trees themselves to cut them down and give them shape.
Bonifacio says that pruning large trees is considered one of the jobs more dangerous.
“I already lost my fear, they are already 32 years. The first years while I was getting experience, I did feel it. ”
But he admits that success in avoiding accidents is taking precautionary measures.
“ Your safety depends on knowing how to tie the rope. You have to make sure it is in good condition. We use a safety harness, extra ropes, helmets, glasses. ”
It counts that when it is in the glass of trees, he thinks of nothing else other than concentrating on “cutting properly and taking weight off a branch.”
And he really says he enjoys his job. “I don’t see it as a job but as a sport. My adrenaline rises when I am in the heights. ”
Bonifacio and the rest of the team of maintenance workers of the state grove, have to take care of more than 800 trees of Capitol Park. “We have trees from all over the world and from the country. Also some 46 palm trees. ”
When one sees the impressive Christmas tree of the State Capitol never imagine all the work behind it. More than 300 need to be placed, between spheres and ornaments, and between 12, 000 Y 20, 000 lights.
The Mexican immigrant says that work begins in the summer when he and other colleagues travel to Shasta County, to LaTour Forestry , one of the 8 state forests operated by Cal Fire, where they tend and plant pine trees for Christmas.
“We spent a day choosing the tree. We select two in case something happens to one, we already have another. ”
Then they return through the tree the first Monday in November. “It is tied before cutting and very carefully placed on the truck that will transport it to the Capitol.”
The transportation is escorted by a Highway Police patrol to place the tree on the grass on the west side of Capitol Park over the street 10 between N and L streets of Sacramento.
There This is when Bonifacio and a team of 4 people begin the work of installing and decorating the Christmas tree.
“Se Bury it on a 6-foot concrete base to avoid being knocked over by a strong wind or rain. And to decorate it, we rent trucks that allow us to climb to the top. We start by putting the star, we continue with the lights and then the ornaments. ”
Bonifacio explains that this year the Capitol tree is a pine known as white fir with a height of 65 feet.
“She is our supervisor, who tells us the changes she wants to make each year. He tells us if he wants it to have more gold or green color, but this time they gave us the freedom to decorate it as we wanted and we are responsible for making sure everything looks good. ”
Installing and decorating the tree can take up to 5 weeks, but this season, they had to rush and work overtime to get the Christmas tree ready on December 3, the scheduled date for Governor Gavin Newsom to turn it on.
“It is a tradition that the governor turns on the lights of the tree accompanied by a child.”
And Specifies that they have to make sure that everything works perfectly so that the lights turn on at the time of the inauguration of the Christmas tree.
In the team of workers who are in charge of the installation of the tree, there are 3 Latinos, among them Bonifacio.
The Christmas tree is disassembled the second week of January. “It’s faster because we use more people to help us pack the lights and ornaments.”
He trusts that it is very satisfying to set up the state Christmas tree and see that people come to take photos, even when they are decorating it.
“It’s something very special. Words are missing to describe the emotion. I enjoy it a lot, and it makes me feel good. That is why I invite you to stop by and look at the Christmas tree in the Capitol. At night it is more appreciated when the lights are on ”.
Bonifacio says that sometimes they ask him if his work is difficult, and he very proudly answers: “I do the difficult things quickly, and the impossible I take longer.”