Fully one-third of California farmworkers speak a language indigenous to Mexico. They likely do not understand Spanish. And when they need to see a doctor, there's usually no one to translate for them.
In an emergency, it can be downright frightening. Angelina Diaz-Ramirez, 50, suffered a heart attack while working in a green bean field near Salinas. She is from southern Mexico and speaks Triqui.
Diaz-Ramirez was taken by ambulance, and she says no one explained anything to her before she underwent a surgery. "I was scared, but I didn't have a choice," she says.
As part of our ongoing series Vital Signs, photojournalist Jeremy Raff produced the video about Diaz-Ramirez. Read his full story on the dire need for medical interpreters for indigenous Mexicans who have immigrated to California.