Rain of Gold

Eleven-year-old Juan Salvador Villaseñor Castro, the 37th grandchild of Don Pío, causes a ruckus in his community as he starts shouting that soldiers are coming, an occurrence common in his area. He does so both for a laugh and so that his family can take advantage of some nearby corn they want to pick. Some other citizens see the trick and join in, but most are too scared because they know they could be killed if they are caught. Once they have a bunch of corn, they cover it up and rush off as fast as their old beloved burro will take them. Mid-sprint, Juan glances up and sees the body of a boy recently killed for stealing corn hanging from a tree. No sooner does he notice the boy then he is confronted by the boy’s killer, Cara de Nopal. Cara de Nopal demands to see the contents of their wagon, but Juan’s fearless older sister Luisa interjects and says he should be aware that the soldiers they are running from are coming for Cara de Nopal in particular. In response to Luisa’s frantic comment, Cara de Nopal quickly returns to the safety of his encampment and leaves the family alone. The family then travels late into the day before setting up camp with several other families attempting to escape the violence. From their camp, they can see and hear the evidence of war.

The family works together to build a shelter, a “smokeless fire” out of cow droppings, and a delicious dinner of roasted corn (97). After a gratifying evening together, Doña Margarita, Juan’s mother, announces it is time to go to bed because they need to make an early start tomorrow. Juan plays a practical joke on his partially blind sister Emilia, pretending a rope is a snake. Luisa and Emilia get mad, but their mother defends him, saying he is only “playing” (98). Doña Margarita then has them gather around to pray, and they all listen as she makes up her own prayer of gratitude. During the night Juan snuggles close to his mother, reassured by the safety her arms provide. In the morning he gets up and teases his mom about possibly pretending soldiers are coming again. She tells him how dangerous that idea is and how lucky they are to have survived the last incident. He jokes that she is “too old and worthless for anyone to waste their good bullets on” (100). At this remark, Luisa goes after him with a stick, but once again Doña Margarita defends Juan and tells Luisa she is just mad because her husband left her, not because Juan was being insulting. Luisa defends herself, saying that her husband, Epitacio, is actually just staking out the journey ahead for them. She questions why Doña Margarita lets Juan speak badly about her when Luisa would never have been allowed to do the same as a child. Doña Margarita tells her daughter that it is because Juan never got to experience the “riches” of Luisa’s childhood and she wants to make up for it some way (100).

As they come upon León the next morning, they see the city in flames and people fleeing bullets. As they cram themselves into a ditch for safety, they notice a familiar-looking man being pursued by two horsemen. At closer glance they realize it is Eptiacio, and Luisa bursts from the ditch to charge him. She does and viciously attacks him while the horsemen look on. When she is exhausted from physically punishing Epitacio, the horsemen decide to move on. Epitacio apologizes profusely for leaving her, and she eventually starts laughing and kissing him. Within the burning city, helpless people everywhere ask for aid. Epitacio tells the family to ignore them so they can quickly catch a train north. Doña Margarita insists on helping some of those in need to get water. She tells Epitacio to trust in God, which only leads him to regret being bound to this family, a choice he made to avoid being drafted.

While the family is helping the wounded access water, several horsemen ride up and demand they give them their cart and burro. Juan and Luisa defend their sole possessions while Epitacio tries to hide from the horsemen. The horsemen ask where Juan and Luisa are from; when they say Los Altos, the horsemen say that makes sense as it is the only place where people refuse to “bow” (103). They then ask Juan and Luisa if they know José Villaseñor, who is their deceased brother. Unsure of what is at stake, they say nothing, but Doña Margarita proudly announces that José is her son. One of the men immediately becomes jovial and says José and he were good friends who once fought together. When Doña Margarita explains that José is now dead, the horseman, General Felipe Kelly, offers his condolences and tells them they should hurry to the train, allowing them to keep their possessions. He says they can use his name if they get into trouble, and then he rides off into the distance.

Traveling through the city they are surrounded by stacks of decomposing bodies; only Epitacio can still express his excitement for the future, as the rest of the family is silenced by the sullen and sickening atmosphere. At night, surrounded by thousands of other hopeful immigrants, the family sets up camp but can find nothing to build a fire. They sit down to pray, during which Doña Margarita mentions that she plans on killing the burro to feed the nearby hungry people. This upsets Juan, but Doña Margarita explains that this is ideal since he will be killed once they get on a train anyway. While he outwardly agrees, Juan privately questions God’s power now that he knows his “loyal friend” must die prematurely (105). He immediately goes to his burro and pets him until Epitacio comes up, removes him, and slits the burro’s throat. The burro feeds several people who have not had much nutrition in months, but Juan feels sick even looking at the meat. At night he cries about his dead burro to his mother, who comforts him and holds him in her arms.

Juan and his family are forced to wait several days by the railroad in anticipation of a train. While waiting, Juan plays with several boys around his age, pretending to be Francisco Villa, General Obregón, and other famous warriors to pass the time. Most of the boys are stronger than him and come from far more horrifying situations. Juan realizes how lucky his family was to have José and his friends, who for years protected their region from the raging war. He also reminisces about his brother, Domingo, who has only recently disappeared, and whom the family hopes is still alive. Finally, the train arrives, and Juan and his family scoop cow droppings out of a filthy car to have a place to ride up north. Juan and his friends decide to challenge each other to see who can wait the longest to hop on the already moving train. Juan knows that by participating he may end up losing his family, but he feels confident in his abilities based on an experience he had at age six, which he believes confirmed his manliness ever forward. Several boys give up and run after the train in order to stay with their families, but Juan and Eduardo, the largest and fastest of the boys, remain, calling the other boys cowards. Eventually the train rolls past them and starts going downhill. Juan runs as fast as he can but can’t keep up. He trips and cuts his mouth on a rock, then lies there crying and bleeding, sure he will never see his family again.

Eduardo helps him up and reveals that he has family in León, so it doesn’t matter which train he catches. This causes Juan to get very angry as he feels he has been tricked. Eduardo offers to let Juan stay with his family, but Juan refuses and starts to chase the train again. He runs in the blistering sun, compelled forward by thirst and happy memories of his mother and his childhood. He talks to God and to himself, trying to convince himself that he can make it back to his mother. As night approaches, he thinks he sees a deer, but it turns out to be a jaguar. Juan listens to his mother’s voice in his head, which tells him to attack, and the jaguar goes sprinting off. Juan realizes he cannot afford to stop and spends the rest of the night traveling, finally reaching his family the next morning. It takes four days for Juan to recover, but he finally rallies with his mother’s aid. When he regains consciousness, they are no longer traveling by train. Francisco Villa had taken over their train to use it to transport some of his soldiers. Inspired by Juan’s success, the family decides to walk the thousand miles to the border instead of waiting for the trains to be vacant again. Epitacio bucks against this plan, but Doña Margarita quickly shuts him down. As soon as Juan has recovered, they join thousands of other travelers heading north on foot.

After a few hours it is too hot to keep crossing the desert, so they stop in the shade and wait for the temperature to drop. Given such a desperate situation, Doña Margarita expresses frustration with God but refuses to give up hope. Weeks go by and they start to starve. One morning Juan discovers fully formed grain in some horse manure, and from there on out the family collects seeds from the manure every time the soldiers bring some horses to a nearby stall. Epitacio keeps his hopes high and tries to teach the family English in preparation for their escape. One night he finds out there are some empty boxcars they may be able to stow away in. They run for the train as quietly and quickly as possible, but Emilia trips and falls. Doña Margarita announces she and Emilia will stay and that the “strong ones” should run ahead without them (120). Luisa and Juan vehemently refuse this suggestion. Epitacio offers to run ahead and save them a spot on the train, but this fills Luisa with rage, thinking he might attempt to desert them again. He offers to bring Juan with him, and with Doña Margarita’s blessing, Juan and Epitacio speed off and find a place on the train. Juan heads back for his family and quickly realizes he does not have time get to them and return. He reaches them, and they “despair” over Epitacio’s betrayal (121). Epitacio then appears at their side, causing Luisa to go wild with ecstasy, thinking that he has come back out of love, not because he was forced off the train. Doña Margarita ushers the other children away, trying to give Luisa and Epitacio privacy, but Juan cannot stop staring at his sister “bucking and howling” on top of Epitacio (121).

Another month goes by and they finally hitch a ride on a northbound train. For the most part they are all mentally and physically weary from their close quarters to war and lack of nutrition. Epitacio remains optimistic, however. Based on his previous experiences in the United States, he’s confident he will get a job quickly and that the family will settle into a life of bounty. The train arrives at their destination, El Paso, a barren town absolutely jammed with starving people. It’s nothing like the lush paradise Epitacio believed they would find. Juan wakes Doña Margarita and informs her of the situation. She takes it in stride, and they head into the heat to search for someone who will share their shade with them. They find a family who allows them to camp out under their brush, then Epitacio and Juan go off in search of the Rio Grande. They find it but learn it is no longer legal to cross it without spending “an unheard of fortune” (123).

That night Emilia gives birth to an “undernourished” baby to whom she is too underfed to supply milk (124). The next day Epitacio kills a rattlesnake, and although eating snakes is considered sinful, they eat it anyway and feel replenished from the sustenance. Epitacio then suggests he swim across the border and try to get a job. He does and brings back all sorts of food for the family to gorge on. Luisa then announces that she and Joselito will cross the Rio Grande with Epitacio this time. Doña Margarita gives them her blessing, and they set off. The next morning a sandstorm hits their area, forcing Juan and his family to lie in the hot, sandy wind with nothing but blankets for protection for several days and nights. When the storm finally abates, Doña Margarita’s eyes are infected, and she cannot see. Her children start to panic but she assures them she has been through much, and she will get through this too.

Juan and his niece, Inocenta, walk to the Rio Grande to wash the sand off and try to collect some water to bring back to Doña Margarita, who cannot stop coughing. While he is there Juan tries out some of his English on the American soldiers, hoping they will help him get across. However, his communication skills are not developed enough, and he ends up misunderstanding the solider responding to him, whom he thinks tells him there is an alligator nearby. Juan and Inocenta run in fear of the supposed alligator, taking a few other confused and scared bathers with them. With time, Juan decides Luisa has deserted them and that he needs to step up. He searches for firewood and instead finds a group of men fighting. After the winners take their spoils, Juan approaches the dead horses and men, hoping to get some meat to bring back home. He can’t pierce the flesh of the horses despite biting and berating them with a rock, and before he can bring himself to try to cut up the humans, some coyotes arrive and scare him off. Walking away, he hears one of the men screaming as he is eaten alive and feels guilty for having wanted to do the same thing. Juan falls sick again, Doña Margarita and Inocenta tend to his weary body. Exasperated and hungry, Juan starts talking wildly about his all-consuming hunger. His mother takes his hand and tells him to feel her pulse and her power pumping into him. It takes a few tries, but he eventually gives into her directions and feels calmed. She promises not to die until he is married, and Juan feels satisfied by this agreement. Doña Margarita then says she is going into town to look for work. She keeps coming home with plenty of food, and the children rejoice when she explains that the “church” provided them with food (132). One day Juan decides to look for work himself and sees his mother, dressed in rags, begging on the street. He runs back to tell Emilia, who already had an inkling of what was going on. They cry, feeling that they have “lost all honor” and are now “a people without a name” (133).

Juan wakes from a wonderful dream about his childhood to the realization that his family is at rock bottom. He looks at Emilia and her child and feels “repulsed” by how dingy they have become and how easily they seem to have given up (135). This gives him newfound respect for his mother’s actions. He tells Emilia he is leaving for the day, and she gets upset, worried that this could be a foolish and lethal mission. He dismisses her worries, telling her confidently “[w]e are God […] we are a piece of the Almighty” (136). He has an epiphany and determines that it “all [comes] down to faith” (136). After traveling for quite a while, he finds some wood and digs to get at it. After a painful process, he finds the roots are even better for wood and thanks God for this discovery. However, when he ties them in a bundle, he does not have the strength to carry them on his back. He starts shouting at God and declares he is angry at him. He tells God he is abandoning his faith and will now do whatever it takes to save his mother from shame and poverty. He eventually lessens the load and moves on, feeling “strong and sure” (138).