Rain of Gold

Juan sets off in search of a house in the American part of town where he can run his distillery. At first he is constantly turned away due to his race, but when he gives one real estate office a Greek name, they sell him a house immediately. Juan moves the operation as well as Julio and his family in as a cover. The neighbors call them “dirty” and stare at them (268). Juan wonders how to procure industrial-sized quantities of sugar. He asks a jovial baker who gives him the address of two suppliers and also lets Juan know it is possible to borrow money from a bank to start a business, a fact Juan had not been aware of and is quite enticed by. Juan then drives to look for Lupe. She is sitting down with her family to dinner and it makes him want to “settle down” (271). He realizes one of the neighbors is watching him, so he drives off to get drunk and go home.

In the morning his mother wakes him to discuss his plan for the operation. She asks him about the hotel, and he lies to her, saying he found it perfectly safe. She then reveals that his nephews went back to school only to pull down their teacher’s pants and toss him out a window. Juan decides to teach the boys a lesson by making them come with him while he works. He has them shovel chicken manure in the back of his truck, dig holes in the manure, and bury his barrels of alcohol. Driving along, he tells them to “act stupid and drool” if any cops pull them over (277). When the boys resist this, Juan tells them they can just kill the cops instead. He offers José his gun, but his younger cousin, Pedro, grabs it from him. Juan tells Pedro to shoot the gun, so Pedro does, causing an accident. Once they have realigned their vehicle with the road, Juan pulls Pedro aside to tell him to “think for himself’ and be responsible (277). Juan then viciously beats Pedro with a switch, all the while making him repeat phrases about respect and responsibility. He proceeds to ask José about what happened with their teacher. José explains that the teacher was making racist comments about their family, so they retaliated. Juan insists that they ignore rather than react to these instances. They hear a car coming, and Juan instructs them to say nothing so he can try to get the driver to help them back into town. When José laughs, Juan punches him in the face. The car driver, Fred Noon, a “well-to-do” white man, although initially suspicious, eventually helps them get to Juan’s friend Consuelo’s house (280). Juan offers the man some illicit liquor in return for his help and has Consuelo help the boys with their injuries. Juan then has the boys load more supplies onto and off the truck, eventually ending up at Julio’s.

While they are working, Julio and Juan get into an altercation because Julio does not think that it is worth giving up their whole lives for a month just to make this large batch. Juan screams at Julio, telling him he is ungrateful. He storms away, feeling murderous when Julio doesn’t seem as committed as him. For three days, Juan forces the boys to do backbreaking work for more than half the day. They beg to go back to school, and Juan acquiesces, telling them to remember all the lessons they learned with him.

In the meantime, Lupe receives an unexpected visit from an older man named Señor Gonzales. He asks her to be the queen of the city’s Cinco de Mayo celebration. They are extending the celebration into “the americano part of town,” so they want to be sure they have the most beautiful girl of all (282). Lupe did not enter the contest like her sister and many other girls in town did, so she is hesitant to take the spotlight from those who are more invested. While Lupe is making her decision, Juan and Julio work nonstop for 18 days and then decide to take turns taking breaks. Juan goes first and decides to use his break to go to the Cinco de Mayo celebration so he can sell some liquor and finally talk to Lupe. He shows up at Archie’s, and they have a drink before they set off to the celebration. Juan asks Archie if he’s heard anything about the new hotel, and Archie says he hasn’t because two FBI agents were killed in that county recently. Juan knows that many people think he is the one who killed the agents, but he is surprised when he realizes Archie might think this too.

He goes to the parade and sees that Lupe is the queen. He decides to win Victoriano over first, so he lets Victoriano drive his car under the pretense that someone told him Victoriano was a good mechanic and he wanted Victoriano to see if he could tell what was wrong with his car. Victoriano can’t find anything wrong with the car so Juan asks him if he could drive Victoriano home later on, giving him a chance to inspect it one more time. Victoriano says yes, as long as Juan can bring home his sisters too. He then offers to introduce Juan to his sisters. On the way over, however, Juan spots one of the men who cut his face, causing him to retreat. He goes to his car and finds a dead rooster inside and both of his attackers watching him. He starts to drive away but then decides to attack instead. He returns to the celebration but can find neither the men nor Lupe.

The day finally arrives to deliver the 50 barrels of liquor. His nephews show up, relaying a bad dream Juan’s mother had and wanting to help. Juan lets them. Julio and his wife, Geneva, keep fighting because she doesn’t like the way Juan acts or the risk involved in the situation. Juan has them wake up early and watch the hotel from a distance because he is still nervous about a setup. They watch several trucks enter but never come back out. Juan announces it’s a setup, and they hide the barrels instead of delivering them. The next day they see a newspaper headline saying that the hotel was involved in a huge bootlegging bust, confirming Juan’s suspicions. Juan then gives Julio and his family his car and some money and tells them to escape to Mexico for a few months. He tells his nephews to walk back home, to not be scared, and then he leaves for Mexico himself. Back at the house a bunch of lawmen show up looking for Juan’s distillery. They tear the home apart but find nothing.

Both Lupe’s family and Juan head south; Lupe’s family to find work, Juan to escape trouble. For a night, they both end up in Brawley, where Juan sells his truck and a barrel of whiskey to a gas station attendant who agrees to drive him across the border. Just before he pulls away from the gas station, Juan thinks he sees Lupe, but his situation is too precarious and he doesn’t have time to find out. Safe in Mexico, Juan heads to Chinatown, hoping to cash in on some favors owed to him. In the meantime, Lupe’s family and Doña Manza’s family reunite and decide to travel to the coast together. Lupe reveals to Manuelita that Mark has proposed to her but that she isn’t sure what to say. Back in Mexico, Juan grows restless with no way of finding out what is going on back home, so he makes his way to California, hoping to talk to Archie. He disguises himself as a poor worker and heads for the pool hall. He sees Lupe, Victoriano, and Archie but is too scared to approach any of them. He instead goes to Consuelo, who tells him the town is dry and that they need his help. She also warns him that Archie might not be on his side anymore. She directs him to a garage where he can find a truck.

When he arrives, it is Kenny from the rock quarry who is running the business. He tells Juan he quit working at the rock quarry after Juan was fired. This makes Juan feel like he can trust Kenny, so he tells Kenny to call him Salvador from now on and asks if he can help him with a truck the next day. Kenny says yes and agrees to show up with a truck, all dressed up as directed. When he gets there, the newly minted Salvador is dressed like a woman and ready to go. Salvador first has Kenny bring him to his mother’s church. Once she realizes the woman in the pew is her son, they leave together and talk in the mountains. She tells him about being harassed by the law, and he tells her about his love for Lupe. She tells him that to know if Lupe is the right woman for him, he needs to meet Lupe’s mother. They head to the place where Salvador hid the barrels of liquor only to find that Julio stole several of them. Salvador believes this is Geneva’s doing and is angry that his friend “double-crossed” him (310).

In the fields at work one day, Lupe brings her father to get a cup of water before the designated time for rest. The foreman yells at Lupe and fires her father. As he is yelling at them, Salvador appears out of nowhere and beats him up. Lupe says thank you but also says that Salvador “didn’t have to hit him so hard” (311). Several people come up to thank and admire Salvador, but when their boss pulls up, the workers disperse, causing Salvador to become disgusted with their lack of pride. He pulls the foreman aside and starts forcing him to chug alcohol. The boss arrives and Salvador makes it look like the foreman is at fault, so the boss fires him and moves on. Lupe’s father is very impressed and offers to formally introduce Salvador to Carlota and Lupe. Victoriano explains he already knows and likes him based on their time together during the Cinco de Mayo celebration. Lupe can’t decide if this is the same man whom she felt staring at her from the poolhall, but then she quickly decides he looks too “kind” to be the same person (313). After they leave the fields that day Carlota lays into Lupe for flirting with Salvador. She tries to tell Doña Guadalupe that Lupe is getting mixed up with the wrong man, but Lupe defends herself. Her mother can tell Lupe is lying about something, so when Salvador shows up later in a new car, she is on the offense immediately, hiding Lupe and asking him a million questions. She has Doña Manza show up as well to help her intimidate him. They tell him that alcohol and gambling are not allowed in their families and that their daughters will not marry men who drink. He insists that he is a “businessman” and doesn’t partake in either activity (322).

In the back of the house, Manuelita tells a confused Lupe that the reason for all this commotion is because Salvador wants to marry her. Lupe sees that Manuelita is right, but before she can process this Carlota comes running up to tell Lupe to make tea for Salvador. She then says she is going to find Archie and ask him if Salvador is a good man or not. She runs off to find Archie, who grows angry when he hears that Salvador is back in town. He confirms her suspicions that Salvador isn’t good enough for Lupe. Carlota runs back to report that Salvador is a bootlegger on the run, but Manuelita tells Lupe not to believe her. When Lupe walks in, Salvador hits his head on a lantern. Lupe offers to get him a wet towel, and he offers to go with her. As she applies the wet towel to his face, he tells her he feels no pain when he is with her. Head full of dreams, Salvador leaves Lupe’s and heads back to Kenny’s. Once there, he is immediately overtaken by a wildly angry Archie. Archie accuses him of killing Julio and his wife, who blew up in his Dodge the day before. Salvador denies it, so Archie agrees to help him. He tells Salvador if he can guarantee him five barrels of whiskey a month, then he will guarantee a nice, quiet life for him and Lupe. Salvador leaves the next day and tries to visit his mother at church. She isn’t there so he goes to dig up some barrels for Archie instead. He asks God to help him now that he is in love and wants to settle down.

Back at the work site, many of the other female workers are jealous of Lupe because they think she is engaged to Salvador. That night, Salvador shows up and takes Victoriano, Lupe, and Carlota to the movies. In the dark, Lupe and Salvador hold hands, and both feel in love. He leaves and visits Archie to ask if it is OK to visit his mother. Archie emphatically says no, since he is currently telling officers that Salvador is dead. For him to be seen anywhere would ruin the success of this fabrication. Salvador ignores Archie’s warning and goes to visit his mother anyway. He sees her and Luisa walking to church and stops them before they go in. They tell him that they found Epitacio and his brother Domingo, and that it is safe to move back home. Salvador reveals all the intimate details of his predicament to them, not knowing that the priest is watching them the whole time. He is excited about Domingo but still angry at Epitacio. Doña Margarita insists that she be allowed to meet Lupe before any engagement takes place, saying that the opposite sex can lie to each other but it’s harder to lie to the same gender. Salvador agrees and leaves to take a bath and head over to Lupe’s.

When he gets there, he finds out that Lupe, her sister, and her friends are taking a walk at the seashore. Lupe and Salvador hold hands and walk the beach while the other girls giggle. They come back a little later than expected, inviting the ire of the mothers. They flock around Salvador and start questioning him again. Doña Guadalupe tells him that a woman should be in charge of finances, not a man. He agrees with her despite hating the idea inside. He then tells them an emotional story about his father being weak in money matters, causing his mother, who should have been in control of the money, to beg and starve. Seeing him near tears makes Doña Guadalupe reach out for him and tell him he is a good man. Shortly after, Archie finds Salvador and tells him that he is “free” (342). He goes to visit his family, to whom he relates his advances with Lupe’s family and his newfound freedom. He tells them he is going to build a new distillery, and Luisa asks if Epitacio can work for him. This enrages Salvador since he blames Epitacio for causing many of the family’s misfortunes. He tells Epitacio to get in his truck so they can go somewhere to talk. José and Pedro chase after him on foot, worried that he will kill their now quite aged father. He shoves his gun in Epitacio’s mouth and asks him to tell the truth. Epitacio begs him for his life, swearing that he did not purposely desert them. Salvador decides not to shoot him but still fires his gun to let off steam, scaring his nephews in the process. Salvador hires Epitacio to help him build a distillery.

Over time he learns to enjoy Epitacio’s company and forget the past. A few days later her returns to Lupe’s tent with flowers only to realize that they are gone. Initially he thinks it is his fault for standing up their dinner invitation, but then a neighbor explains they left to find work. He wants to apologize immediately to Lupe but can’t because he needs to begin the fermentation process or risk losing his business. Lupe and her family were very upset when Salvador didn’t show up, and Don Victor blamed Doña Guadalupe for it, saying she drove him away. Now on the road to their next destination, Lupe’s parents have all but forgotten him, and Lupe is starting to think of Mark again, although not as strongly as before.