Rain of Gold

A 10-year-old Lupe notices a large figure advancing toward her and her pet deer. Together they sprint into the now deserted and overgrown town to warn her family. On the way, Lupe passes Rose-Mary disobeying her mother. When Lupe mentions the approaching figure, Rose-Mary worries it is the devil. The town has relied on superstition since the Americans left the area, so this idea seems quite plausible to Lupe. Back at her house, Lupe’s family watches from atop a boulder, trying to discern what the figure could be. While they are up there, it is clear that Victoriano has developed feelings for Socorro, who hopes the figure is one of her brothers come to bring her back home. They quickly realize that it is not Socorro’s relative but their father returning with a large load on his back. The load is full of presents, and all of the daughters except Lupe jump for joy. Lupe instead goes into the house where her mother is brushing her hair. Doña Guadalupe tells Lupe she wants to be alone, but Lupe refuses to leave her side. After being ambushed with hugs by his three older daughters, their father, Don Victor, approaches a reticent Victoriano. He hugs and compliments Victoriano, but Victoriano isn’t sure how to act, especially since he wants to look good in front of Socorro. Lupe comes out on the porch and announces her mother is not coming out. She then refuses her father’s advances. Don Victor looks upset but says he understands why Lupe and her mother are not so happy to greet him. As he points out, Lupe barely even knows him.

Later that evening Don Victor lays out all the beautiful fabrics and delicious foods he brought back for them to go through on the porch. As they are admiring his finds, a heavily made-up Doña Guadalupe enters the room, commanding everyone’s attention. Don Victor approaches her, and she gives in to his embrace. Everyone then gathers around Don Victor to listen to his adventures and to help him relax after his long journey. Lupe feels anxious every time she sees her mother and father touch, and just when she thought she could not be more embarrassed, her father announces that he bought them all brand-new pink underwear. This taboo topic gets everyone laughing and blushing, including Sophia’s fiancé, Don Tiburcio, who happens to walk in as this particular gift is being given. As the night extends, Don Victor becomes quite drunk and insults Don Tiburcio. At this, Doña Guadalupe explains how Don Tiburcio is the sole reason the family has survived in Don Victor’s absence. Don Victor continues to make drunken gaffes that reflect his ignorance, but he somehow manages to keep everyone laughing, lightening the impact of his mistakes. That night Lupe listens as her parents loudly have sex.

The next morning her sisters cook their parents breakfast. Lupe is bewildered that they are not more disturbed by the “terrible sounds” their parents made the night before (154). After breakfast Doña Guadalupe announces that they plan to immigrate to America to wait out the Mexican Revolution, a war that Lupe and her siblings had thought was over. Lupe feels sad because she has spent her whole life in this canyon, and she doesn’t like how her once “powerful” mother now appears feeble beside her husband (156). Not too long after, Sophia and Don Tiburcio have their long-belated wedding. The village gathers what little resources it has to make it “the biggest celebration that they’d had in years” (156). Angelina, the midwife, shows up drunk and starts making vulgar comments, angering Doña Guadalupe, but her daughters convince her to let Angelina stay. There is a slight hiccup when the former mayor, Don Manuel, doesn’t show up to perform the ceremony. Don Tiburcio calls for him at his house, and much to their surprise a decrepit and crippled version of the former mayor comes out. Barely able to hold himself up, Don Manuel has trouble performing the ceremony. Don Victor then hands him a glass of what appears to be water but is actually straight tequila. Don Manuel, who had never drunk alcohol before, suddenly gains enthusiasm and performs the ceremony with much more liveliness.

After a night of music and drinking, Sophia and Don Tiburcio ride off into the mountains for their honeymoon, leaving their loving family behind. Don Victor then ropes everyone into searching for gold in the waste from the American mines. They all pitch in and find some gold, but the yield is minimal in comparison to their effort. Don Victor assures them that if they continue to work steadily, they will have enough gold to legally travel to the United States in a year. One day while they are working, Lupe’s deer is almost attacked by some dogs. Her father pulls her aside that night and tells her that she needs to let her deer go because the deer is not safe in town, and she is not safe with the deer now that he is older. Lupe is infuriated and runs away, telling him, “You left us! You have no right to tell me what to do!” (162).

Carlota and Don Victor head to town to look for work accompanied by Don Tiburcio, Socorro, and her twins. Carlota cakes a bunch of makeup on and puts on her best dress. Despite being told she is going to travel through jungle for five days, she refuses to change because she wants to make the other girls in town jealous. Lupe refuses to acknowledge her father as he leaves, but Doña Guadalupe yanks her ear and forces her to hug him. Victoriano then walks with them, escorting Socorro as far as the edge of town and kissing her goodbye. That night Lupe tries to avoid her mother, but her mom forces her to talk to her anyway. She tells Lupe she needs to get rid of her deer. Lupe asks her mother if she loves her father, and when Doña Guadalupe says yes, Lupe is surprised that her mother loves someone who is notorious for “gambling and drinking” (166).

The next day Victoriano and Lupe lead her deer to where they buried the colonel’s jacket and let him go. He looks back longingly at Lupe but in the end runs off with his newfound herd. Lupe then goes to live with Sophia and her mother-in-law; since Don Tiburcio’s mom is ill and Sophia is pregnant, they could use the extra help. One day Lupe overhears María and her boyfriend, Esabel, talking in the bushes. María insists that he “steal” her, a behavior that Lupe finds repulsive (167). She runs off to tell their mother but trips and gives her position away. María catches her and tells her not to say anything. When Lupe refuses, María suggests she ask Sophia what she thinks about her proposal to Esabel. Lupe is sure that Sophia is “decent” and will oppose this act, but Sophia tells Lupe that times have changed and they all have to do whatever it takes to secure a safe lifestyle (167). That night Esabel and María make a huge ruckus running away together. It doesn’t matter, however, because Doña Guadalupe knew what was going on all along. She hushes Lupe and lets them leave thinking they have fooled her. Then Victoriano comes in and Lupe realizes they both knew what María was planning. Doña Guadalupe explains to Lupe that because of the threat of rape, she is happy to have her daughters protected by men she knows and approves of. Lupe realizes she is now the most likely to become a victim of rape, which makes her wish “that she had never been born a woman” (170).

Manuelita and Lupe begin giving reading lessons to two curious Indian girls. One day when they are playing with the two girls, Don Victor, Don Tiburcio, and Carlota return. They return with gifts and hugs, and the whole town greets them. They report that Socorro left “with some people to the coast,” which causes Victoriano to cry in his father’s arms (171). María then tells her father she is pregnant with Esabel’s child, and he gives them his blessing. Don Victor and Carlota set out again shortly after, leaving Don Tiburcio behind so that he can be with Sophia when she gives birth. Shortly after their departure, Sophia goes into labor. Don Tiburcio begs to help, but Doña Guadalupe makes him leave because he is a man. Sophia is vicious to those around her because of her intense pain. Lupe is disturbed, but her mother and Angelina do not seem surprised at all, and they take Sophia’s hateful remarks in stride. Don Tiburcio and Victoriano smoke outside while they wait out the screaming. Lupe comes out holding Don Tiburcio’s new son and hands the baby to him. He asks if Sophia is OK and then sighs “with relief” (173).

Weeks pass and Lupe and Manuelita’s reading class has expanded to include a few more kids and Ojos Puros. They are all talking with Victoriano on the ramada one day during a storm when suddenly some bandits appear in their doorway. The children run, and Victoriano stays to fight. He is almost killed, but Ojos Puros saves him. Lupe is pursued by two of the bandits and finds herself finally cornered at the waterfall. Before she has to abandon herself to the water (Lupe cannot swim), Don Tiburcio arrives and kills one of the men. She runs for cover, finding a small but safe spot where one of the Indian children is hiding. They stay together for hours before Lupe sets off for Sophia’s. When she arrives there, she watches Don Tiburcio die in Sophia’s arms.

Despite Don Tiburcio’s dying wish that Sophia clean the fireplace and leave the canyon the same night he died, it is not until much later, when Sophia is chasing a snake out of the fireplace, that she finds the gold he left her there. Sophia tries to share her spoils with her family, since all of their gold was stolen by the bandits, but they refuse and insist the money is meant for Sophia and her child, Diego, to escape, not for them. Sophia leaves to cross the border with their blessing. Shortly after, Lupe and Manuelita find gold buried in the plaza. Both families go to work and end up uncovering more gold than they can process. To solve this dilemma, Victoriano figures out that using horns as funnels speeds up the process immensely. Then the rainy season begins, slowing down their progress and rendering them virtually starving. Some families try to escape the canyon but end up drowning, weighed down by the weight of their gold.

One day Lupe smells meat cooking and tries to find the source. When she does, she is disturbed to find some hungry neighbors are cooking her pet deer. Later that same day she sees her father approaching the canyon alone. She runs to him, and he explains that Sophia’s ship went down and that he feels guilty because he had advised her to take the ship, not the train. He collapses after admitting this and must be tended to all night by Angelina and the remaining family. As they tend Don Victor, Ojos Puros tries to convince the family to give up their gold. He tells them “[g]old is evil” and that they will continue to suffer as long as they possess it (183).

The next morning Lupe wakes up to realize her mother is missing. She searches for her all day, finally finding her by an old oak tree. Doña Guadalupe beckons Lupe to her side and explains that his is her “crying tree,” a tree she goes to when she is sad. She tells Lupe that after spending the day with the tree, she believes Sophia is not dead and that there is no practical reason why they should give up the gold they worked so hard for. This gives Lupe confidence in their future, and together they return to their home where Doña Guadalupe chases Ojos Puros and his superstitious Indians away. They decide to leave the canyon a few days later with Doña Manza and her family. Lupe shares a tearful goodbye with Manuelita, but they promise to try and see each other again. The next day the family sets out slowly and sadly for the border. As they walk, Lupe gets her period and is confused because Doña Guadalupe never told her it was coming. The family explains it to her and then continue on their way until they find a safe place to sleep for the night. Lupe falls asleep knowing her whole life is about to change.