Rain of Gold
Encyclopedia
Rain of Gold is Victor Villaseñor
's 1991 book, a New York Times bestseller, which tells the story of his own parents who were undocumented immigrants from Mexico. Two families escaping from the Mexican Revolution
to the relative safety of the United States have parallel experiences centered around their mothers' strength. It is about 562 pages long and is available in Spanish as Lluvia de Oro. (ISBN 0-385-31516-3)
Victor Gomez - father
Sophia - sister
Maria - sister
Carlota - sister
Victoriano - brother
and ultimately the brazen Doña Guadalupe manages to protect her daughters and son without incident. Eventually Lupe encounters a man she simply calls "my colonel", a charismatic and romantic figure that Lupe seemingly falls in love with. For much of the beginning of the first chapter of the story she compares the things she enjoys in life to the Colonel, unaware of the fact that he is married to another woman and is nearly two decades older than she is. Swayed by the religious devotion of the Gomez family, the Colonel has them look after his young wife, Socorro who is pregnant with a child. While away on an escort mission of mined gold the Colonel is attacked and killed, Subsequently the rebel fighters who slay him return to the box canyon and dominate the residents. They are a suspicious group and accuse Lupe's brother Victoriano of stealing gold from the mine and they try to hang him as an example to others. He is saved by his mother who hands him a gun after she told the rebels that she was giving him his last prayer, but before Victoriano is able to escape, he shoots and kills La Liebre, the leader, who was attempting to kill Guadalupe. Afterwards, La Liebre's second in command orders Guadalupe to be hanged, but is stopped by the town's people gathering in a mob to stop them.
Shortly after the violence the towns people start to leave the city en masse to escape the violence of the Mexican revolution.
Espirito (a Mexican Indian) "...followed a doe and her fawn in search for water" because the spring in their (him and his tribe) land had dried up. He eventually discovers a hidden spring. Some time after, a particularly harsh winter forced Espirito to go in search for food and supplies for his tribe. He eventually finds a store in a settlement near El Rio Urique. Espirito wanders into the store and talks to the store owner,
Don Carlos Barrios, and wants to trade the water of the spring which he found for food and supplies. However, Don Carlos laughs at the idea, because the store is in a settlement next to a river. Don Carlos asks Espirito if he has anything else to trade, but Espirito with great disappointment replies "All I have are these little stones and this ground water". Don Carlos does a double take and notices that those "little stones" are in fact gold nuggets, he then desperately chases down Espirito who was already headed out the door. Espirito is pleasantly surprised that Don Carlos suddenly wants to trade food and supplies for all his stones (golden nuggets). Espirito quickly trades, because he thinks that Don Carlos has lost it but might change his mind - Espirito does not know he has gold nuggets and assumes that they are nothing more than interesting looking and worthless stones.
Victor Villaseñor
Victor Villaseñor is an acclaimed Mexican-American writer, best known for the New York Times bestseller novel Rain of Gold. Villaseñor's works are often taught in American schools. He went on to write Thirteen Senses: A Memoir , a continuation of Rain of Gold. His book Burro Genius: A Memoir ...
's 1991 book, a New York Times bestseller, which tells the story of his own parents who were undocumented immigrants from Mexico. Two families escaping from the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
to the relative safety of the United States have parallel experiences centered around their mothers' strength. It is about 562 pages long and is available in Spanish as Lluvia de Oro. (ISBN 0-385-31516-3)
Main characters
- Lupe Gomez:
- Lupe is a good looking girl who has strong convictions towards her family and God. She is rather tall for a Mexican girl, she has long beautiful black hair and beautiful fair skin. Her beauty increases as she gets older and attracts many suitors. However, her timid and shy nature deters her from pursuing any of those relationships. Eventually a white (AngloAngloAnglo is a prefix indicating a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and...
) boy proposes to her, but she is not as infatuated with him as he is with her. During the time she takes to decide what to do, she runs into Salvador Villaseñor and realizes she has found her true love.
- Doña Guadalupe Gomez
- Don Victor Gomez
- Victoriano Gomez
- Carlota Gomez
- Sophia Gomez
- Maria Gomez
- Juan Salvador Villaseñor Castro
- Doña Margarita Silveria
- Domingo Villasenor
- Luisa
- Emilia
- Epitacio
Secondary characters
- Don Benito
- Colonel Manuel Maytorena
- Socorro
- Don Manuel
- Rose-Mary
- La Liebre
- Don Tiburcio
- Señor Jones
- Duel
- Deputy Sheriff Archie Freeman
- Mario
- Mark
- Jose and Pedro
Settings
- La Lluvia de Oro, Urique Chihuahua, Mexico (Lupe's Village in Mexico)
- Los Altos de Jalisco, Jalisco, Mexico (Juan's Village in Mexico)
- Carlsbad, California
- Corona, California
Lupe's family
Guadalupe - motherVictor Gomez - father
Sophia - sister
Maria - sister
Carlota - sister
Victoriano - brother
Plot
The novel begins with the main character, Lupe Gomez, as a young and overall naive girl, who lives with her mother, Doña Guadalupe and her other sisters and brother in a ramada in the "Rain of Gold" valley. The family makes a living by selling breakfast to the local miners and washing their clothes. There is a group of colorful miners and most of them have problems with drinking and gambling. The village suffers repeated raids by various factions of the Mexican RevolutionMexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
and ultimately the brazen Doña Guadalupe manages to protect her daughters and son without incident. Eventually Lupe encounters a man she simply calls "my colonel", a charismatic and romantic figure that Lupe seemingly falls in love with. For much of the beginning of the first chapter of the story she compares the things she enjoys in life to the Colonel, unaware of the fact that he is married to another woman and is nearly two decades older than she is. Swayed by the religious devotion of the Gomez family, the Colonel has them look after his young wife, Socorro who is pregnant with a child. While away on an escort mission of mined gold the Colonel is attacked and killed, Subsequently the rebel fighters who slay him return to the box canyon and dominate the residents. They are a suspicious group and accuse Lupe's brother Victoriano of stealing gold from the mine and they try to hang him as an example to others. He is saved by his mother who hands him a gun after she told the rebels that she was giving him his last prayer, but before Victoriano is able to escape, he shoots and kills La Liebre, the leader, who was attempting to kill Guadalupe. Afterwards, La Liebre's second in command orders Guadalupe to be hanged, but is stopped by the town's people gathering in a mob to stop them.
Shortly after the violence the towns people start to leave the city en masse to escape the violence of the Mexican revolution.
Pre-chapter
Don Carlos Barrios, and wants to trade the water of the spring which he found for food and supplies. However, Don Carlos laughs at the idea, because the store is in a settlement next to a river. Don Carlos asks Espirito if he has anything else to trade, but Espirito with great disappointment replies "All I have are these little stones and this ground water". Don Carlos does a double take and notices that those "little stones" are in fact gold nuggets, he then desperately chases down Espirito who was already headed out the door. Espirito is pleasantly surprised that Don Carlos suddenly wants to trade food and supplies for all his stones (golden nuggets). Espirito quickly trades, because he thinks that Don Carlos has lost it but might change his mind - Espirito does not know he has gold nuggets and assumes that they are nothing more than interesting looking and worthless stones.