Themes in Rain of Gold, by Victor Villasenor Essay -- Rain of Gold Ess

Rain of Gold, is a true story about the history of Mexican people, their culture, traditions and customs that were passed down from the Euro-Indian heritage of Mexico. Rain of Gold was written by Juan Villasenor in search for his ancestral roots. The people of this story are real and not fiction. The places that are discussed are true. And the incidents did actually happen to his family. There are several underlying themes that need addressing. Such as: the importance of family, the importance of religion and spiritualism, woman as center of home and family, respect--protection of woman's virtue; ideal of women as pure, power of the woman--the mother, being a man-man as protector of the family, pride of man to be a provider, importance of traditions, respect for life, work and education/learning, death as part of life, honor, dignity, and finally discrimination and prejudice. I will be using this book as a reference and as a guide throughout this review to discuss t he themes that are stated above. "La Lluvia de Oro" that means Rain of Gold in English, was the name of a gold mine located in a box canyon in the mountains of Chihuahua. I would first like to introduce you to the Gomez family. There's Dona Guadalupe who was an unofficial adopted Yaqui child of Leonides and Rosa Camargo. Dona Guadalupe married Victor Gomez, and they had Sophia, Maria, Carlota, Victoriano, and Lupe. Lupe was conceived in 1910 when a huge meteorite hit the box canyon where her family lived. It was said that her parents thought that it was the end of the world so they prayed and made desperate love, asking God to spare them (p. 9). Lupe was referred to as the meteorite child. Next, I would like to introduce you to the Villas... ... the street. "They're dirty!" (p. 302) The lady did not know anything about Juan and she had a stereotype of what Mexican's were. This happens to many people. People are ignorant and don't watch what they are saying. This type of behavior leads to discrimination, prejudice and racism. I really enjoyed all of the characters and this book tremendously. Both Lupe's and Juan's mother were very strong and God fearing women. They had a very strong bind between their children who were taught values and morals. This book made me want to know my ancestral routes and learn more about my culture. Since this book was a true story about Victor Villasenor's family, it made the stories even more real. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves to read. Bibliography Villasenor, Victor. Rain of Gold. Arte Publico Press, 1991.