Don Aureliano Mora waits three years for justice after his son, a World War II veteran, is murdered by a Belken County Deputy Sheriff. When the Anglo gets away with murder, Don Aureliano takes matters—in the shape of a crowbar—into his own hands, pulverizing the plaque in old Klail City Park that honors the town’s World War II vets.
The younger generation has to fight for equality, too. The Texas Mexican boys playing high school football in Klail City didn’t get letter jackets, even though all of their Anglo peers did. And when the Mexican boys weren’t interested in hustling for the ball the following year, the school board came up with enough money for all the eligible players to get letter jackets. In the end it didn’t really matter; several of the Mexican boys died in the Korean War. But life goes on in Klail City. The rains come and go, crops are raised and people are buried.
Bilingual edition