Lupita Manana

“Holding the baby in one arm, rocking him to stop his crying, the widow pointed to the three younger children. ‘Pobrecitos, poor little ones.’ She sighed. ‘What will happen to them now? It is very hard for children without a father when there is little money.’

‘Sí,’ the other woman agreed with a sigh. She nodded and confided, ‘But at least Carmela will not have to pay for her husband’s funeral. His being swept into the sea has saved her money she will need. Ay de mí, the sea, at least has done that for her and her children.’” 

This conversation is happening between two neighbor women who have arrived to assist Lupita’s mother with her children and offer condolences. The inappropriate nature of these comments, while they are honest and depict the reality of a brutal situation, are painful for Lupita and her mother to hear. Lupita responds by taking the baby and telling the women they are free to go.

“As Lupita walked along, her footstep guided by the flashlights of the officers on her left and right, Salvador whispered, ‘I was proud of you down there, Lupita.’

‘I was proud of you, too, Salvador. But we must get a new bottle for our water.’”

This brief conversation occurs as US Border Patrol agents escort Lupita and Salvador back to Tijuana after their failed attempt to surreptitiously follow a coyote across the border. Each is proud of the other because of their bravery in the face of an attack by robbers in which Lupita smashed their water bottle over the head of a gringo who had hold of Salvador. Lupita’s casual remark about the bottle is practical as well as one of the rare humorous asides in the narrative.

“Every evening Lupita scanned Salvador’s face for good news. His expression began to change; his young face took on the sad look of the older men around him. He was growing thinner too, and Papá’s coat hung more loosely on him. To save money both of them were eating less. Someday soon they would not eat at all.”

After their unsuccessful attempt to cross the border, the Torres children return to the park in Tijuana and try to figure out a different way to gain access to the US. In the park, they are surrounded by many men and boys who are also trying to find a way into the US. Lupita begins to sense the futility of their efforts. She is ready to resort to begging from vacationing gringos. Salvador will physically beat her to prevent her from begging.

“Salvador reached behind his belt, took out Dorotea’s knife, and gave it to Bartolo. Then he looked down at Lupita and said in a harsh voice, ‘Give him your cross. Hurry.’

Papá’s cross! So this was Bartolo’s price! Their dearest things, things they had never once considered selling to buy food. Lupita swallowed hard as her fingers closed protectively around the cross. But Salvador had given up his knife. She must give up Papá’s cross also. Quickly she lifted the silver chain over her head, kissed the cross, and put it into Bartolo’s open hand.”

The silver cross is Lupita’s one keepsake. Surrendering it to Bartolo for helping them cross the border, while necessary, was tantamount to betraying the special bond she had with her dad. This passage is a good illustration of a practice the travelers will experience continually from Mexicans and Mexican Americans on both sides of the border: They must expect to pay something in return for every act of kindness.

“‘La migra?’ Lupita asked.

‘Si, the gringo immigration officers. They hunt all the time for people like you. They look for aliens who do not have green-card permits to work over here.’

‘They are not the border police then?’ Salvador asked.

‘No. they work everywhere, not only at the border.’

La Migra? Lupita filed the name in her memory. First Mexican robbers, then the fat coyote, then gringo robbers on the hillside, the Border Patrol, the railroad guards, and now la migra!”

When Lupita and Salvador first learned they were going to the US to work, they had no idea of the hardship entailed in simply getting to their aunt’s house. The groups Lupita lists in this quote are individuals and groups who either harass, rob, arrest, or physically harm anyone trying to cross the border illegally. The ultimate, inescapable force is la migra, “immigration.”

“‘The first week you work for me you will pay one third of what you earn to the man who makes your forged card. You will pay another third to my brother, Hector.’

‘A third to him?’ Salvador asked in astonishment.

‘Si. Would you have got work without Hector? He surely saved you from la migra. You and your sister can eat your meals here and rent a room from me in a house I own behind the motel. You will only have to pay one hundred and forty dollars a month. That’s very cheap here in the United States.’”

This conversation takes place between the travelers and Señor Rodrigo Esposito, the owner of a café where Salvador will wash dishes while Lupita works in the motel next door as a chambermaid for Esposito’s cousin Efren. While the amount of money they will be earning is far more than any salary they would receive in Mexico, they are expected to pay large shares of it to their benefactors. As unauthorized immigrants, they have no recourse to complain.

“‘[T]hat is not the way Valentin sends money to his family in Mexicali.’

‘How does he do it?’

‘He writes a letter and puts cash into the envelope. Then he seals it, registers it at the post office, and mails it.’

Lupita’s eyes grew wide as she leaned over the table to speak softly. ‘Salvador, someone could steal the money!’

‘Not if the letter is registered. Valentin’s always reaches his family. They write and tell him so.’”

Salvador explains the last of three options available to the Torres children for sending money they make in the US to their mother in Ensenada. This is an example of the way Beatty uses the complete innocence of the brother and sister as a teaching tool for readers about the sort of difficulties unauthorized immigrants face in every aspect of their lives. As Lupita learns how to negotiate the US, readers learn what migrant workers encounter.

“‘Take care, Lupita. Take care not to anger Señor Elfren or Señor Rodrigo. Do not make them displeased.’ As they left the steps, Concha went on, ‘They can call la migra whenever they want to.’

‘Why would they do that, Señorita Concha?’

Concha’s eyes bored into Lupita’s. ‘Because some other Mexican might come along willing to work for less money than you or Salvador. Perhaps they will like some other girl’s looks better. To get rid of you, all they have to do is call la migra and say they have just learned that you are not a pocha but a wetback.’”

In the same way Salvador learns a great deal about immigrant life in the US from the other dishwasher, Valentin, Lupita absorbs many lessons from a fellow chambermaid, Concha, who is a middle-aged Mexican. Though the Esposito family is tolerant and accepting of migrant workers, Concha’s warning is a wise safeguard for anyone in Lupita’s position. She realizes she must remain alert to keep her employers happy and to avoid the attention of la migra.

“‘You kids be careful. From here to Indio la migra watches the road for wetbacks like you.’

Lupita understood the word wetback. Concha had explained that it came from the wet backs of Mexicans who stealthily crossed the Rio Grande. But she and Salvador had come from Tijuana. Yet they were wetbacks to the pochos and gringos.”

Lupita’s thoughts encapsulate the layers of unthinking prejudice faced by unauthorized immigrants. Though, in Lupita’s innocent perception, crossing the US border in Tijuana was different than wading the Rio Grande in Texas, she has become aware that all unauthorized immigrants are viewed in the same light. She has come to realize as well that American citizens and Mexican Americans—pochos—also look down on immigrants. The irony is that these immigrants have experienced abuse and violence from many groups that look down on them while they have done nothing to justify their treatment or the prejudice they experience.

“The houses were small and drab, constructed of gray concrete blocks. There were no lawns, only brown dirt pockmarked with weeds. Could this be where Aunt Consuelo lived with her rich husband? Lupita asked herself in wonderment. These little houses did not appear to be places where rich people lived. Could the lady have given them wrong directions?

Worried, Lupita read the number and names on each mailbox. At last she found a black box on the right side of the street that bore the name Hermilio Ruiz in white lettering. That was Aunt Consuelo’s husband’s name, Hermilio.

They had found her!”

Every aspect of their journey held astonishing surprises for Lupita and Salvador. One of the greatest came when they finally made it to the home of their aunt, who had portrayed herself as the wife of a rich man. Soon after they meet Consuelo for the first time, she confesses to them that her husband compelled her to portray their family as wealthy in all of Consuelo’s correspondence to her sister Carmela. Telling the Torres children she had written to ask them not to come to Indio, she borrows two dollars from Salvador to buy food for her family.

“Aunt Consuelo nodded. ‘Si, la migra. I know of la migra, but it cannot touch me because I am marred to an American. What concerns me is la ayuda. These days it is la ayuda that puts food into our mouths and pays our rent.’

‘What is la ayuda?’ Salvador asked, as Lupita’s eyes closed once more.

‘The welfare. Without la ayuda we could not live. I cannot earn enough to feed us all.’” 

Here Aunt Consuelo confides in her niece and nephew that the family is destitute. While Consuelo no longer has to worry about being deported, she faces a constant struggle to find enough money to feed her family of eight with no help from her husband. Having two additional adolescent mouths to feed will make it impossible for Consuelo to provide for her family.

“‘How much rent did you pay in Colton?’ Aunt Consuelo asked.

‘One hundred forty dollars a month for the two of us.’

‘That will be all right here too.’ Aunt Consuelo smiled at her husband, who nodded at her, then looked away out the window.’”

The unexpected arrival of Lupita and Salvador causes the Ruiz family to struggle with whether to accept them into the house. Hermilio, Consuelo’s disgruntled husband, does not mince his words in saying there is no place for them in the Ruiz home. Consuelo announces as a revelation that the travelers can stay with them assuming they pay room and board. The look that passes between Consuelo and Hermilio is evidence that the two had worked out this possibility between them prior to bringing it up with the Torres children. Once again, Beatty gives an example of a cultural norm: All assistance comes at a price.

“‘How long did you go to school in Mexico? We go for twelve years.’ She made a sour face.

Twelve years! Lupita stared at her yellow plastic plate. Her cousins were lucky to be able to get so much education. Ay de mi! Even if Papá had lived, no one in her family would have enjoyed so much school.”

This conversation between the Lupita and her cousin Catarina takes place at the supper table during their first evening meal. The quote demonstrates Lupita’s understanding of the value of the education that Catarina and her siblings take for granted. Though she enjoyed school immensely, Lupita’s father made her drop out to take on odd jobs and help support their family.

“Suddenly Salvador turned his head. ‘Once Lupita wanted to become a profesora. That is why she talks of learning English when she has no need of it. Lupita likes to study. She likes books.’

While Elvio and Catarina and Aunt Consuelo chuckled, Lupita gave her brother an angry look. He didn’t need to make fun of her, even if he was unhappy.

All at once Lupita became aware of Irela Ruiz, the second oldest girl. She stood at Lupita’s elbow and plucked at her sleeve. Softly, so no one else could hear, Irela said, ‘I like my profesora.’”

This quote is a part of the same supper conversation as the previous one. Those sitting around the table are discussing whether it is necessary to be able to speak English to cope in the US. It is ironic for Salvador to say English is not necessary in that his inability to speak English is the reason la migra eventually arrests and deports him. While the older children laugh at the prospect of Lupita becoming a teacher, her cousin Irela secretly shares that she is also a lover of education. This is the first step in a deep bonding process between the two cousins.

“‘I told him [Lucio] about Captain Ortega and Dorotea, and he said that kind of thing would never happen here in the United States. He said Dorotea is a prisoner and that should not be. He said if Dorotea had any courage and if she had truly loved me, she would have run away from her father and come with us. He says that it doesn’t make any difference if the girl’s family is rich and the boy’s family is poor here. Love is all that counts.’

Stunned, Lupita leaned against the wall. ‘Lucio certain said very much to you, Salvador!’

‘Sí, he talks fast. He made friends with me right away. […] He told me that things would turn out okay for me if I listened to him.’

‘Okay?’ Lupita repeated. She was tempted to call her brother’s new friend Lucio Mañana, but that would only have made Salvador angry.”

Lupita, aware that Salvador has fallen under the sway of their cousin Lucio, is skeptical of all the promises and insights he is making. She rightly deduces that Lucio is leading her brother away from the customs and principles of their upbringing and in the process away from the Torres family. Beatty here plays with the word “mañana,” which has been the nickname somewhat derisively bestowed upon Lupita throughout her life because of her tendency to remain hopeful in the face of dire circumstances. Her thoughts here are a way of saying that she is much more in touch with reality than the big-talker Lucio.

“Aunt Consuelo turned and looked at her. ‘Let him go,’ she said softly. ‘Men are like that, Lupita. You and I go to the fields tomorrow. Come and eat now. You must make yourself strong for work. That is what your mother would want.’

‘Sí, I know that, Aunt Consuelo.” As Lupita took the plate of food her aunt handed her, she told herself that Consuelo was right. She must stay strong for the sake of Mamá and her smaller brothers and sisters and for herself too. Lupita knew what she must do. She must make a skin for herself against a world that could be so suddenly and unexpectedly cruel.” 

This exchange follows the dramatic argument between Salvador and Lupita in which he informs her that he is taking a job as a dishwasher and moving in with Lucio and his friends. In the process, Salvador shakes Lupita fiercely, then throws her on their aunt’s bed. After he is gone, Lupita remains in the bedroom through the afternoon and comes out only when she has finished crying. Though her brother is pulling away, there is a growing closeness between Lupita and her aunt.

“Lupita felt like screaming. Mamá was saving to pay the moneylender, she was working in the fields to help, and Salvador was thinking of buying a motorcycle! This is what came of his living with Lucky and the other pochos. Salvador’s thoughts were on Indio and pleasure, not on Mexico, Mamá, or his sister.”

Salvador and Lucio come to Consuelo’s house only every couple of weeks. Salvador seldom has anything to say to Lupita. The amount of money he gives her to send to their mother dwindles with each visit as Lupita takes note of his buying new clothes, smoking marijuana, and acquiring a new pocha girlfriend. To Lupita, these are signs that Lucio is a destructive influence on her brother.

“In a flash Lucky was out from under the hood, glaring at her. He hissed under his breath, ‘Get away from me! I don’t want the boss to see you pestering me. He’s a gringo; he hates wetbacks. Get lost, tonta [dummy]!’”

When the brakes go out on Fidencio’s truck, he and the migrants who ride with him pull into the garage where Lucio works. Lupita seizes this opportunity to try to break the ice with Lucio, who ignores her until she tugs on his sleeve. Stunned by his furious reaction, Lupita retreats to the other workers where Consuelo explains that pochos and immigrants are not allowed to speak to other Hispanics while they are working. While Lucio had essentially ignored Lupita prior to this event, this is the second of three occasions in which he verbally demeans her.

“She sat down beside Consuelo and, unheard by any of the others, said, ‘Muchas gracias, Aunt Consuelo, for the dress. You know that I have written several times to Mamá since I first came here?’

‘Certainly.’

Groping for the right words, Lupita said shyly, ‘Not once did I write that you and Uncle Hermilio do not get along together or that you work in the fields.’

‘Ah, that is good of you, little one. Gracias.’ Aunt Consuelo had dignity when she chose. She sighed. ‘Lupita, perhaps you will not go back to Mexico at all? Many never go back, but stay here to work and live.’”

On Three Kings Day when Consuelo gives Christmas gifts to her children, she surprises Lupita with a dress so beautiful that Lupita does not want to accept it. After she hangs it with her father’s jacket, which has symbolically taken the place of his silver cross, she goes back to her aunt yearning to find a way to express her gratitude. She does so by saying that she has kept the secret of Consuelo’s poverty and unhappy marriage from Carmela. In turn, Consuelo expresses her appreciation and opens the door for Lupita to remain with her in Indio perpetually. Beatty wants to impress upon her readers the growing affection and dependence of the two women upon one another.

“Consuelo spoke to Salvador. ‘Your sister never goes anywhere to meet anyone her own age. All she sees are the old men who harvest with us. […] Lupita has no friends her own age, not even girls like herself.’ Consuelo folded her arms and planted herself firmly in front of Salvador. ‘Look here, you are Lupita’s brother. You left my house and your sister to live with Lucky Ruiz. I think you should do something to see that Lupita also has friends, as you have.’”

When Salvador visits his aunt’s house wearing a new red jacket and cologne given to him by his new pocha girlfriend, Consuelo confronts him about his selfish behavior and guilts him into promising he will take Lupita to a Valentine’s Day dance. This reveals a new, empowered, maternal aspect to Consuelo. She also has told Lupita that she first met Hermilio at a dance. She has high hopes that Lupita can enlarge her circle of acquaintances, something that would make her more likely to stay in Indio.

“An icy, shuddering rage swept over Lupita. What did these pochos know about the trouble she and Salvador had been through? What did they care? She rose out of the oleanders, parting them with her hands. ‘I am here, Lucio, Lupita Torres, the tonta wetback.’ Lucky jumped to hear the voice behind him. He turned and Lupita went on, ‘It’s too bad Salvador had to spoil your evening by getting caught. I don’t want to stay here where you and Rafael are. Just take me to Aunt Consuelo’s right now.’”

Hiding in a hedge of oleander bushes from la migra officers who arrested Salvador at the Valentine’s Day dance, Lupita overhears the conversation between Lucio and his friend Rafael in which they matter-of-factly discuss the arrest of Salvador and wonder casually what became of his “tanto [dumb] sister.” The fierceness of her attitude brings the boys up sharply and Lucio agrees to take her home immediately to Consuelo’s house. When he tries to console her, saying Salvador is smart and will quickly return, she confronts his ignorance about crossing the border, reducing him to silence.

“‘Aunt Consuelo,’ Lupita said. ‘Salvador was caught tonight because he didn’t know any English. I must learn.’ […] Lupita kept silent, waiting for her aunt’s reply. Would Consuelo realize that Lupita wanted to learn English for another reason, one equally as important? So she could get out of the fields and find work as a waitress, earn more money, leave this house, be as lone and independent as the ear of corn on the stalk until she had enough money to go home to Mexico.”

Lupita, whose life through the entire narrative has centered on pleasing, protecting, and providing for others, here asks for something for herself for the first time. It is likely that Consuelo takes a long time to answer because she indeed recognizes that Lupita will have many more opportunities and will leave the fields and her aunt’s house when she learns to speak English. Consuelo is likely reflecting on her own decision not to learn English and the consequences of that in her own life.

“Irela flopped over onto her stomach and shone the flashlight on the book. She opened it to the first page and pointed to a brightly colored picture of a boy, a girl, and a dog. […]

‘Bueno. The muchacha is a girl. Her dress is roja. It is red.’

‘Girl. Red. Gracias, Irela.’

‘Gracias, Irela Ruiz, Profesora!’ Irela corrected.

‘Sí, Irela Ruiz, Profesora!” Lupita repeated. She caught her cousin in a hug. […]

Let the other Ruiz cousins laugh at them both. That would mean nothing to her or Irela. Both of their tomorrows were sure to be better.”

As she lies awake, wondering if her older cousins will help her learn English, Lupita is surprised by eight-year-old Irela climbing into bed with her. Irela opens a picture book and proceeds to tell Lupita the English words for the illustrations. Irela yearns to be a teacher and her cousin yearns to be taught. Lupita perceives this is the cusp of the better mañana she has always hoped for.