The Tortilla Curtain

Cándido was lucky to get work after the labor exchange closed down for the day. He makes good money setting fenceposts, not knowing that he works at Delaney’s house. He is “amazed” by the Arroyo Blanco housing development, recalling the first time he saw the canyon six years ago when it was just an empty hillside. After working the potato harvest in Idaho, his friend told him he could make more money as a gardener in Los Angeles. Six of them had combined their money to buy an old Buick with bald tires that Cándido drove through the snow until the car broke down in Oregon. When the police arrived on the scene, they had made a run for it and been separated. Cándido was lost and alone, so he “made himself like a wall” (173), as his father had taught him, but the cold and the hunger wore him down all the same. In the morning, he steeled himself and knocked on a farmhouse door, looking for help. The farmer had wrapped Cándido in a blanket, fed him breakfast, and called a Spanish-speaking friend, who helped him buy a bus ticket to California. 

For a while, things were good. Then someone tipped off the immigration authorities, who raided Cándido’s apartment complex, rounding up over 100 undocumented immigrants. Lined up with the others, Cándido heard a voice in his head urging him to run. Two other young men ran with him, pursued by the immigration officers. When they reached the freeway, Cándido darted into traffic, and the other two followed him. Both were hit by cars and killed while Cándido made it safely to the other side. The guilt and trauma haunted him. For seven days, he lay by the side of the creek that ran through Topanga Canyon before he could bring himself to go home to Mexico.

Now, he reflects that life is looking up. He has work again and can provide for América and their unborn baby. He returns late to their camp. América has lit a fire but does not answer when he greets her. He sees that she is sewing in the light of the fire, repairing her torn dress. As he looks closer, he sees something different about her eyes and knows something terrible has happened. He tells her he made good money and will get more work soon, but she is still unresponsive. There are welts on her neck, and he demands to know what happened. She tells him that José Navidad robbed her but insists that that is all that happened. 

After the assault, América is plagued by a terrible burning sensation when she urinates. She wonders if it is a normal part of pregnancy but has no one she can ask. She and Cándido had snuck away at night, leaving a note for her mother, and América misses her terribly. Now that he is working, Cándido insists that América stay home from the labor exchange, so she spends long days alone with several romance novelas that Cándido found in the trash. One afternoon, lost in her boredom, she sees a coyote watching her. She imagines that she is the animal and that men are her enemy as she roams free over the canyon. 

One night, after his boss let him go when his other employee, a man with papers, recovered from illness, Cándido gets drunk on a jug of cheap red wine. As he gets drunk, his anger builds, and he demands more details of América’s assault. They have not had sex since the incident, and Cándido knows there is something she is not telling him. She refuses to talk about it, hiding in their hut and leaving him to brood by the fire. Sitting by the fire, Cándido knows he will “follow her into that hut and slap his own pain out of her” (187).

Delaney grills tofu kebabs while Jordan plays in the yard and Kyra relaxes by the pool with a glass of wine. He reflects that life had gotten “tough” for a while, between the dog’s death, the accident, and the robbery, but things are calming down again. At dinner, Kyra tells Delaney that the labor exchange has been shut down at her insistence. Delaney, who feels “no overlay of liberal-humanist guilt” for referring to the laborers as “Mexicans” (189), still feels somewhat conflicted. He thinks that even undocumented people have rights under the constitution. Still, he does not speak up to Kyra, who quickly changes the subject to her coworker’s recent engagement. 

Delaney’s mind stays on the now-defunct labor exchange, thinking of a meeting with Jack a few days ago. Jack took Delaney to another house in Arroyo Blanco owned by Dominick Flood. They were greeted by a maid dressed in a uniform and later by their host, a man sporting a Hawaiian shirt and an ankle monitor. As the evening progressed, talk turned to the robberies that had plagued Arroyo Blanco. Delaney joked that soon they would want to “to wall the whole place in like a medieval city” (194), but no one laughed. On the contrary, there was a pointed silence, and Shirley went on to detail the violent assault of a woman in Arroyo Blanco. Delaney learned that Dominick Flood was sentenced to three years of house arrest after the bank he owned was caught with some “unwise investments.” Delaney found the fate “unthinkable,” and he thought about it as talk moved to the labor exchange. One man complained that the area was “beginning to look like fucking Guadalajara” (197), and a “beaming” Dominic Flood assured the group that the problem would soon be dealt with.

Back at the dinner table, Delaney listens to Kyra talk about her coworker and wonders where the people from the labor exchange will go. He thinks about migratory species and how they battle an invading species until one group is dominant. Instead of worrying, Delaney accepts his complicity in the system and tries to enjoy himself. He suggests they see a movie after dinner, but Kyra insists she has to work. Suddenly, Kyra is distracted by something outside the back window. Delaney follows her gaze and sees a coyote inside the new fence, stalking their surviving dog. Delaney leaps up, but the coyote pounces on the dog jumps the eight-foot-tall fence, and vanishes into the night, leaving Delaney “impotent,” trapped inside.

Cándido works for five days clearing brush. On the last day, the boss is short on cash and promises to pay the following day, but Cándido never sees the man again. There is no work the next few days, and Cándido grows angry and dejected. He worries that they will have to dip into the $320 he has managed to save, taking them further from their goal of an apartment. One morning, Cándido hikes up the ravine to find the labor exchange closed and a large no-trespassing sign in its place. Candelario Pérez pulls in and tells the few assembled men that the labor exchange is over and that immigration authorities will sweep the area soon. 

Angry and frustrated, Cándido contemplates his options. He does not want to expose América to the violence of the streets, but he wonders how he can find work if they stay in the canyon. He is angry that his desire to work and support his family makes him “a criminal,” and he wonders where the “justice” is in all the excess he sees around him. As he walks, he sees a purse on a car seat. He thinks that the owner could easily replace the contents, but to Cándido, the money it contains is “the world.” He steels himself to take it but hesitates a moment too long, and the car’s owner appears. Instead of shouting or chasing him away, the woman presses a few coins into his hands, leaving Cándido more ashamed than ever.

When América hears about the closed labor camp, she feels a secret relief; now, they will be forced to leave the canyon and try their luck elsewhere. She is afraid of the city but imagines anything will be better than the sandy spit by the creek. However, Cándido has no intention of leaving yet. He thinks he can walk to Canoga Park—10 miles away—to look for work. América insists on accompanying him. They fight, but early the following day, América packs food, and they both set out, all of their money sewn into the cuff of Cándido’s trousers. At first, América’s excitement gives her energy, but soon, she begins to feel the weight of her pregnancy and the long days of inactivity in their camp. They reach Sherman Way, a town whose houses, shops, and restaurants make it “a vision of paradise” to América (213). Moving on to Canoga Park, América notices it is “pinched and meaner,” but she takes comfort in hearing Spanish and seeing people who look like her.

Cándido takes her to a Mexican restaurant, where they eat a real meal, and América cleans herself up in the bathroom. After eating, Cándido begins talking with other men. He learns that there is little work to be had and that “too many had come up from the South” (215). There is a recession, and families are starving. América sees that the other men look “hopeless,” and she feels afraid. A man approaches them as night falls, asking if they need a place to stay. He offers to cut them a deal, and Cándido leaves with him.

Chapter 5 consists of one of Delaney’s columns. He writes about coyotes, discussing their ability to adapt and the issues that arise as humans continue encroaching on their territory. While Delaney wants to live in harmony with nature, he admits that “some sort of control must be applied” if humans and coyotes are going to live in such proximity (219). He cites tragedies such as a six-month-old baby taken from her crib but notes that the coyotes are not at fault; they are just trying to survive. However, he warns that the coyotes “keep coming, breeding up to fill in the gaps, moving in where the living is easy. They are cunning, versatile, hungry, and unstoppable” (221).

The Da Ros property still is not attracting buyers, even though it has “cast a spell over Kyra” (222). After the incident with José Navidad and his friend, there have been no more signs of trespassing, but Kyra continues to worry, and she gets nervous locking the place up in the evening. Since the death of her second dog, which she refers to as perhaps “the worst” experience of her life, Kyra has begun working with Jack Jardine to build a wall around all of Arroyo Blanco. He reasons that the wall will be solid, cinder block, so the coyotes won’t be able to see through for possible prey, and all other criminals will be kept out as well. Delaney is against the wall “on principle,” claiming that they moved to Arroyo Blanco to “be close to nature” (225), but Kyra takes up the cause against his wishes.

Kyra thinks about this as she pulls into the Da Ros property. Nothing seems out of place as she surveys the house. However, when she goes around back, she sees someone has spray painted the words “pinche puta,” Spanish for “fucking whore,” across the back of the house.

Back in Arroyo Blanco, Delaney is playing paddleball by himself when he overhears Jack Jr. and a friend discussing what colleges they will attend and making crude comments about Mexican girls. He worries that Jordan will grow up to be like that and heads home wishing he had some company. On his way, he is stopped by another neighbor who introduces himself as Todd Sweet and asks Delaney to join the fight against the wall. Delaney agrees that the wall is “completely and utterly offensive” (232) but remembers the threatening car he saw driving through the streets. He tells Todd he will be in touch and continues home. 

Before he reaches his house, he notices someone slinking across a neighbor’s lawn. He confronts the man, realizing it is José Navidad, whom he recognizes from the trail. The man stands several inches taller than Delaney and is unbothered by his accusations. Delaney threatens to call the police, and José’s face turns hard. He tells Delaney that he is delivering “flies” and shoves a flyer from the homeowner’s association into his hand. Delaney is horrified with himself, “so devastated he [cannot] speak” as he watches the man walk away (235).

América waits for Cándido for an hour and a half. At first, the time passes quickly, but eventually, she starts to worry. Finally, she gets up and wanders in the direction that Cándido left, thinking she made a mistake leaving Mexico. There is no sign of him, and she returns to her former waiting place. At midnight, she starts to fall asleep but is wakened by a touch. Cándido has finally returned. There is blood on his face, and he has been robbed of all their savings. The reality of their situation slowly sinks in for América, and she “want[s] to die” (242).

Cándido is not badly hurt, but his head hurts as he contemplates their next move. América listens to his plan, “full of pity and hate” (243), devastated by the loss of the promised shower and hotel bed. They clean up in a gas station bathroom, and then Cándido leads her to a restaurant, where, to her horror, he begins digging through the garbage cans. She feels as if she will “die of shame” and tells him she will not eat the food he surfaces with. He speaks softly, telling her she must eat to maintain her strength.

Fall arrives, though it is just as hot and dry as summer, and Delaney contemplates how to tackle the season in his column. The dry winds make hiking difficult, and he opts for sitting indoors after attempting to battle the elements. The doorbell interrupts his thoughts, and he finds a foreman and a crew of Latino workers telling him they need access to his yard to build the final section of the new wall. Delaney, who never spoke up against the wall, lets them through and goes back to his office, feeling as if he is being “buried alive.”

After the graffiti at the Da Ros place, Delaney accompanies Kyra to the property every evening, a task he resents. As they drive, Kyra tells him she has a present in the back seat; it is an aluminum step ladder so Delaney can climb over the wall and be in nature whenever he likes. He thinks perhaps the wall is not so bad; it will keep criminals out of the community and the other residents out of the hills, letting Delaney have nature to himself.

On the way home, they stop for some last-minute ingredients for the elaborate Thanksgiving dinner they are hosting. As they shop, Delaney thinks that he should stop moping and enjoy himself. His life is good, and he feels better in the store, surrounded by “all the fruits of the earth gathered and packaged and displayed for their benefit” (255). As they check out, the girl informs them they will receive a free turkey with a $50 purchase. They already have a turkey at home, but Kyra graciously accepts the offer.

Cándido also feels the seasons changing and worries what he will do when the rains come. After the fiasco in Canoga Park, América is “immobilized, catatonic,” refusing to bathe, cook, or speak to Cándido. Finally, Cándido has a stroke of good luck, meeting Señor Willis, an old alcoholic who hires him for construction projects. He works for a week, making good money, and then Señor Willis vanishes. He reappears a few weeks later with more work, and Cándido finally saves nearly $500, almost enough for an apartment. A big job is coming up, but Señor Willis tells Cándido they will start on Monday, after the Thanksgiving holiday.

He goes up the ravine to buy groceries for dinner and beer to celebrate the holiday. In the checkout line, the two white men ahead of him have spent $50, and the checkout girl offers them a free turkey. The men laugh, wondering what they would possibly do with a turkey, then turn to ask Cándido if he wants the turkey. He does not understand what is happening and is shocked when the men drop the frozen bird into his arms and wish him a happy Thanksgiving. Cándido rushes back down the canyon, unable to believe his luck. América cracks her first smile in days, and they set to work building up the fire and preparing the turkey. They are filled with joy until the wind catches the fire, and the trees above them burst into flames.