Rain Of Gold: The Hispanic Roots

Rain Of Gold is an epic saga tracing the history of the author's family from the struggles of Mexico to their exodus to the United States.
In a talk Victor Villasenor gave recently that I attended, he explained that Rain of Gold is really the first part of a trilogy. Rain of Gold, although it talks about both the author's mother's side of the family as well as his father's, really is intended to tell his mother's story. The second in the trilogy is entitled Wild Steps Of Heaven and that one tells his father's unique story. The third one, the author admits, is not written yet but will be truly autobiographical and focus on Victor Villasenor's own life.
Mr. Villasenor, illiterate well into adulthood, decided to teach himself how to read. Later he taught himself to write and decided he would be a writer to give himself and his people a voice.
Rain of Gold is an excellent novel, especially if one wants to learn about Hispanic culture and the migrant experience. It also gives us an interesting look at the Mexican Revolution of 1910. It is the first book I have read that looks at the Revolution in a novel form. It is quite a different account than you might find in any textbook. It describes in full emotional detail the toll the revolution took on the people of Mexico and gives us great insight to the first wave of immigrants from Mexico into this country at the beginning of this century.
Another very interesting aspect of this book is the fact that Mr. Villasenor decided to leave several stories in that one might find quite hard to believe. I won't give any away here but I am sure you will find them quite fantastic. Interestingly enough, Mr. Villasenor states that when he first heard these stories from his family he didn't believe them either. But when he travelled to Mexico to conduct research on his family and for his book everyone told him these same stories. I don't think he believes them to this day, but he says the point is not whether they are true but whether people believe they are true.
Rain Of Gold is an excellent book if you are looking for a counterpart to Alex Haley's Roots but from a Hispanic perspective. It is good reading for the Hispanic looking for a book about his/her own culture. It is equally important for someone looking to get a snapshot of the Hispanic community and a bit of their history. But most importantly, it is great if you like just a good old fashioned story.