Part 1, Section 1, "My name is Ixca..." Summary

The book opens with Ixca Cienfuegos, a citizen of Mexico City, speaking about his country's difficulties. A noble land unlike any other, Mexico nonetheless cannot shake of its lethargy, its poverty and its envy of Europe. He urges the city, an "eagle without wings" to join together and raise itself up again, and to find a place where 'the air is clear'.

A quick portrait of an aging prostitute, Gladys Garcia, shows the woman waking up in a wet street after a long night of work. From her eyes the refuse-filled street is described, with its neon ads, dead dogs, sleeping children, bikes, and cabbies. She has been on the streets since age thirteen, and hasn't seen her family since she left home. Passing a glamorous couple taking a car to...