Summary

Part Two is titled, “Dead Man’s Sign.” Chapter 2, “In Veracruz,” takes the reader to the eastern state of Veracruz, bordering the Gulf of Mexico. The author describes the economy of Veracruz, which is centered around export to the United States: “You’d think that at least there would be beans to eat, but the Mexican bean-growing industrial farms sold much of their crop to the United States” (45). Urrea also describes how the Veracruzano culture is changing in response to American remittance money: “Men came home from the United States in cars… They had their trunks and back seats full of old TVs, radios, clothes, and toys” (46).

Urrea introduces Don Moi Garcia, a recruiter who agrees to send the Bautista boys northward. To keep costs down, Don Moi suggests that they cross through the desert: “you can save some money, if you...