WETBACK

The title refers to the Mexican who illegally enters the U.S.A. and who pays the penalty in being cheated and handicapped. Dionisic Molina had neither money nor papers to permit him to achieve the land of his dreams, so he worked across the Rio Grande and lived in his fatherland. In his determination and industry, he managed to put his observation to good effect and worked his way up. Partner to a cattle smuggler, he was able to raise Angora goats, to become an accepted member of a Texas community, until discovery of his partner's crookedness brought the law upon them. And Dionisio too went to jail. The friends he had made, the reputation he had built, made possible his return to Mexico, where he fulfilled the requirements of legal entry. Mexican rugged individualism against pyramided dangers as a springboard for discussion of the threats to attainment of citizenship. The story seems contrived though the topic is a live one. Not too wide an audience for this.