What happened to Luis parents, himself and the children as they moved around?

Luis had a difficult childhood and his parents always struggled to find work. Luis has a hard time adapting to the American society and the kids in school used to make fun of him. What is more, Luis was also bullied by his own brother, Rano, who used to take his anger on Luis. Maria is often sick but she still has to work as a maid to help sustain her family financially.

The family moves from one place to another and while Alfonso finds for a brief time work as a teacher, he is fired because his students cannot understand him and because he dared to propose new teaching methods. Marie decides to take her children back to Mexico. She does not do this however as she realizes that she will not be able to find work good enough to sustain her children so the family decides to stay in America after all. Afterward, yhe family moved into a poor neighborhood in Los Angeles characterized by violence and gang related activities. In the same year when Luis moves into the community, one of his close friends dies while trying to run from the police so Luis decides to join a gang. The gang leader claims that the gang members must protect one another and Luis feels as if the gang became his family.

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