Antonio's Gun & Delfino's Dream

By Richard Castañeda

Sam Quinones has great storytelling abilities which bring to life the stories he recounts in this book. Stories that other newspapers might find insignificant paint a picture of a culture that struggles to assimilate itself in a new society while remaining true to its roots.

The most compelling story in this collection is the lengthy "A Soccer Season in Southwest Kansas." The conflict between achieving a higher education while supporting the family monetarily. Poorer families value labor over education. It's sad to see these ideals still exist. This chapter resonated the most within me because my parents always made examples of their journey to this country, much in the same way that Delfino came to the U.S.

My parents came here illegally and within twenty years, became U.S. citizens who proudly vote speak English and contribute to this society. They always taught me that their hard work will be paid off when I graduate from CSUN.

It's baffling to see why families would want to keep their children working menial jobs that neither progress their financial situation or their social standing.

It's humbling to see that the perception of hard work will eventually reward them, but also, its important to note that without education, we're nothing.

When I read this chapter on Kansas, I came to the conclusion that the reason Latinos struggle in this country is because we mismanage our priorities. Success shouldn't be measured in money, rather it should be intelligence.

The chapter repeated that anyone could perform those odd jobs at the meat packing plants. It's fine to pursue a job like that to get on your feet, much like the Vietnamese did, but to get comfortable and earn enough money to build a house back in Mexico isn't enough of a reason to risk your life to come to the U.S. to earn a quick buck.

For this reason, I also enjoyed the "Atolinga" chapter because those stories of triumph and success should be told often. Immigrants went from nobodies in Chicago to creating a restaurant empire. That's inspiring.

Whatever the purpose Quinones had in compiling the book in the manner he did, I like the fact that the different stories he presented all showed different people and their individual perceptions of success in the U.S.

For one, becoming an elected official was success. For another, it was building a restaurant. For another, it was playing in a winning soccer team. There are so many people with different paths towards success and I think this book does a great job at presenting that notion.

I really enjoy the style Quinones uses because this is another one of those page-turner books. Not quite as exciting as "Enrique's Journey," but to learn of another person's struggle to earn a buck is enough of a reason to keep flipping to the next page.