Young Baca finds a hiding place to shelter him from the continual arguing and violence brought on by his father’s drinking. When he is six, an incident occurs that he believes may play a role in the family discord. As he hides in his secret crawl space, he sees a stranger enter the shack. When Jimmy’s mother joins the man in the bedroom, the stranger makes love to her and tells her that he loves her. Jimmy never reveals the incident to his father, fearing further violence will occur.

Cecilia, Jimmy’s mother, is the youngest of eight children. She is “the youngest and prettiest”, according to her son, so she is not made to work as hard as her older siblings (9).As a young woman, Cecilia longs for a life filled with material things, and she apparently believes Damacio Baca can provide the kind of life she wants. When Cecilia becomes pregnant, the couple marries and drops out of high school. Cecilia’s parents oppose the marriage, but they provide a home called “La Casita” to allow the young couple to live next door.

Damacio Baca travels for work when the first two Baca children are born, but the work dries up, along with the family’s income.