This movie is about the life of a Mexican man named Pedro J. Gonzalez, who with the company of his wife Maria lived in California in 1928. They moved to California because they thought life would be easier than Mexico. When they moved to California, they lived with his cousin Hector. Gonzalez was looking for a job at a radio station. It was difficult to get a job because the radio station’s manager didn’t allow him to speak in Spanish, even though Gonzalez was bilingual. Gonzalez came with an idea. He told the manager that it would be good if Gonzalez would speak, sing, and announce the commercials in Spanish, because there were a lot of Spanish speakers in California. Gonzalez was getting popular, and he was part of the group called Los Madrugadores (“The Early Risers”). This show was transmitted at dawn, so the working class Mexican-American could listen to the show. Los Madrugadores sang Mexican folkloric songs. Gonzalez announced some commercials in Spanish, and he was in favor of social justice for Spanish speakers. After his success, he and his wife moved to a house that they could afford, and they lived alone. His show was popular. He went to parties where he met famous and powerful people. He helped some political people with the Spanish community; they won their campaigns. Things went wrong, and Gonzalez was accused of rape against an underage girl named Linda. She was the queen of the fiestas patrias and her family was powerful. Gonzalez’s fans, friends, and his wife never turned their backs on him. Gonzalez’s lawyer fought for his innocence, but he was found guilty and was sent to prison. He didn’t have to go to prison if he had signed the probation papers, but he didn’t sign the papers because he was innocent. Years later, Linda told the truth and said that it was a political trap against Gonzalez. After six years in prison, he was freed and sent back to Mexico.

       I believe today, we still have these kinds of problems. Sometimes guilty people are put in prison and years later we know that they are innocent. It must feel horrible to be in prison, especially when the person is innocent. It is difficult to be separated from family, and friends, and sometimes they turn their backs on the person.