Rain of Gold

By: Victor Villaseñor

Narrated by: Johnny Rey Diaz

Length: 30 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Rain of Gold is a true-life saga of love, family and destiny that pulses with bold vitality, sweeping from the war-ravaged Mexican mountains of Pancho Villa's revolution to the days of Prohibition in California.

It all began when Villaseñor’s maternal grandmother sat him down in their little home in the barrio of Carlsbad, California, gave him sweet bread and told him the story of their past. Of his mother Lupe, the most beautiful girl in the whole village who was only a child when Villa's men came shooting into their canyon. And of his father Juan and his family, reduced to rags and starvation as they sought refuge across the border, where they believed that endless opportunity awaited.

Lupe and Juan met and fell in love in California, but they found that the doors to the Promised Land were often closed to those from south of the border. His father was forced to take the law into his own hands, in spite of his wife's objections. With love and humor, Villaseñor shares this passionate love story that celebrates the triumph of the human spirit.

An all-American story of struggle and success, Rain of Gold focuses on three generations of Villaseñor’s kin, their spiritual and cultural roots back in Mexico, their immigration to California and overcoming poverty, prejudice and economic exploitation. It is the warm-hearted and spirited account of the wily, wary and persevering forebears of Victor Villaseñor.

©1991 Victor Edmundo Villaseñor. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"...a grand and vivid history...[Villasenor's] characters are keenly drawn.... Often I felt like a family member quietly watching from a corner stool." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Villasenor is a born storyteller, and this Latino Roots...is a gripping inspirational epic full of wild adventure, bootlegging, young love, miracles, tragedies, murder and triumph over cultural barriers." (Publishers Weekly)

"The brisk, down-to-earth prose sweeps the reader through often fantastic events in a compelling narrative. This is a big book, but one that moves swiftly. It is a story that deserves to be told, bringing to life a cultural heritage of all Americans." (The Washington Post)

Favorite Book

This book is 5 star from beginning to end. It is a must read for everyone especially those of mexican heritage.

A spellbinding, magical history

This is one of my favorite stories as it unfolds to tell the history of the impact of the Mexican Revolution on the people of Mexico. It is a story if faith, courage, strength, and tenacity. It is a story of survival.

It addresses the remarkable spirit of women as the matriarchs, teachers, and healers of their families.

It is Villasenor’s best work telling the story of his ancestors with vivid action and compassion. The story of his mother’s childhood in Mexico in La Lluvia de Oro, Mexico, and their journey to the United States, is filled with the tenderness of maternal love and the horrors of war.

Villasenor’s grandmother, Dona Margarita was a tower of strength and love. The wisdom she shared with her youngest son, Juan, is the kind of knowledge that all children should grow with in order to survive life. She was a remarkable person who survived the loss of most of her nineteen children. Her discussions with the Virgin Mother are as profound as they are funny.

I read this story fifteen years ago and was thrilled to find it in Audible. The narrator is smooth and adds the right amount of anger, jealousy, love, and hopelessness into the voices of each character.

This story is pure gold. I can’t wait to listen to it again.

Beautifully written book.

I love this book, I read it years ago and recently listened on Audible. Worth the read or listen!!

the best

Loved! Loved!!! narrator was spectacular!!! made the story come to live!! I had already read this book many years back and listening to it made me feel I was there!! Beauti story!!

Loved the whirlwind of emotions this book brought to me.

This book is a story about his family. His 2 grandmothers, 2 grandfathers, and his Mom and Dad in courtship. Not only did Victor Villaseñor manage to successfully tell us his family's life story and all the adventures they endured leading up to the marriage. He also managed to add some Hispanic history and all it's rich cultures and traditions.

this book has you feeling all sorts of emotions. A roller coaster of emotions. one minute you're sad because you feel for tragic deaths of our Hispanic people and another minute you're laughing 🤣 your head off because of the "Burro-tooting" to the church tooting from Doña Margarita 🤣.

must read book!

Amazing Book! Amazing Listen!

I have read this book many times but now that I have listened to the narrator tell the story it brought back that same joy u get after the first read. Excellent listen. I wish the sequel to this book was in audible also. Highly recommend. Made me think about my nana and Tata and all their stories they told me coming up to America from Mexico. I am the 1st born in the generation of children from the USA.

Mexican revolution love story

Really good book I've read it before But with my eye condition it's really hard to read books so this makes it very easy for me thank you

Love it

I passed this book on to my parents, Tias & cousins. It truly resonated with me.

Thank you Victor again!

I first read this book in 1994 and I was so moved and brought to tears and today I’m still moved to tears as I listened to this book. I thought of my own parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts from Mexico and all of the stories my father and mother would tell me of their childhood. I cried and cried thinking of my parents and the beautiful life they lived and gave me and my siblings. I would highly recommend this book to everyone especially those of you who love rich history of their families. Vallen con Dios- Cynthia Gandara

Loved it!!!

I read this book 20 years ago in high school and listening to it again felt like a renewal of spirit