Arquivo

Martin lives with his family in a poverty-stricken village in Mexico. He has, since the age of seven, worked with his step-father with whom he is in conflict, particularly after his younger brother dies in an accident. When he is 17, he leaves in search of his father in Mexico City, where he survives as well as he can. He has news of the family and returns home to find his mother now deranged through sadness and neglect. Martin accidentally kills his step-father. He then consigns his mother to a hospital and his other brother, Beto, to an orphanage. He leaves for California with the promise he will one day return to help his family. Beto, now an adult, is the narrator, registering the facts.