Burro Genius

Content Warning: This section discusses racism, abuse, and alcohol use disorder.

After their new ranch was built, Villaseñor’s family threw a big Mexican celebration with both American and Mexican guests that lasted three days. Villaseñor recalls director John Ford coming up to the ranch and talking to his father, thinking that he was a worker. Ford mentioned rumors about the owner being a bootlegger; Villaseñor’s father did not reveal his identity and gave Ford a tour of the ranch.

Villaseñor recalls slaughtering a steer with his father, who explained the “proper way to kill” with “patience and understanding” (153), following the Yaqui tradition. He remembers his sadness on this occasion, as his brother Joseph was ill and confined to his room. Their doctor insisted that his pains were not serious. Joseph asked Villaseñor to promise that he would always “honor” their parents if anything happened to him.

Later, Villaseñor met one of the Mexican guests who called his father “the king.” He said that Villaseñor’s father Juan once had killed a man, and had castrated another, cooked his testicles, and made him eat them. Villaseñor was shocked. He then recalled an incident from their old neighborhood. He remembered his mother running with him and his siblings outside the house while their father was inside fussing and yelling that he loved his family.