The Tattooed Soldier

Antonio is a Guatemalan immigrant who lives in Los Angeles. As a student, he was relatively moderate but served on a radical student journal. He fell in love with and married a fellow student named Elena, who was very passionate about social reform. Although Antonio was not as radical was Elena, she was drawn to his kind-hearted, honest, and respectful nature. The assassination of Elena and their son Carlitos forced Antonio to flee to the United States. Despite his education and affluent background, his inability to thrive in Los Angeles leads to temporary homelessness. While homeless, he discovers that his wife and son’s killer is also living in LA, and he sets out to gain revenge.

Originally an ambitious, practical, and reserved young man, Antonio becomes depressive, impulsive, and prone to aggressive outbursts due to his trauma, which includes the loss of his family, his home country, his new apartment in LA, and his dreams of establishing a better life in America. In this way Antonio’s character demonstrates the corrosive effect that trauma, whether borne of grief or poverty, can have on a person’s soul. He also exemplifies the challenges that confront immigrants who come to the United States.