In the second story a Mexican student goes to medical school in New York state, where he finds that people there know nothing about the conditions in Mexico, but feel ready to make judgments.
[3] The stories are: La capitalina The protagonist, Michelina, is a young woman who grew up in Mexico City and is the daughter of a very old Mexican family.
There is also some problematization of expected gender roles and familial relationships... Michelina frequently reflects on female purity and subtlety (most prominently exemplified in her fixation on old-fashioned clothing, especially the crinoline, and on Mexico's historical connection to Catholicism and especially nuns), but she is also a confident and strong woman.
The theme of money and how to use it touches Juan personally since his father was a rare honest lawyer and his mother always resented him for not using bribes to make the family rich.
Juan goes to live with an American Republican family, the Wingates, who are huge fans of Reagan and his policies of interference in Central America.
He starts sexually desiring fat white women, but doesn’t know how to approach them, so instead he goes to an American restaurant (link between food and sex).
Dionisio takes him back to the restaurant looking for the simple radiant woman, but she's gone because they’ve thrown away the plate of food that represented her existence.
The narrator was a supporter of the fight for social justice (and particularly rights for immigrants); meanwhile his brother Leonardo Barroso (**intertextuality) totally played the system to get rich.
Malintzin de las maquilas The protagonist Marina is a young woman who has come to the border city of Juárez to work at a factory (maquiladora).
She is dating a powerful macho man named Rolando, who she constantly obsesses over (worrying about his womanizer reputation), and whom she sees once a week (Thursdays) in a hotel across the border.
Meanwhile, the company owner Leonardo Barroso chats with North American execs about the success of the factory system, and how it's liberating for Mexican women (B.S.
When the women leave the club, they hear tragic news: Dinorah's young son has died; he strangled himself because she left him tied up to a table in her home while she was at work all day.
She is totally disillusioned and the story ends with her crossing the bridge back to Juárez, while Leonardo Barroso and his daughter-in-law Michelina pass her on their way into El Paso.
Las amigas The ancient and very difficult widow Miss Amy Dunbar lives alone in Chicago, and she treats all her servants terribly, and only maintains her relationship with her sole nephew Archibald under the threat of disinheriting him.
One theme that arises continually is Josefina's strong Catholic faith: she keeps religious symbols in her room and Miss Amy scorns her as idolatrous.
La frontera de cristal Story opens with the famous businessman Leonardo Barroso, who is on a flight to New York with his lover and daughter-in-law, Michelina.
The main character is Lisandro Chávez, a Mexican whose family was rich before the economic crash: this type of employment was never his plan, but he must repay the debts of his father's failed business any way he can.
Leandro meets some guys at the gas station and tries to act macho and smooth but the Spanish woman, Encarna, totally humiliates him.
Leandro randomly meets Don Leonardo Barroso, who likes the way he drives and invites him to travel to Spain with him and Michelina to be their driver.
Leandro agrees and arranges to meet Encarna; they have a happy reunion and she plans to return to Mexico with him, and they decide to take a trip to Madrid for the weekend.