Helena Maria Viramontes grew up in Los Angeles where relatives used to stay and live with her family when making the transition from Mexico to the United States. This is where she got her first taste of the lives of immigrants in this country within the urban barrios. Viramontes's writing reflects this theme along with expressing her political opinions on the treatments of immigrants, especially Chicanos and Latinos. In her short story "The Cariboo Café," Viramontes brings these ideas to life through three sections narrated by different individuals tied into the story.

"The Cariboo Café" is a story of Chicano immigrants and a Central American refugee. Along with these characters is the owner of the Cariboo Café, who ... Showed first 120 words of 1440 Size (words) ...

... Continuing with another 115 out of 1440 Size (words) ...become apparent that Geraldo is not really Geraldo. In actuality it is Macky. This woman who is going mad from the loss of her son spotted Macky in the Cariboo Café the night the he and his sister got lost. In her delusional state of mind, she mistook him for her own son and took him home. Of course, Sonya was unwilling to part with her brother and she followed them. Therefore, this woman inadvertently kidnapped these two young children, and the cook at the café turned them in to the police.

The situation is not clear to the reader at first. The incoherent nature of the story requires ...Essay still continues 100 more words...