Vocabulary in Esperanza Rising

The boss or landowner who holds authority over workers and their families; in this context, a wealthy Mexican rancher who controls the land and the people who live on it.

Poor rural farm workers or peasants, especially in Latin America, who labor on the land, often for a wealthy landowner.

A large estate or ranch in Mexico or Latin America, typically including a grand house, farmland, and workers' quarters all under one owner's control.

A traditional Latin American celebration marking a girl's fifteenth birthday and her transition into womanhood, usually involving a party, special dress, and religious ceremony.

A traditional Mexican ballad or folk song, often telling a story of heroic deeds, love, or tragedy, passed down through generations.

A strong alcoholic spirit distilled from fermented fruit or grain, common in Latin America; here used to suggest rough, cheap liquor consumed by laborers.

Mexican laborers who were brought to the United States under a guest-worker program to do agricultural work, often living in camps and sending wages home.

The forced or pressured return of immigrants to their country of origin; in this novel, Mexican and Mexican-American workers were deported or coerced back to Mexico during the Great Depression.

A organized work stoppage in which laborers refuse to work in order to demand better wages, conditions, or treatment from their employers.

Workers who continue to work or are brought in to replace striking workers, undermining the strike; also called scabs, they are resented by those demanding better conditions.

A settlement of temporary housing provided by growers or companies for migrant farm workers, typically consisting of small, crowded cabins or shacks with shared facilities.

People who travel from place to place, following seasonal crop harvests, to find temporary agricultural work, often living in poor conditions with no permanent home.

A term, often used dismissively, for poor white migrants from Oklahoma and other Dust Bowl states who fled to California during the 1930s Depression seeking farm work.

Massive clouds of blowing dirt and dust that swept across the Great Plains during the 1930s Dust Bowl, destroying crops and forcing families to flee their homes.

Making fabric or decorative items by looping yarn with a hooked needle; in this novel it is a skill passed between generations as a symbol of patience, love, and continuity.

A small, old-fashioned traveling bag or suitcase used to carry personal belongings on a journey.

A hard, smooth, white ceramic material used to make fine dishes, figurines, and decorative objects; here it signals the wealth and refinement of the family's former life.

An enclosed railroad freight car; in this novel, poor migrants sometimes travel in these cargo cars rather than passenger coaches.

A large open building on a farm or near fields where harvested crops are sorted, cleaned, and packed into crates for shipping to markets.

A supervisor who oversees a group of workers in the fields or a workplace, giving instructions and reporting to the farm owner or company.

Very small in amount; barely enough to survive on. Used here to describe wages or food supplies that fall far short of what workers need.

The dark outline or shadow-shape of a person or object seen against a lighter background, with no interior detail visible.

A string of beads used by Catholics to count prayers; here it represents the characters' Catholic faith and their habit of praying during times of grief or fear.

Feeling angry and offended because of something perceived as unfair or insulting; a strong sense of wounded pride at being treated badly.

The painful feeling of being made to feel ashamed, inferior, or stripped of dignity, especially in front of others.