The short story is about David Stiver and Mariana Sandoval. They are walking down a street in the beginning of the story. David feel a bit weird about East Los Angeles, he does not feel he belongs in East L.A. Mariana thinks everyone belongs in East L.A. Mariana thinks young punks and the rowdies are those, who could give him a bad time. Mariana is talking about something called “Chicano Landscaping”. Everyone has a lot of cars in their front yard. They keep them there, because cars are a status symbol. It is something more than just a mechanical possession. It is not the value of the car that is so important – it is that you have them.
The come to the party, and there are like sixty or seventy people in the backyard. There is a goat in the backyard too, and Dave does not really understand why it is there, but Mariana explains that it is going to be eaten. Marianas dad is arguing with another man about the goats taste, and Mariana just ignore it, because she knows her dad is wrong, he just want to make people laugh. There are mariachis (=musicians) singing in the backyard to and they are listening to the music. Dave meets Marianas friends Rudy and Elizabeth. Elizabeth has known Mariana since third grade, and she explains that she and her family moved down to East L.A. to help people. She does not think a girl like Mariana belongs to the world of East Los Angeles, and it would be much better if someone could get her out of it.
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