Elvira, telling her narrative to her son Eduardo around her kitchen table.
Chalchihites, Zacatecas, Elvira’s homeland. Her family emigrated from here in 1916
Elvira’s first communion in Chalchihuites, age 6
Elvira’s mother with Cuca (in arms), Elvira, Jobita, and Alta in Chalchihuites
Thinning sugar-beets using the now-illegal short hoe. Elvira did hard time for nearly 50 years in the fields of Scottsbluff, Nebraska
‘El Chante’ where Elvira’s family lived for many years
Elvira as a newlywed, flaunting her ‘shingle bob’. As a single girl, she was forbidden to cut her hair
The Flapper and her husband, the Dandy
What a kick! That’s a lampshade on her head. This teetotaler must be tipsy!!
At the Senior Center that Elvira founded. With her grandson, Mike
Relaxing in her kitchen. Elvira retired at age 89
Forming ‘testales’ with granddaughter Anne Marie. Elvira made the family tortillas daily, and rolled over one million in her lifetime
A toast on her 90th birthday. She doesn’t look a day older than eighty-nine!!
Elvira and her husband Maique took great joy in their garden. Here, she tends her beloved roses
Mamá Elvira’s great-grandkids at the presentation for the launch of her book in Oakdale, CA