Breaking Through (18 page)

 

Papá, Trampita, and neighbor Don Pancho at Bonetti Ranch, Santa Maria, California

 

Roberto and Francisco with their mother, Joaquina, in the cotton fields of Corcoran

 

Francisco, freshman at Santa Maria High School

 

Francisco, singing "Cielito Lindo" for Junior Scandals, Santa Maria High School

 

Paul Takagi, student body treasurer, and Francisco, student body president, Santa Maria High School

 

Francisco Jiménez
immigrated with his family to California from Tlaquepaque, Mexico. He worked in the fields of California as a child, and his autobiographical novel,
The Circuit
, tells the story of those younger years, as do his two picture books,
La Mariposa
, a Smithsonian Notable Book, and
The Christmas Gift
, an ALA Notable Book. He received both his master's degree and his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is now the Fay Boyle Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures and director of the ethnic studies program at Santa Clara University. He lives in Santa Clara, California, with his wife and three children.