In a small town on the Texas-Mexico border, Mama Chona—the indomitable matriarch of the Angel clan who fled the bullets and blood of the 1911 revolution for a gringo land of promise—tries to protect her family and hold it together. In this 1984 classic, Arturo Islas paints an unforgettable family portrait that includes Miguel Grande, a self-centered policeman; Miguel Chico, a chronically ill professor living far from home; Felix, whose conflicted sexuality puts him in peril; and rebellious Nina, who creates strife for her father and her son.