In this video, we begin our journey looking into some Mexican History...I really wanted to understand how the Mexican Revolution affected Esperanza's story. It is really complex, so I had to break this video into different parts.

In this chapter we continue our investigation into the Mexican Revolution and end our study in about the time in which Esperanza Rising is set.

I am so excited to introduce you to a very special person named Santo Toribio Romo. This is a personal account of his life before, during and after the Cristero War, which was happening all around Esperanza. I hope you love him as much as I do!

In this chapter, Esperanza's group is traveling north and discussing the American Dream. But there are a lot of things going on at this point in history that conflict with this idea. One of those things is the Great Depression. This Deep Dive is split into 2 parts. This one is how the Depression affected the cites in the US.

This Deep Dive needed 2 installments. This one focuses on the fallout that happened after the stock market crash of 1929. There is so much that happens in Esperanza that is related to the Great Depression and to truly understand how, we need to know more about what happened! I

I followed Esperanza on her journey to Arvin, CA over the summer and was surprised at how dry the San Joaquin Valley was. I wondered how this terrain could produce so much of our agriculture. This question lead me to the creation of the LA Aqueduct and so much more! I hope you you enjoy the first leg of our journey! Many thank yous to American History Tellers for much of the research and content provided in this Deep Dive.

This is the second part of the pursuit to get water to Los Angeles. Some people loved the idea of feeding water to the city, others were not so thrilled. Join me to find out how the story continues to unfold!

This is the final installment and wrap of of Los Angeles' pursuit for water. This is a tale that lends itself to teaching so many different lessons! The question is, will we learn from others' mistakes? Special thanks to American History Tellers!

I really wanted to get the whole story of migrant farm workers, the history of migrant farm work, how migrant farm work functions and the conditions in which the farm workers lived, but finding resources was a bit challenging. I stumbled upon the articles written by John Steinbeck, author of Grapes of Wrath. These were the articles that helped him on his journey to writing his novel. The compilations, though a controversial title now is called, Harvest Gypsies (1936).