The people of Cheran are Indians of the Purepecha tribe in a place of steep ravines and cliffs in Mexico. It is possible to grow corn and vegetables there, but nothing exportable. For the inhabitants, a bright economic future is unlikely. The inevitable exodus of talent and energy to the North and into the United States drains Cheran.

Writer and editor Rubén Martínez travels to Cheran, Mexico, after hearing sketchy details of an accident involving migrant workers. He wants to know more. It seems that three Chávez brothers left Cheran for the strawberry fields of Watsonville, California. They knew the dangers of crossing over, but the crop was waiting, and they were expected. But they never made it. Their truck and camper flew off the road, leaving several survivors, none of whom were the Chávez brothers. That was April 6, 1996.

Martínez wants to know more about this tragedy and the factors that led up to it. He knows there is a larger story here, and he wants to be the one to tell it accurately. He follows Cheran residents as they make their journey across Mexico to Arkansas, California, and Wisconsin. This is the story of the Cheran expatriates and the story of the ones left behind that are dependent on the dollars sent home. Each of the wives and mothers has a cautionary tale to tell. Martínez records and makes no judgments. Who could tell the people of Cheran to stay in the hills and live like their ancestors and forego the blenders, the TVs, the Nikes, and the rest of the hard-won rewards of migrant work? It is too late for lessons in economics and sociology.   

Martínez joins the Chávez clan and others in their family activities. He goes to funerals, rock concerts, the church at fiesta time, and a bullfight. He sees joyful abandon in the corn harvest, a traditionally popular outing combining work and festival. The most hair-raising thing he experiences is a trip with the local coyote, a man as wily as his counterpart in the animated cartoons. This is the downtime between the grimly serious business of crossing over and the rewards of the strawberry fields and the tobacco harvest.

Remember Rubén Martínez and watch for him on PBS on "Frontline," "Nightline," and "Religion and Ethics" telecasts. As I read this book I thought many times about John Steinbeck's writing. SWEET THURSDAY and CANNERY ROW are the two unforgettable fictional precursors of CROSSING OVER. All are recommended, most especially the latter.