Urrea based this historical novel on his great-aunt’s life. Teresita is the sixteen year old illegitimate daughter of a wealthy rancher as civil war brews in 1889 Mexico. She dreams that she died and then realizes she really did die and has returned with the power to heal. Becoming the Saint of Cabora is only the start of her trials and tribulations as indigenous pilgrims make their way to the ranch to seek her aid and blessing.

Considered to be Urrea’s masterpiece, this Mexican-American immigrant story follows the De La Cruz clan as they gather for patriarch Big Angel’s final birthday party at his home in San Diego. He has cancer and won’t live to celebrate another year. But before the party happens, his mother Mama America dies and he must plan her funeral. These two events occur on the same weekend, giving the family a chance to reconnect, mourn, reflect, and remember.