Sixto Ortega is the wealthy landowner of El Rancho de las Rosas in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Esperanza lives the life of a rich young girl in 1920s Mexico, wearing beautiful clothes, living in a home with servants, and going to private school.

The name of El Rancho de las Rosas is the first allusion to roses, which are a symbol of tenacity and rebirth throughout the novel. Roses thrive in harsh conditions and beautify their surroundings but harvesting their blooms can be risky, as Esperanza learns when she …

The novel opens in el Rancho de las Rosas in Aguascalientes, Mexico. 12-year-old Esperanza lives a charmed life with her Papa, Mama, Abuelita, and several servants and workers. Esperanza is very close to Papa.

Thirteen-year-old Esperanza Ortega lives a life of abundance and luxury on her father Sixto ’s sprawling vineyard, El Rancho de las Rosas. It is 1930, and in Aguascalientes, Mexico, the pain and tumult of the Mexican Revolution has at last begun to subside—or at least the sheltered Esperanza believes.

This is where Papa has his estate, El Rancho de las Rosas (The Ranch of Roses). And boy is it beautiful: there are mountains, valleys, and fertile vineyards (oh my!). Being the wise man that he is, Papa teaches Esperanza to love the land as much as he does:

On El Rancho de las Rosas (The Ranch of Roses) in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Esperanza is surrounded by people who adore her. And as the daughter of the ranch owner, she has it pretty good. She has beautiful silk dresses, plenty of servants, and a …

Everything's Coming Up Roses On El Rancho de las Rosas (The Ranch of Roses) in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Esperanza is surrounded by people who adore her. And as the daughter of the ranch owner, she h...

Six-year-old Esperanza Ortega walks with her father, Sixto, through the ripe vineyards on their sprawling valley ranch, El Rancho de las Rosas. Sixto tells Esperanza that the valley “breathes and lives,” and that when one lies down on the land, one can feel its heartbeat.

At the start of the book, at thirteen years old, she is being raised in the lap of luxury on her father Sixto ’s sprawling Aguascalientes ranch, El Rancho de las Rosas. Esperanza’s servants call her “la reina,” or the queen, because of her fancy clothes, refined disposition, and pampered lifestyle.

When Esperanza and Mama are forced to flee to the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico, to a Mexican farm labor camp in California, they must adjust to a life without fancy dresses and servants they were accustomed to on Rancho de las Rosas.