"Church movies we saw were mostly westerns--old westerns, in black and white. Father Mueller drove to 'Los, 'as we called Los Angeles, to pick up the films and assorted reels. He never explained why western movies were all he got; I figured he knew a cowboy." It's the 1940s. Little Mary Helen Ponce and her family live in Pacoima, a Mexican American barrio near Los Angeles. Unmindful of their poverty, Mary Helen and friends Beto, Concha, Virgie, la...