DANCE RIO RICO: One last dance for Al Capone
That morning in 1886, dusty little town, Río Rico, rested quietly in a thumb-shaped piece of Texas that stuck into Mexico. The border between the countries followed the Río Grande River with the 'thumb' making the then-Texas town accessible only from the East. Suddenly, mid-afternoon, all the town's 456 U.S. citizen residents heard the blast that changed their lives forever.
Texas rancher, Theron Slay, hated Mexican rancher Don Pablo Cortéz, so he blew out the bank of the river sending it straight East, robbing Cortéz of his water by cutting off the thumb. The town and the residents were now in Mexico, but neither country cared. The 420 acre no man's land was forgotten and grew lawless, bringing bars, bordellos, and a dog track. The twice-daily trains brought drunken partiers, gamblers, and it brought Al Capone. As fate goes, Cortéz's daughter met and married Slay's son. Their passion and excitement soon dissolved into the same war their families had fought.
Capone came to escape the Feds. When crossing the relocated river, he was safe. His men controlled the streets of Río Rico. With booze and racketeering money Capone bought most of the town and happened to meet Constantina Slay, the renowned ballerina and Cortéz's daughter. The gangster boss became obsessed with her beauty, sophistication, and culture. At enormous expense, he built a grand dance theater for her, and a Catholic Church for the citizens. Constantina's husband, T.K., grew more jealous while Capone lavished gifts on her, determined to obtain culture and respect.
On the day Constantina delivered her daughter, Santos, the Cortéz Ranch Manager, had a son, but his wife died. Tina quickly convinced Santos to let his son be raised as her daughter's twin and carry the highly respected family name. He brought the baby boy to Constantina, and they agreed on a story. T.K. never knew but drank more heavily as Constantina dotted on the babies. While he was gone on another drinking and gambling escape, Constantina laid a trap to trick T.K. and create grounds for getting a divorce. Hearing of the divorce, T.K. became enraged and sneaked in, avoiding Capone's men, for the end of opening night in the new Grande Hall. Seeing Al Capone in the front row, T.K. snapped.
The gun battle on stage was over quickly, leaving T.K. dead, Constantina's knee blown apart, and Capone's bodyguard dead. Over the five years it took to repair her knee, the Grande Hall was boarded up.
Under Constantina and Santos's control, the Cortéz-Slay Ranch grew and prospered, selling dry-aged prime beef to the U.S. Army. Her friendship with Al Capone brought Frank Kellogg on a mission from his boss, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Constantina and Frank fell in love and would marry, but not before their challenging dance of deception came to an end. Roosevelt wanted the names of the gunmen in the Saint Valentines Day Massacre. She wanted the U.S. citizenship of the 456 citizens of Río Rico reinstated. With Capone in Alcatraz slowly dying, she finally agreed to present Roosevelt's deal to move Capone to a less harsh prison for the gunmen's names.
The negotiations pitted Constantina and Capone against Frank and the President. Capone did give the names and added a $l.0 million for a lake in the area. Capone was set free in 1939 to live out his days in Florida. With Constantina's knee healed and Capone a free man, he requested the Grande Hall host a repeat performance of Dance Río Rico. On that night, President Roosevelt and the President of Mexico met onstage to announce the return of citizenship to the lost people of Río Rico that opened the show.
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Texas rancher, Theron Slay, hated Mexican rancher Don Pablo Cortéz, so he blew out the bank of the river sending it straight East, robbing Cortéz of his water by cutting off the thumb. The town and the residents were now in Mexico, but neither country cared. The 420 acre no man's land was forgotten and grew lawless, bringing bars, bordellos, and a dog track. The twice-daily trains brought drunken partiers, gamblers, and it brought Al Capone. As fate goes, Cortéz's daughter met and married Slay's son. Their passion and excitement soon dissolved into the same war their families had fought.
Capone came to escape the Feds. When crossing the relocated river, he was safe. His men controlled the streets of Río Rico. With booze and racketeering money Capone bought most of the town and happened to meet Constantina Slay, the renowned ballerina and Cortéz's daughter. The gangster boss became obsessed with her beauty, sophistication, and culture. At enormous expense, he built a grand dance theater for her, and a Catholic Church for the citizens. Constantina's husband, T.K., grew more jealous while Capone lavished gifts on her, determined to obtain culture and respect.
On the day Constantina delivered her daughter, Santos, the Cortéz Ranch Manager, had a son, but his wife died. Tina quickly convinced Santos to let his son be raised as her daughter's twin and carry the highly respected family name. He brought the baby boy to Constantina, and they agreed on a story. T.K. never knew but drank more heavily as Constantina dotted on the babies. While he was gone on another drinking and gambling escape, Constantina laid a trap to trick T.K. and create grounds for getting a divorce. Hearing of the divorce, T.K. became enraged and sneaked in, avoiding Capone's men, for the end of opening night in the new Grande Hall. Seeing Al Capone in the front row, T.K. snapped.
The gun battle on stage was over quickly, leaving T.K. dead, Constantina's knee blown apart, and Capone's bodyguard dead. Over the five years it took to repair her knee, the Grande Hall was boarded up.
Under Constantina and Santos's control, the Cortéz-Slay Ranch grew and prospered, selling dry-aged prime beef to the U.S. Army. Her friendship with Al Capone brought Frank Kellogg on a mission from his boss, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Constantina and Frank fell in love and would marry, but not before their challenging dance of deception came to an end. Roosevelt wanted the names of the gunmen in the Saint Valentines Day Massacre. She wanted the U.S. citizenship of the 456 citizens of Río Rico reinstated. With Capone in Alcatraz slowly dying, she finally agreed to present Roosevelt's deal to move Capone to a less harsh prison for the gunmen's names.
The negotiations pitted Constantina and Capone against Frank and the President. Capone did give the names and added a $l.0 million for a lake in the area. Capone was set free in 1939 to live out his days in Florida. With Constantina's knee healed and Capone a free man, he requested the Grande Hall host a repeat performance of Dance Río Rico. On that night, President Roosevelt and the President of Mexico met onstage to announce the return of citizenship to the lost people of Río Rico that opened the show.
DANCE RIO RICO: One last dance for Al Capone
That morning in 1886, dusty little town, Río Rico, rested quietly in a thumb-shaped piece of Texas that stuck into Mexico. The border between the countries followed the Río Grande River with the 'thumb' making the then-Texas town accessible only from the East. Suddenly, mid-afternoon, all the town's 456 U.S. citizen residents heard the blast that changed their lives forever.
Texas rancher, Theron Slay, hated Mexican rancher Don Pablo Cortéz, so he blew out the bank of the river sending it straight East, robbing Cortéz of his water by cutting off the thumb. The town and the residents were now in Mexico, but neither country cared. The 420 acre no man's land was forgotten and grew lawless, bringing bars, bordellos, and a dog track. The twice-daily trains brought drunken partiers, gamblers, and it brought Al Capone. As fate goes, Cortéz's daughter met and married Slay's son. Their passion and excitement soon dissolved into the same war their families had fought.
Capone came to escape the Feds. When crossing the relocated river, he was safe. His men controlled the streets of Río Rico. With booze and racketeering money Capone bought most of the town and happened to meet Constantina Slay, the renowned ballerina and Cortéz's daughter. The gangster boss became obsessed with her beauty, sophistication, and culture. At enormous expense, he built a grand dance theater for her, and a Catholic Church for the citizens. Constantina's husband, T.K., grew more jealous while Capone lavished gifts on her, determined to obtain culture and respect.
On the day Constantina delivered her daughter, Santos, the Cortéz Ranch Manager, had a son, but his wife died. Tina quickly convinced Santos to let his son be raised as her daughter's twin and carry the highly respected family name. He brought the baby boy to Constantina, and they agreed on a story. T.K. never knew but drank more heavily as Constantina dotted on the babies. While he was gone on another drinking and gambling escape, Constantina laid a trap to trick T.K. and create grounds for getting a divorce. Hearing of the divorce, T.K. became enraged and sneaked in, avoiding Capone's men, for the end of opening night in the new Grande Hall. Seeing Al Capone in the front row, T.K. snapped.
The gun battle on stage was over quickly, leaving T.K. dead, Constantina's knee blown apart, and Capone's bodyguard dead. Over the five years it took to repair her knee, the Grande Hall was boarded up.
Under Constantina and Santos's control, the Cortéz-Slay Ranch grew and prospered, selling dry-aged prime beef to the U.S. Army. Her friendship with Al Capone brought Frank Kellogg on a mission from his boss, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Constantina and Frank fell in love and would marry, but not before their challenging dance of deception came to an end. Roosevelt wanted the names of the gunmen in the Saint Valentines Day Massacre. She wanted the U.S. citizenship of the 456 citizens of Río Rico reinstated. With Capone in Alcatraz slowly dying, she finally agreed to present Roosevelt's deal to move Capone to a less harsh prison for the gunmen's names.
The negotiations pitted Constantina and Capone against Frank and the President. Capone did give the names and added a $l.0 million for a lake in the area. Capone was set free in 1939 to live out his days in Florida. With Constantina's knee healed and Capone a free man, he requested the Grande Hall host a repeat performance of Dance Río Rico. On that night, President Roosevelt and the President of Mexico met onstage to announce the return of citizenship to the lost people of Río Rico that opened the show.
Texas rancher, Theron Slay, hated Mexican rancher Don Pablo Cortéz, so he blew out the bank of the river sending it straight East, robbing Cortéz of his water by cutting off the thumb. The town and the residents were now in Mexico, but neither country cared. The 420 acre no man's land was forgotten and grew lawless, bringing bars, bordellos, and a dog track. The twice-daily trains brought drunken partiers, gamblers, and it brought Al Capone. As fate goes, Cortéz's daughter met and married Slay's son. Their passion and excitement soon dissolved into the same war their families had fought.
Capone came to escape the Feds. When crossing the relocated river, he was safe. His men controlled the streets of Río Rico. With booze and racketeering money Capone bought most of the town and happened to meet Constantina Slay, the renowned ballerina and Cortéz's daughter. The gangster boss became obsessed with her beauty, sophistication, and culture. At enormous expense, he built a grand dance theater for her, and a Catholic Church for the citizens. Constantina's husband, T.K., grew more jealous while Capone lavished gifts on her, determined to obtain culture and respect.
On the day Constantina delivered her daughter, Santos, the Cortéz Ranch Manager, had a son, but his wife died. Tina quickly convinced Santos to let his son be raised as her daughter's twin and carry the highly respected family name. He brought the baby boy to Constantina, and they agreed on a story. T.K. never knew but drank more heavily as Constantina dotted on the babies. While he was gone on another drinking and gambling escape, Constantina laid a trap to trick T.K. and create grounds for getting a divorce. Hearing of the divorce, T.K. became enraged and sneaked in, avoiding Capone's men, for the end of opening night in the new Grande Hall. Seeing Al Capone in the front row, T.K. snapped.
The gun battle on stage was over quickly, leaving T.K. dead, Constantina's knee blown apart, and Capone's bodyguard dead. Over the five years it took to repair her knee, the Grande Hall was boarded up.
Under Constantina and Santos's control, the Cortéz-Slay Ranch grew and prospered, selling dry-aged prime beef to the U.S. Army. Her friendship with Al Capone brought Frank Kellogg on a mission from his boss, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Constantina and Frank fell in love and would marry, but not before their challenging dance of deception came to an end. Roosevelt wanted the names of the gunmen in the Saint Valentines Day Massacre. She wanted the U.S. citizenship of the 456 citizens of Río Rico reinstated. With Capone in Alcatraz slowly dying, she finally agreed to present Roosevelt's deal to move Capone to a less harsh prison for the gunmen's names.
The negotiations pitted Constantina and Capone against Frank and the President. Capone did give the names and added a $l.0 million for a lake in the area. Capone was set free in 1939 to live out his days in Florida. With Constantina's knee healed and Capone a free man, he requested the Grande Hall host a repeat performance of Dance Río Rico. On that night, President Roosevelt and the President of Mexico met onstage to announce the return of citizenship to the lost people of Río Rico that opened the show.
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DANCE RIO RICO: One last dance for Al Capone
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DANCE RIO RICO: One last dance for Al Capone
234
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781663537485 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Barnes & Noble Press |
| Publication date: | 07/20/2020 |
| Pages: | 234 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d) |
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