San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-01-24
Ernie Golden and His Orchestra, Favorites Of Gotham Million
aires Were Forced Play Two Encore for Unknown,
Unframed, Poor Little Factory Girl

from the Metropolitan Opera to her kit
chen, praised her voice and invited her
to see him again in New York. She had
never dreamed anything as abrupt and
unlikely as that. If this could happen,
anything could happen-any dream could
come true.
Amira revised her dreams. Previously
she had appraised her face, figure, DISPOSE
tion-even her cooking ability-ahead of
her voice. Now this moderated asset was
placed at the head of the list for dreaming
purposes. But every time she tried to
harmonic her dreams with her real life
Amira's father proved an alarm clock,
which woke her up with a shock. He
pointed out that he was poor, hard-work-
ing, predetermined man. He could sup
port the family in Mexico City, but in
New York they would starve.
Mother and daughter knew that he was
right, and that seemed to be the end of it
all, except that she dreamed piano that
became real, and few piano and vocal
lessons once in while. She charmed no
audience, however, and her neighbors,
finding nothing in her voice to rave about,
smiled at the Caruso story.
Then her father died and left his fam
lily with a few hundred dollars and the
option of working or not eating. Amira
persuaded her mother to go to New York,
where, she had been told, girls could earn
as high as sixteen dollars a week, which
would be lot of money in Mexico. But
first they would remind Caruso of his in
vitation to sing for him again. He would
find her voice much improved and surely
get her a chance in cabaret for perhaps
$35, which would be fortune.
Sonora and Senorita Calderon arrived
in New York and Caruso was still there, as
they had taken pains to find out before
starting on that expensive journey-but
he might as well have been in Europe.
With the abruptness of dream, sickness
barred their approach. Caruso was very
ill. The papers were printing bulletins
as they do when a great man is on the
edge of the grave.
Caruso recovered, the Calderons, like
everyone else, were thankful, and finally
they tried to communicate with the singer.
But no, he was protected by hollow
square of nurses, secretaries and officious
friends who could not allow the GONZALES
cent to be bothered with Mexican girl,
especially when there were several thou
sand needy and deserving ltallan singers
asking for help from their great country
man.
Caruso sailed to his native land, never
knowing that Amira had come so far just
to return his call, which was perhaps just
as well. He might not have remembered
her, which would have broken her heart.
In Italy he died and the girl put away
his card and the dream that he would
help her dream come true.
Her dream now took on the aspects of
nightmare, for they were almost penni
less in strange and expensive country.
Amira got job wrapping bundles and,
with the hard WORK, the strange climate
and the disappointment, her health failed,
and brought with it the worst disaster she
could imagine. She lost her voice!
That surely was the end of the dream.
Caruso was gone, her voice was gone,
everything gone. The girl woke up, real
lied that she had been living mostly on
coffee, nerves and expectations. She
closed her rented piano, took care of her
health, and got an easier job addressing
envelopes for cloak and suit firm, which
paid her the exact sum she had heard
about, sixteen per week. At the end of
the first month it was found that these
wages did not make both ends meet even
in their inexpensive home in tenement