Mario Montero, an immigrant from Guatemala, moved to Culver City, California, when he was 9 years old. He knew not a LICK of English. He loved to dance & sing, ever since he he could walk & talk. He also learned English very quickly & loved EVERYTHING about American culture.
By the time he was 18, he moved away from California & then moved to Tuscaloosa, AL with his older sister, Monica. Monica had a White fiance', named Brent Tate.
Brent Tate was financially well off. He came from a family that was wealthy enough that he didn't need to work, if he didn't have to. Brent didn't believe in living for free off of his rich parents. His 4 brothers were money-hungry. He didn't have any sisters. He thought he was too cool for college. He preferred to make an honest living, off of his OWN labor, & not somebody else's. He was a FIRM BELIEVER in that. He was a mechanic who had a side hobby of playing the Spanish guitar.
Because of the fact that Mario moved to Alabama by his sister, he felt like he made a BIG mistake, because he couldn't get a job out there, whatsoever. He desired to go to college, but didn't have the money.
Mario & Brent were good friends, but Brent didn't want Mario working with him because he didn't want business to get conflicted with home life since Mario was living with them. Because of that, they would get into altercations when Brent got drunk. When they argued, Brent would call Mario a lazy, money-hungry leech & freeloader. It wasn't Mario's fault that he couldn't get a job somewhere else, but he tried what he could. Also, his limited English proficiency hindered him.
Brent was an alcoholic, sadly. When on good terms, when Brent was sober, Mario & Brent would do music together. Brent would play his Spanish guitar, while Mario would sing & dance in both Spanish & English.
Monica found out that she was pregnant, & Brent wasn't ready yet. Monica told Brent that he would have to quit drinking, for the sake of the baby. Then, Brent got angry & left the house. Never came back.
Monica had a job, working as a manager at Ross clothing store. She was forced to live off of 1 income, since Brent left. Later on, she found out that he was in jail for a DUI. Brent never called anyone to bail him out. Their lease was up, & then Monica told her brother, Mario, that she thought it would be a better idea if they moved back to Culver City. The apartment was in Monica's name. Not Brent's. So that's what made it easier. She put in her 2 weeks notice for her job before they moved out of Tuscaloosa.
Monica & Mario couldn't afford to fly or rent a car, so they were forced to take the Greyhound bus. They left & never looked back. They never contacted Brent again. They both went to go back to their childhood home. They didn't realize that their family members moved back to Guatemala, for emergency reasons, without telling them. They, unfortunately, ended up homeless.
Monica was able to easily get into a shelter because she was pregnant, but Mario was forced to fend for himself on the streets. Mario & Monica would meet up every day, checking up on each other. Monica was easily able to get a job at Fallas Paredes in downtown L.A. because of her previous & recent management experience.
Mario was able to work temp service through the Chrysalis program in Skid Row. On his off days, or when there was no work available for him, & when the weather was nice, he still had to panhandle to work his way up to getting his own place. He figured that he would make more money, busking. He didn't know it was called "busking", though. He bought himself the same kind of Spanish guitar that was identical to Brent's.
He took the Red Line train from Pershing Square & then transferred to the Expo Line all the way to Santa Monica, on his off days. He would also do some temp work in Santa Monica, so it was no biggie for the same daily routine. He would go on the pier & practice, teaching himself how to play. On his first day, everyone thought he sounded good enough that they thought he had been playing that Spanish guitar for over 20 years. 1 person paid for his lunch & treated him out to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. on the pier. Then, he went back to playing.
Mario liked the busking, singing & dancing idea & felt like he could make enough money off of that, alone. Naturally, he quit the temp service job, & he was getting a LOT of attention & money. He loved doing what he did. There were people offering him record deals, left & right. But when he realized that it would cost him his soul, & he'd have to become a puppet & do questionable things, he refused. They also wanted him to become a model. He preferred his freedom & liberty, & he wanted total control over his own music.
Some days, he even went to Venice Beach to perform. He had fun with it & switched up every week with both beaches. He loved eating at both beaches. He was able to get his own place in Compton, & he was content with that. Even after he got his own place, people thought he was still homeless. He made it a thing, to get on those trains every day, hustling with his music. He didn't give himself off days. That's how he was able to keep the rent paid.
His sister, Monica had the baby, & by the time the baby was 3 years old, they bought him a Spanish guitar, & Monica got 1 for herself. They would ALL be at the pier, singing, playing the Spanish guitar & dancing. One day, Monica was crowned "The Santa Monica Pier Queen".
The End