Elizabeth grew up hearing the tale of her grandfather, Antonio Gonzalez, the real El Tragabalas. She has taken dramatic license with actual events in her novel, but there is a basis of fact to the story - for example, Gonzalez was indeed shot in the face by the Texas Rangers - that has also provided the basis for other dramatic interpretations over time. Elizabeth's cousin, the Mexican movie star, Lalo Gonzalez, made a comedy about El Tragabalas in 1966, and well-known Texas folklorist, Jovita Gonzalez, produced a short story in 1935 riffing on the same legend.