When Emmanuel Hernandez turned eighteen, he left behind the desperately poor Rio Grande Valley with one goal in mind: become a professional soccer player. He stumbled a few times, but found plenty of adventure along the way as he and his best friend Hector traveled across Texas and the West Coast.

Still, what happened on the field isn’t even half the story. Beyond goals and kicks, Manny’s life suddenly spun circles and fell apart. At rock bottom, a person emerged and then a voice took aim all around: leaving no stone uncovered and no person unscathed, even itself.

A pulsating and raw look at the Mexican-American community’s struggles with poverty, alcoholism, infidelity, spirituality, and prejudice. A thoughtful reflection on a brash young man who grew into a loving father. An indisputably American tale where a dream lead to a journey that twisted when you wanted it to turn. The Night of the Virgin ultimately is a story about those slippery topics of identity and acceptance, hatred and love.