What group of people did the author have in mind as he wrote the book? How and why did those people become important to him?

The group of people for whom being a Mexican is a vital question are the ones whom the author had in mind as he wrote this book. Not all Mexicans question the value of their national identity or their place in that identity; this book is for the people who do. Interestingly, those people became important to the author during the two years that he lived in the United States. He began to question North American culture and then to question his own. That group of Mexicans became important to him because his own Mexican image glittered against the backdrop of the foreign country; and he sought to discover its truth. Thus, a personal revelation led him to question his national identity and the identity of his fellow Mexicans.