Dusk to Dawn uses the life and death of one young man, Roberto Gonzalez, to demonstrate how violence can devastate individuals, families, communities and cities. Gonzalez was born at Nebraska Medical Center, the same hospital where he later lost his life. Known as Tito to his family and friends, he grew up in South Omaha, living a life of skateboarding, basketball and rhyming. A happy and lovable kid, he memorized the name of all dinosaurs. Attending R. M. Mars Middle School and later South High School, he was lovable and fun to be around. On Jan. 21, 2015, a dispute started that would later determine his fate. The following morning, Gonzalez was shot at the corner of 24th and P streets. Minutes later, he was rushed to Nebraska Medical Center, where he died. He was just 20 years old.
Every year, young men and women in Omaha are injured or killed under similar circumstances. Gonzalez's parents wanted his story told in hopes of preventing another family from suffering the grief they feel every day since Tito’s death, and thereby, somehow making good of such a senseless tragedy. It is with their permission that we tell his story – from his birth at the same hospital where he would later die, and his life in between. We humbly thank Gonzalez’s parents and family for allowing us the opportunity to use his story to influence the lives of so many youth.
“There is nothing like the cries of a mother as they walk toward the coffin that their child lies frozen, no life in them. It starts as a whimper then howls the closer they get… one day, we will have no more crying mommas.” –Alberto Gonzales