The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man
Chencho is thirteen. He wants to cross the Mexico-USA border to get to Chicago with his older brother. On the road he meets Paciano, an old man who dies shortly after inviting him into his wagon, keeping the compass stuck in his dead hand. In the road he finds characters who have nowhere to go, and neither a reason to stay. One by one they all jump into the wagon, following the north attached in the dead man's hand.