The women of the del Pino family have a unique dynamic which contributes to their evolving identity and understanding of their bicultural heritage. When first evaluating Pilar, she transitions from suffering from teen angst caused by disconnection from her mother to a fully bicultural woman. While Celia enabled Pilar to understand her Cuban heritage, Pilar was able to help Celia by taking on her life story and overall sharing the same love for Cuba that Celia holds so deeply in her heart.
At the beginning of the novel, Pilar is introduced as a young teen, struggling with finding where she fits in the world. She has battled with her Cuban heritage and her American way of life, unable to identify with a specific side. Pilar spent the first two …show more content…
She is unable to fully embrace that the American culture is apart of her identify. Also hindering her from fully accepting both cultures is her mother, Lourdes. Lourdes has proudly assimilated to the American culture and has no intentions of returning to Cuba or giving her daughter the opportunity to implore her heritage. Because of this, Pilar decides to take matters into her own hands. She sneaks away and takes a bus to Miami. Unfortunately for Pilar, her aunt in Miami contacts her mother and Pilar returns to New York. As time passes, Pilar loses interest in her Cuban heritage and no longer desires to return to Cuba like she used to in her early teens. It wasn’t until 1980 that she begins to fell a longing for her Cuban heritage again. On the way home one night, she is assaulted and …show more content…
This tragic night motivates her to make a change in her life, and she then decides that she needs to go to Cuba. Once her and her mother arrive to Cuba, they are faced with all the horrible events that are taking place due to the dictator. Pilar begins to see that Cuba is not what she had imagined for so many years. She can sense the suffering going on the nation and can also see this in her abuela. Celia begins to pass down her life experiences and memories to Pilar. She gives her a box of letters that she had written to her old lover in Spain, but never sent. Along with that, Celia gives her a book of poems by García Lorca. These pieces of her grandmother allow her to understand Celia on a deeper level and also enlightens her to understand more about her Cuban heritage. Pilar begins to feel a transition within herself. She starts to dream in Spanish, which she describes as a magical change working in her. This is important because this represents her Cuban heritage becoming a conscious part of her being, rather than just an unobtainable idea like when she was a teen. She sees Cuba through a different lens, but knows that it is not where she belongs. However, it is not that Pilar feels that she doesn’t belong in Cuba, but that
At the beginning of the novel, Pilar is introduced as a young teen, struggling with finding where she fits in the world. She has battled with her Cuban heritage and her American way of life, unable to identify with a specific side. Pilar spent the first two …show more content…
She is unable to fully embrace that the American culture is apart of her identify. Also hindering her from fully accepting both cultures is her mother, Lourdes. Lourdes has proudly assimilated to the American culture and has no intentions of returning to Cuba or giving her daughter the opportunity to implore her heritage. Because of this, Pilar decides to take matters into her own hands. She sneaks away and takes a bus to Miami. Unfortunately for Pilar, her aunt in Miami contacts her mother and Pilar returns to New York. As time passes, Pilar loses interest in her Cuban heritage and no longer desires to return to Cuba like she used to in her early teens. It wasn’t until 1980 that she begins to fell a longing for her Cuban heritage again. On the way home one night, she is assaulted and …show more content…
This tragic night motivates her to make a change in her life, and she then decides that she needs to go to Cuba. Once her and her mother arrive to Cuba, they are faced with all the horrible events that are taking place due to the dictator. Pilar begins to see that Cuba is not what she had imagined for so many years. She can sense the suffering going on the nation and can also see this in her abuela. Celia begins to pass down her life experiences and memories to Pilar. She gives her a box of letters that she had written to her old lover in Spain, but never sent. Along with that, Celia gives her a book of poems by García Lorca. These pieces of her grandmother allow her to understand Celia on a deeper level and also enlightens her to understand more about her Cuban heritage. Pilar begins to feel a transition within herself. She starts to dream in Spanish, which she describes as a magical change working in her. This is important because this represents her Cuban heritage becoming a conscious part of her being, rather than just an unobtainable idea like when she was a teen. She sees Cuba through a different lens, but knows that it is not where she belongs. However, it is not that Pilar feels that she doesn’t belong in Cuba, but that