Dreaming in Cuban: Analysis of Major Characters
"Dreaming in Cuban" is a rich narrative exploring a multifaceted Cuban-American family, particularly focusing on the lives of its matriarch, Celia Del Pino, and her descendants. Celia is depicted as a fervent supporter of the Cuban revolution, whose unwavering loyalty to socialism creates a rift within her family as her children scatter across the globe, each grappling with their own political and personal identities. Lourdes, Celia's first child, embodies the tension between her Cuban roots and her embrace of American capitalism after moving to New York, where she finds success but remains emotionally estranged from her mother. Felicia, Celia's second child, struggles with mental illness and ambivalence toward the revolution, leading her to seek solace in Santería as her health declines. Pilar, Lourdes' rebellious daughter, initially distances herself from her family's Cuban heritage but eventually seeks reconnection with her roots and her grandmother. The deceased patriarch, Jorge, while absent from the physical realm, continues to influence the family through his spectral presence, providing a unique perspective on the events that unfold. Young Ivanito serves as a poignant symbol of innocence amidst familial and societal turmoil. Together, these characters illustrate the complex interplay of history, culture, and personal struggle in a family deeply affected by the political landscape of Cuba and its diaspora.
Dreaming in Cuban: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Cristina Garcia
First published: 1992
Genre: Novel
Locale: Santa Teresa Del Mar and Havana, Cuba; New York City
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: 1972–1980
Celia Del Pino (PEE-noh), the aging matriarch of the Del Pino family, a lifelong resident of Cuba, and a loyal Socialist. She proudly volunteers for the revolution and assists by harvesting sugar cane, judging local domestic disputes in the town hall, and watching for invaders from her porch swing overlooking the northern coast. After her husband, Jorge Del Pino, moved to New York to get cancer treatments, she replaced his photo on her nightstand with one of El Líder (Fidel Castro). She dreams of embracing the dictator on a red velvet divan. Celia's passion for the revolution divides her family: She is independent and takes care of herself but is unable to hold her family together. Her children have left, one by one: Lourdes to New York, Javier to Czechoslovakia, and Felicia to insanity. She cares for Felicia's children but ultimately is alone with her deep love of Cuba and the unpredictable sea, her clairvoyant visions, her dreams of long-ago lover Gustavo, and the persistent hope that granddaughter Pilar will return to Cuba, embrace family roots, and sustain their history. Her early life is revealed through her letters written to Gustavo.
Lourdes Puente (LOOR-dehs PWEHN-teh), Celia's first child. During the early years of the revolution, Lourdes mis-carried her second child, a son. Angry and sad, she tried to defend her husband's family's ranch before it was confiscated, and she was raped by a soldier. She turns completely against Cuba and communism, embracing exile as a capitalist. With her husband and two-year-old daughter Pilar, she moves to New York, where she opens first one, then another successful Yankee Doodle Bakery. Domineering, compulsive, and fiercely proud to be American, she sends photos of pastries to her mother to emphasize the food shortages and lower standard of living in Cuba. She is never close to Celia, and the revolution drives them further apart. Lourdes finds solace as her father's favorite child and devotes her savings to his comfort during his final years. He repays her devotion by returning after death to accompany her on twilight walks through the city. When she goes to Cuba for Felicia's funeral, she meets her nephew, Ivanito, and gives him money so he can leave Cuba.
Felicia Villaverde (feh-LEE-see-ah vee-yah-VEHR-deh), Celia's second child. She remains in Cuba but is ambivalent about the revolution. She is poetic but unreachable because syphilis, contracted from her violent, unloving first husband, is slowly destroying her brain. Mentally unstable and passionately interested in black magic, she spends weeks inside her dark apartment, dancing in her nightgown to Beny Moré records and feeding her three children nothing but coconut ice cream. In a final attempt to salvage her own life, she becomes a santera, an initiate of the African-influenced Santería religion of the region. Ritual sacrifices prove useless, as do prayers and the help of friends. She dies, her body and mind twisted by disease.
Pilar Puente (pee-LAHR), Lourdes' teenage daughter. A rebellious artist, Pilar scoffs at her mother's compulsive patriotism and refuses to work at the bakery. She longs to see her grandmother Celia again, having communicated clairvoyantly and by letter with her since childhood, so she runs away from home toward Cuba. She makes it to the home of her father's family in Miami and is sent back to Brooklyn, where her desire to visit Cuba fades, along with her evening conversations with Celia. She becomes increasingly self-absorbed, angry, and distant from Lourdes and from her family's history until she enters college, where she eventually reembraces her roots. She returns to Cuba with Lourdes, reuniting the remaining family.
Jorge Del Pino (HOHR-heh), Celia's husband. Although deceased before the opening of the story, Jorge still plays a major part in events. He regularly appears as an apparition, and he gives advice to his wife and daughters. Jorge's advice seems to confirm whatever the living characters feel; ironically, the only supernatural character in the novel often comes across as the most rational one.
Ivanito Villaverde (ee-vahn-EE-toh), Felicia's son. Ivanito is five years old when the story opens and thirteen as it closes. Ivanito is the only character for whom the reader feels unquestioned sympathy. When Felicia sets her husband on fire and locks the children in the house, Ivanito is the only one of her children to stand by her. As the youngest character in the novel, Ivanito is the only one who has not yet formed political opinions. He loves and is loved by all the adult members of the family. In this sense, Ivanito is a major focus of attention, symbolizing the human aspects of a complex society torn apart by social, political, and religious differences.