Family

There are many themes found in Latino literature that can be seen in many different novels.  In Latino cultures overall, family is a big part of their every day life.  Most times, your family is the people with whom you are the closest.  In both Bodega Dreams and Dreaming in Cuban, family is defined in different ways, which also affects the characters’ decision making.  Bodega Dreams ties into the family theme differently than Dreaming in Cuban.  However, in both novels, we can begin to explore the importance of family, the roles it plays in people’s lives, and how it is defined in the two different cultures. Family, as explored in Bodega Dreams and Dreaming in Cuban can be defined in more than one way and can include more than one group of people. 

Bodega Dreams is a novel that takes place in Spanish Harlem in the context of a Puerto Rican environment.  In this book, the characters are seeking to better their family lives as well as seek out those they care for.  Chino bases a lot of his decisions on his family.  However, I think that his family has two aspects.  At the beginning of the novel, Chino makes a lot of decisions for his family, his wife and child.   He begins to work for Bodega because he wants to provide for his family, especially with a baby on the way.  He wants to be the father, the provider, and the husband for his wife and child.  His other family is later defined.  Bodega and Sapo are another family that Chino strives to care for and protect.  Throughout the novel, Bodega, Sapo, and Chino all talk about having each other’s back.  It is all about being there for each other, supporting each other, and caring for the others as if they were your brothers.  Family can be defined in several ways and I think Chino and his different families demonstrate this. 

Dreaming in Cuban is a novel that takes place in Cuba as well as the United States with a Cuban context.  In this novel, the characters have their family and it is developed throughout the novel.   The family relationships in this novel are more related between the female characters.  It develops the mother-daughter and sister-sister relationships more than the entire family.  The relationship Pilar has with her family demonstrates many layers of family relationships.  In the beginning, Pilar has a strong relationship with her father and rebels against her mother.  However, this changes when she is let down by her father, finding out he is cheating on her mother.  After this, Pilar forms a close relationship with her mother.  Her family aspects and relationships change when she sees discovers the mistakes her father has made, how he has let her and her mother down.  Her relationship with her grandmother then grows especially strong when she and her mother travel to Cuba.  It allows her to bond with her family, a part of her family to which she hasn’t ever really connected.  This novel demonstrates how family sticks together.  This drove her decision from rebelling against her mother to supporting her.  Her mother was hurt because of her father and therefore, she wanted to protect that part of her family and relationship.

In both Bodega Dreams and Dreaming in Cuban, family plays a large role.  However, the definition of family changes as the story and characters develop.  These novels demonstrate the different parts of family, and how family can have more than one definition and more than one group of people.  They both demonstrate the important aspect of seeking to protect your family, especially when being attacked by another, whether verbal or physical.  Dreaming in Cuban and Bodega Dreams display the desire to protect those you care for.  In Dreaming in Cuban, Pilar grows closer to her mother and wants to be there for her when her father lets them down.  In Bodega Dreams, Sapo and Chino always have each other’s backs in fights, physical fights.  These two novels show how families protect each other, whether it is biological family or otherwise defined as such.