Alma Rivera
The primary narrator is wife to Arturo and mother of Maribel. Maribel’s brain damage that is the impetus for the family’s immigration from Panama to America results from an accident taking place before the events of the novel which is manifested in the form of the burden of guilt which Alma carries inside. This guilt is further compounded by her inability to reconcile how Maribel looks no different than she did before the accident, yet behaves like a completely different person. The immigrant experience in Newark provides some relief form her isolation while simultaneously creating yet more burdens.
Arturo Rivera
Since Arturo is the only one legally licensed to work in the family, his burden is that of the being the sole breadwinner and economic provider. He is overworked, underpaid and increasingly frustrated with the drastic changes in his family’s condition upon coming to America.
Maribel Rivera
Maribel’s accident has erased her former vivacious personality to such an extent that the family makes the move to America for precisely one reason: to improve her chances of improving and living a fuller life through enrollment at a special school designed to address her medical condition. Both the school and the attention of a young man seem to work in tandem to bring the family hope that their decision was justified. But that budding romance will also bring on unforeseen negative consequences.
Mayor Toro
Despite his name, Toro is not an actual Mayor, but rather the young man who enters Maribel’s life. His family also emigrated from Panama. He must deal with the irreconcilable desire of his father to see him become a soccer player despite physique and general nerdiness quite unsuitable to such expectations. The fact that his romantic intentions toward Maribel often comes across as something more closely approximating an obsession will create tumult in both families.
Garrett Miller
Skateboarding tough Garrett Miller—who bullies because he is bulled—is a walking case of trouble for immigrants in general and Mayor and Maribel quite specifically. Garrett is the kind of guy who takes advantage of a girl like Maribel and Alma’s confrontation after witnessing his predatory sexual advances toward her daughter becomes the wick that ultimately leads to the powder keg explosion that is the novel’s tragic climax.
Adolfo “Fito Mosquito” Angelino
Most of the major characters in the novel live in the Redwoods Apartment complex where Fito is the landlord. An immigrant himself from Paraguay, Fito once harbored realistic dreams of becoming a boxer, but after moving to Newark he eventually moved from being the manager of Redwoods to owning it. Fito views the complex as a safe harbor for immigrants like himself.
