Across A Hundred Mountains

“The rosary had not protected her father as he had lain on the ground, dying. How foolish she had once been, thinking that it would.” 

When Juana finds Apá’s body, he is still holding the white rosary that he took with him to cross the border. The white rosary becomes an important symbol in the novel. While many characters turn to religion in difficult times, Juana comes to realize that religion will not always protect them.

“‘It has two faces. She only shows one face to the world. Even though it changes shape constantly, it’s always the same face we see. But her second face, her second face remains hidden in darkness. That’s the face no one can see. People call it the dark side of the moon. Two identities. Two sides of a coin.’” 

When Juana, under the name Adelina, first arrives in Los Angeles, a homeless man makes this comment to her about the moon. At this point, the reader doesn’t know that Adelina is really Juana, and this line foreshadows that Adelina has a secret. It also speaks to the secrets and grief that many characters carry throughout the novel.

“When they opened the door Juana turned to glance back at La Virgen de Guadalupe. She felt that La Virgen must have disappeared and left her, too, for she was now only clay, paint, and eyes of glass.” 

Apá has just told Juana that he is leaving their home and traveling across the border to find work in the United States. The thought of losing Apá makes Juana feel scared and alone, and not even religion is a comfort to her.