Family Lore

“Life washed over her, but the alarm system that most folk have that trips one into fight or flight was muted in Flor. She simply knew too much about where either choice led.”

In this quote, Elizabeth Acevedo describes how Flor’s gift of foresight has affected her humanity. Though her prediction of deaths and other events is arguably useful, it nevertheless isolates her from those with limited knowledge.

“I truly became human when I became pregnant with you. Nothing, not even making love, had ever arrived me to my own body like growing another person.”

Here, Acevedo reveals Ona as Flor’s means of grounding herself. Only by creating life can Flor overcome the dehumanizing nature of her death dreams.

“Even in their campo back home, folks had whispered that Matilde might be the sister without magic, but she was also the only of her kin who could fly; her tacones seemingly hovered the ground when an orchestra was in her presence.”

This quote reveals part of Matilde’s tragedy in relation to her family. She is not only denied her sisters’ gifts, but her self-made gift (dancing) will eventually be condemned by Mamá Silvia.