Into the Beautiful North

This chapter opens with Irma, Nayeli’s mother, Nayeli and her friends heading out for crab day. For Nayeli it is "like going to heaven" (25) She marvels at the beauty of the wildlife. "They had reached the most perfect spot in the world" (26) and Irma notes that Nayeli 's father should have visited this spot before leaving to go North. Nayeli's mother replied, 'You cannot eat beauty" (27).

Nayeli makes an important observation - even the crabs are surviving better than Tres Camarones. Nayeli catches a pregnant female and Yolo feels guilty. The crab is like their sister. They wonder who is pregnant around them, and cannot think of anyone. The book’s title is mentioned by Irma, mockingly stating that all the men from Tres Camarones have gone “into the beautiful north”, like some teenage melodrama. Nayeli notices later that it is true.

On a road trip to Mazatlán, Irma stops at a fresh food stand and is faced with a bizarre economics lesson. The beans she wants to buy were grown in Mexico, and she is disgusted by the high price. According to the stand owner, they are from California. They were grown in Mexico, purchased by the United States to be resold back again to Mexicans.