Into the Beautiful North

“Everything passes” 

The significance of this quote, written on a postcard from her father, is initially unclear to Nayeli. However, as she embarks on the journey to gather up seven men to fight the bandidos and to locate her father, Nayeli learns that everything is transient. She must let go of past conceptions and learn to adapt in order to succeed in her mission. When she finally does see her father, Nayeli decides to leave without approaching him, realizing how his loyalty to her and her family has “passed” on, and revealing that she finally understands the meaning of his favorite saying. 

“The villagers are beset by bandidos. Overwhelmed and outgunned, they resort to a desperate plan – they go to Los Yunaites” 

After watching a showing of The Magnificent Seven during the town’s film festival, Nayeli is inspired by the movie’s plot and resolves to travel to the US to round up her own gang of seven men to help battle the bandidos. This idea showcases how Nayeli and the other residents of Tres Camarones are easily influenced and swayed by ideals portrayed in American movies.

“First you ladies let yourselves be pushed around by your useless men for a hundred years. Then you let those men escape. Now you deny the future! You are not the new woman! You are shameful!" 

Due to the lack of men in Tres Camarones, the women are forced to teach themselves skills that would normally be done by men. This results in a new idea of feminism, which is most exemplified by characters like Aunt Irma and Nayeli. Despite this, there are still some women who hold onto older notions of gender roles, which leads to conflict between them and the “new feminists.” This also echoes the earlier sentiment of how nobody in Tres Camarones liked change; rather than stand up for themselves, most of the women are content living their old lives.

"The Americanos are kind...they aren't really, shall we say, sophisticated like we are. You can't drink the water - it will give you diarrhea"

Before Nayeli and her friends leave for the US, Aunt Irma offers some insight, including the assertion that they “can’t drink the water.” This advice is usually given to Americans traveling to Mexico, so it may appear ironic to the reader, but serves to demonstrate the difference in cultural perception that each country has of the other, and how these perceptions are often shaped by limited and biased opinions. 

"It just looks like more Mexico" 

Upon reaching the border between Mexico and the US, the Tres Camaronians are surprised to see that the US looks exactly like their homeland. Here Urrea appears to be remarking on the arbitrariness of having a fence separating the two countries. However, its existence serves as a reminder to the characters of where they do and don’t belong.

"It shook her, this place. It was awful. Tragic. Yet...yet it moved her. The sorrow she felt. It was profound. It was moving, somehow. The sorrow of the terrible abandoned garbage dump and the sad graves and the lonesome shacks made her feel something so far insider herself that she could not define it or place it. She was so disturbed that it gave her the strangest comfort, as though something she had suspected about life all along was being confirmed, and the sorrow she felt in her bed at night was reflected by this soil"

Despite being initially shocked to discover that Dona Araceli and Don Porfirio live in a garbage dump, Nayeli finds herself strangely comforted by the life they have created amidst the trash. The feeling of loneliness that permeates the dump’s environment creates a deep sadness within Nayeli, but the familiarity that also arises from this signifies her acceptance of that sadness. Nayeli also realizes that Tres Camarones is not so different from the dump, which reinforces her determination to continue her quest in order to restore her hometown. 

"’These men here...they came from the lands you left! And they ran out of steam right here. You need the men who made it through the border. You need the warriors who have passed their challenge. Men worthy of the honor. ’The girls had not heard this kind of talk outside the movies, and it was kind of stirring" 

After hearing about their plans, Atomiko encourages Nayeli and her friends to head into El Norte and round up seven men for their mission. The dramatic way in which he speaks and his self-proclaimed title as a “warrior” mirror characters from the American movies that the Tres Camaronians are so fond of, turning their journey into the plot of an action-adventure film.

"These invaders, so infamous on American talk radio, were hopeless and frantic with starving compulsion"

Here Urrea describes men waiting to cross into the US from Mexico. He paints a starkly different portrait from the image that is typically portrayed by the American media. Far from being aggressive and violent “invaders”, these men are pathetic and desperate and without a home. Urrea contrasts them with the Tres Camaronians; while the young friends are on a heroic quest to try and save their town, the men are eager to leave their homes and pasts behind. 

"Audacity is the only solution"

Rigo says this to Tacho before the two cross the border into San Diego. Tacho, having previously been detained by border police, is now trying to enter under the guise of Rigo’s former lover. Given the daunting task at hand of rounding up seven men and the many unknowns that the Tres Camaronians will likely face, this quote highlights the need for the friends to make bold decisions in order to be successful.

"If you were born to be a ten-penny nail," Don Arturo said, "you cannot curse the hammer" 

Having a sense of belonging is something that is very important to all the characters. Even though they live in squalor, Don Arturo explains that he and the citizens of the dump accept their conditions and try to make the best of it.

Nayeli: "How odd it must be...to lie in your bunk and stare across the miles of sand at all the free people having fun.”

Tacho: "Yeah. Like the people in Tijuana looking over the fence"

While driving through Las Vegas, Nayeli notices a prison in the desert and comments on the contrast between those who are incarcerated and the tourists who flock to the Las Vegas Strip. For Mexicans trying to cross the border, the US represents freedom, just as the desert separating the prison and Las Vegas represents freedom for the prisoners. However, implicit in Tacho’s reply is that not everything is necessarily how it appears. While the US may seem alluring from the other side, reality can quickly crush illusions. The fact that the prison lies within view of a desert and the Las Vegas Strip emphasizes the likelihood of perceived reality simply being a mirage or deception.