Summer of the Mariposas

When their mother is forced to work to support the family, the Garza sisters enjoy a summer of unsupervised freedom in which their most cherished activity is swimming in the Rio Grande. To them, the river symbolizes freedom, and protagonist Odilia compares the sisters to the river-dwelling nymphs of Greek myth: “We splashed around in that cold, clear water like river nymphs, born to swim and bathe till the end of days” (4). When the body of Gabriel Pérdido floats into their midst, it signals the end of their carefree summer and reminds them that this particular river—as a natural border between the United States and Mexico—is a site of political tension and human suffering: “The waters of the Rio Grande were dangerous, and Mamá wouldn’t care that our swimming hole seemed safe to me. How many times had we heard of drowning victims turning up on its banks” (6). Odilia’s younger sister Juanita argues they should not call the authorities to report the body, as doing so would mean an increase in Border Patrol activity, thus endangering their community. In accepting Juanita’s argument, the sisters collectively shift toward an adult understanding of the border—one in which they recognize its complex politics and seek to protect the transnational community it often harms.