The Guardians

Regina is Gabo’s aunt and one of the novel’s narrators. Born in Mexico, she crossed the border with her mother and Rafa as a young woman and has chosen to remain in the US. Although she does not ascribe to the political philosophy behind the term “Chicana,” she is proud of her multicultural heritage and embraces both her Mexican roots and the American beliefs, practices, and values that she has embraced since immigrating. An agricultural worker in her youth, Regina reflects the many Mexican migrants whose first foothold in the US was temporary agricultural labor. She went back to school, excelled in her studies, and obtained a skilled position as a teacher’s aide, which further embeds her character within the broader history of Mexican American immigrants and their communities.

Regina is lively, active, and entrepreneurial. She comes up with multiple side hustles from baking pies to selling pecans, and she notes, “Every three months or so I come up with another get-rich-quick-idea” (11). Regina’s get-rich-quick schemes are a kind of levity meant to contrast with some of the harsher aspects of life in her small border town, and they add depth and richness to the narrative. Although she has endured loss and difficulty, she does not see herself as under-resourced, and she is shown on multiple occasions to benefit from her own ingenuity.