We Are Not from Here

Pulga is a 15-year-old boy from Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, but despite his young age he tries to exert mature decision-making skills in an attempt to steer his own fate. Traumatized by witnessing the murder of Chico’s mother and, later, Don Felicio, Pulga is prematurely thrust into adulthood when Rey conscripts Pulga into his gang. The powerlessness Pulga feels to defy Rey in Puerto Barrios foreshadows a similar sweeping feeling of grief when Chico dies later. When Pulga chooses throw away the backpack full of Rey’s money out the window, he effectively eliminates the option to ever return home, thanks to the violent repercussions that would ensue. After that initial choice, there is little decision-making involved for Pulga—he can only follow the rumored path north and allow La Bestia to carry him along as further traumatizing moments present themselves to him one after another. His leadership of the small group of teenagers falters before they even board the first train, and though he sees a wise move in following an older man experienced at the journey, the man bars him from doing so. Pulga’s youth and inexperience are most apparent when he loses his best friend Chico; he can no longer see any good in the world, and moreover, feels responsible for the