Soledad

Soledad is a costume designer for the Alegria dance group and she is the friend of the

protagonist Yesenia. Moreover, she is an illegal immigrant from Mexico living in the United

States of America for establishing her passion on designing the Mexican clothes for the

Alegria dance company. Being an immigrant, she establishes her identity in the American

soil. Soledad’s struggles typically reflect the hardship of an illegal immigrant who finds it

difficult to meet her daily needs. As Soledad is a passionate costume designer, she wishes to

have a designing shop for herself in America, but due to her lack of the United States

citizenship, she is not able to rent a shop for herself and so she has to get help from her friend

Ruben who is a legal citizen of America. Even though, Soledad does not get enough profit

from the Alegria dance group, she continues to have her deal with them because of her

intense love for her native culture.

Though Soledad’s mother does not wish her to design costumes for the Alegria dance

group, she still continues to work for them due to her love for the Mexican culture, though

she is not able to get sufficient pay from the dance group. Henceforth, her mother insists that

she makes party dresses through which she can get a valuable sum to attain her wishes.

Grande sets forth a wide turning point in the life of the protagonist Soledad, as her

dreams shatter with Ruben’s attempt at gender transformation. Though Soledad longs to own

a shop for herself with the help of Ruben, his decision of undertaking a surgery for gender

transformation prevents him from getting a shop in the United States of America. Ruben is

the only person who encourages and supports Soledad in all her deeds. Soledad’s struggle

continues, as she comes to know about the critical condition of her grandmother, who lives in

Mexico. Since Soledad reaches her house to inform her mother about Ruben’s gender

transformation, she finds her mother shedding tears for her grandmother, who is suffering on
her deathbed due to a scorpion bite. Hence, Soledad’s mother expresses her wish to visit her

dying grandmother in Mexico. Grande reveals the overlapping sufferings of Soledad which

deliberately shatter her dream of establishing the costume designing shop. As Soledad,

extends her unconditional love for her family, she spends all her money for setting their

journey for Mexico with her mother and her half-sister Stephanie to pay for the last rituals of

her grandmother. Moreover, for Soledad it is a dangerous as well as a tedious task, as she

does not have proper documents for returning to the United States of America. Therefore, her

mother wants her to stay in America, since hiring a coyote is an expensive as well as a

dangerous process.

Since Stephanie could not accept her Mexican root, Soledad feels sorry for her

behaviour and tries to explain to her about the richness of Mexican culture. Moreover, she

states that due to the influence of American culture, she is least bothered about her ancestral

heritage. Mexicans are greatly influenced by strong colour effects and the costumes of the

Folklorico dance symbolically relate the colourful wings of the monarch butterflies in

Mexico. As Soledad feels proud of inheriting her grandmother’s (Abuelita) skill in sewing the

traditional costumes of the Mexicans, she acknowledges her achievement as a tribute to her

grandmother. Since she designs Mexican costumes in the United States of America, she helps

the Mexican culture flourish by bringing the famous of Mexican costumes to the American

soil. Moreover, by designing the costumes of Folklorico with the colour effect of monarch

butterflies, she reveals the essential link of butterflies with the Folklorico dance. Soledad

feels happy for holding on to the Mexican root and finds joy in establishing the Mexican

heritage in the United States of America.

When Soledad witnesses her brother’s struggles in Mexico, she is much worried about

his hardship due to his poor economic condition. Therefore, she convinces her brother

Lorenzo to join her in the United States of America, in order to provide good financial
support for his family. Hence, on heading the journey, she conveys the persisting fear of

crossing the United States-Mexico borders, as they do not have proper documents needed for

migration Soledad’s fear reflects the condition of the immigrants who proceed on the journey

through illegal migration. Since they cross the United States-Mexico border illegally, they are

pounded with constant fear of getting caught by the border police, who either kill them or

send them to jail for their criminal act. In addition, her fear terrifies her when she thinks

about the fate of her grandfather and father, who were killed brutally while crossing the

United States-Mexico border illegally. Since Soledad and her brother Lorenzo are caught by

the border police (la migra), Lorenzo does not want to continue his journey for the United

States of America, rather he wishes to get back to his family in Mexico. Even though he

struggles hard in providing the basic needs of his family in Mexico, he expels his frustration

and tells Soledad his decision. Lorenzo’s fear does not really state that he is afraid of facing

the dangerous journey, rather he expresses his responsibility for his family. Soledad for the

second time proceeds on her Journey to the United States of America by hiring a coyote all

alone. However, even at this time, she is again abandoned by the coyote in the middle of the

journey because of her ankle sprain. Fortunately, she is rescued by a man called Jerry.