The Tequila Worm

The author’s decision to begin the book with Doña Clara is no mistake. Doña Clara is a storyteller. Her purpose in the book is to embody one of its main ideas; that community and identity is passed along in stories. She brings her burlap sack and pulls out magical items, building stories of ancestral family members around the items. The effect on her listeners is to appreciate and love their lineage and to find meaning in their Mexican American identity. She is something of a legend, and she inspires all the people around her; both family and friends, to view their lives in terms of the stories that link their cultural heritage to their everyday living. 

Sofia’s mama is a strong presence in her life. As we learn from Doña Clara from the very start, Mama has the presence of a mule, a stubborn, kicking fighter who will get her way when she wants it. Mama is also a woman whose unequivocal faith in Catholicism informs her life. She passes this faith down to her daughter so that Sofia can learn to navigate a complicated world with the help of Jesus and the joy of the many religiously infused ceremonies and rituals she learns. Mama teaches Sofia about the sacred and also how to have fun. She is the arbiter of rules, some of which she makes up as she goes along. Mama feels her way through events. Her knowing comes from doing. 

Mama’s mothering is stern. She is the parent who teaches Sofia manners, and the one who doles out the consequences when Sofia makes mistakes. She is also the most reluctant about letting her daughter go away to school, which creates conflict in Sofia. Out of this conflict, Sofia learns how to please her mama while she also fulfills her goals and expectations for herself. 

Sofia’s papa is a quiet, serene man who finds his wisdom less in the church and more in the cultural traditions of his ancestors. He is musical and creative. He likes the silence of his Tuesday ritual cleaning beans. He and Sofia share many traits, and this unites them. They are both more introverted and thoughtful than Mama and Lucy. Papa, like Sofia, is a dreamer who knows what he likes and who nurtures the creative side of himself, passing this down to Sofia.

Papa represents Sofia’s closest familial relation. He only speaks when something seems important. The long quiet hours they spend together cleaning the beans cements their relationship. Perhaps more than Mama, Sofia’s Papa believes that his cultural framework is the single most important part of his life and that the expression of his culture is the most important teacher for young people. To that end, he influences Sofia to choose what she needs regarding the rituals that serve her best, but to always honor every tradition. 

Younger sister, Lucy, provides a study in sibling love. Lucy is a sweet, gentle girl, more apt to be a friend of Berta’s for her love of dresses, romance, and babies, than to fully understand her complicated sister, but Sofia dearly loves her younger sister. Lucy is not afraid to be vulnerable, and because she is more like Sofia’s mother, she cares deeply about her religion and the celebrations that have to do with Christmas and Easter.

Lucy’s character helps to soften Sofia’s ambition. Because Lucy is vulnerable and yet forthright with feelings and emotions, Sofia uses her as the test for what her family can endure when it comes to leaving them for private school. Lucy is a moral center in the story, someone who is created as a good soul and through whom other characters, most notably Sofia, can gauge their intentions and the impact of their decisions. 

At first, Sofia and her cousin, Berta, don’t get along. Berta is a foil to Sofia’s character. Sofia is a tomboy. She values academics, her family, and her professional future: traits that are completely at odds with Berta’s disdain for school and her ambitions for a more domestic existence.

Where Sofia is serious and quiet, Berta is loud and expressive. Berta is the opposite of a tomboy—she’s a girly girl who wants a fancy quinceañera hopes to marry young and have children, and does not excel at school. It is these opposing qualities in Berta that provide Sofia with the lightheartedness she needs to take her life less seriously. Berta also represents Sofia’s struggle with being a friend. Berta, as Sofia’s closest cousin, is also her first comadre and as such teaches Sofia the value of loyalty and love, despite their differences.