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Elvira's immediate family
Elvira Vernet
The daughter of Aurelio Vernet and Clarissa Rivas de Santillana.- Ancestral Name: Elvira is named after Chaguito's mother Elvira.
- The Resenter: She adores her grandfather Chaguito. After he convinces her parents to stop her ballet classes, she distances herself from him.
- The Unfavorite: To her mother Clarissa, in comparison to her brother.
Clarissa Rivas de Santillana
Clarissa marries Aurelio Vernet. She is mother to Álvaro and narrator Elvira.- Meaningful Rename: Don Álvaro had originally named her "Milagros" (Spanish for "miracles"). He ends up naming her Clarissa note because she is so intelligent. The rename also sets her apart from her sisters' names which are based upon poetry or mythology.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Compared to Aurelio's easygoing nature, Clarissa often loses her temper.
- The Suffragette: In her youth, Clarissa is a strong supporter of women's right to votenote and joins women's advancement organizations, but leaves all of this behind when she marries Aurelio.
Aurelio Vernet
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Based on the author's father, Luis A. Ferré who was Puerto Rico's governor from 1969 to 1972 and a supporter of statehood for Puerto Rico.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue Oni to Clarissa's Red Oni. He hardly ever loses his temper and has a friendly disposition.
Alvaro Vernet
Elvira's older brother.- The Ace: He gets good grades, is always neat, and even resembles Clarissa physically.
The Rivas de Santillana family
Led by Alvaro Rivas de Santillana and wife Valeria Boffil, their children are Clarissa, Siglinda, Dido, Artemisa, Alejandro, and Lakhmé.
Abuelo Alvaro
The patriarch of the Rivas de Santillana family.- Suicide by Sea: As he loses his wealth, he starts losing his mind. One day, he walks off the home, sheds his clothes, and walks into the sea. He is never seen again.
Abuela Valeria
A Corsican immigrant's daughter, she marries Alvaro.- Defiant to the End: A priest goes to her deathbed to administer the Last Rites. She answers yes when asked if she knows she is dying and if she believes in God. But when he asks if she repents her sins, she retorts, "What sins?" before dying.
- The Stoic: Refuses to shed a tear at Alejandro's funeral.
- Theme Naming: For most of her daughters, except for Clarissa.
- Siglinda is named after Sieglinde from The Ring of the Nibelung.
- Dido is named after her namesake, the Queen of Carthage from The Aeneid.
- Artemisa is named after the Greek goddess of the hunt.
- Lakhme is named after the Hindu priestess in Delibes's opera Lakme.
Siglinda
- Age-Gap Romance: She elopes in her teens with Guayamés's mayor Venancio.
Dido
The painfully shy family poet, she gives up her literary aspirations to marry Antonio.- Stay in the Kitchen: Antonio, her boyfriend is put off by her poetry. He arranges for famed poet Juan Ramón Jimenez to be invited for dinner at Dido's home. She is honored when Jiménez asks to see her poems. His note to her compliments her writing but advises her to quit so that Antonio will finally ask her to marry him.
Artemisa
The most devout member of the family, but prepared to be ruthless when it comes to her love, Don Esteban.- Maiden Aunt: She falls in love with Esteban García. After his death, she receives a diamond ring and his apologies for not being brave enough to propose. She wears the ring and dresses in window's weeds for the rest of her life.
Alejandro
- Aerith and Bob: Compared to most of his sisters' names, he is the Bob. Valeria named him Alejandro (Spanish for "Alexander) after Alexander the Great.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: To Clarissa. As a child, he is often writing profanities on her homework and snitching on her. When he inherits management of the central Plata, he expels acting manager Elvira even though she had been doing it successfully for some time.
- Heir Club for Men: Groomed by Don Alvaro to take over the central Plata.
Lakhme
- The Fashionista: She is always dressed in the latest fashions and providing all sorts of beauty tips to her nieces.
- Serial Spouse: Her first husband is an American soldier who returns from the war with PTSD and dies young. Her second husband is a Spanish Muslim who keeps her isolated in Rabat, Morocco until she escapes. Her third and last husband is a business owner she marries to keep her social standing.
The Vernet family
In Cuba, French immigrant Henri Vernet dies in a freak accident, leaving his wife Elvira Zequeira and their son Santiago (nicknamed Chaguito) alone. To protect Chaguito from conscription, she is forced to hide him and finally arranges for him to be abducted and forcibly put in a boat to Puerto Rico.
Abuelo Chaguito
Cuban teenager Santiago "Chaguito" Vernet arrives to the island of Puerto Rico near the end of the Spanish-American War, as Puerto Rico transitions from a Spanish colony to a US territory. He meets schoolteacher Adela Pasamontes and marries her. They have six children: sons Ulises, Aurelio, Roque, and Damián; and daughters Celia and Amparo.- Younger Than They Look: It is mentioned that as a result of working hard his entire life, Chaguito looks older than his actual age.
Abuela Adela
Adela Pasamontes is a stern schoolteacher and the daughter of a blind seller of lottery tickets. She marries Chaguito after helping him salvage a winning lottery.- Apron Matron: She is the matriarch of a family of eight and runs the household like an army sergeant.
- The Atoner: She is constantly doing charitable work. After learning that her sons are Freemasons like Chaguito, she increases her efforts to atone for their sins. She also tries to convince her daughters to become nuns, ultimately succeeding with Celia.
Ulises
Ulises's first wife is Carolyn Allan. After they divorce, he marries Venecia. His two children with Venecia are Rodrigo and Catalina.- Out with a Bang: He appears to die from a heart attack. He is found naked and with a expression of contentment in his face.
- Serial Spouse:
- Ulises Really Gets Around, even though he is married. When Carolyn asks him where he's been, he claims she can ask anything except that, because monogamy is contrary to his nature. They end up divorcing.
- Then he meets the girl who would end up becoming his second wife, Venecia. She is more accepting of his habit of visiting prostitutes, because she finds jealousy to be petty.
- After Venecia's death, he marries three more times.
- Starter Marriage: Ulises's first marriage to American heiress Caroline Allan, doesn't last very long due to his fondness for running around.
Roque
Roque marries Clotilde Rosales. They have two sons, Enrique and Edgardo.- Driven to Suicide: A combination of factors: his youngest son's suicide, his oldest son running off and disappearing with Roque's hidden cash stash, the pressure of balancing his two families, and feeling useless in running the family company.
- Secret Other Family: After Enrique's death Roque seeks comfort in the arms of Titiba, the seamstress who alters his clothes. They end up having three sons together. Nobody learns of this second household until Roque dies.
Damian
Damián marries Agripina. They do not have children, even though Agripina really wants them.- Harmful Healing: He receives electroshock treatment after having a nervous breakdown. He recovers well enough to go on vacation to Mexico. However, the treatment has left his heart too weak to tolerate the altitude and he has a fatal heart attack.
- Law of Inverse Fertility: Agripina is a Babies Make Everything Better person. They finally go see a doctor, who tells them that Damián has been sterile since he had the mumps. He accepts this, but Agripina is heartbroken, refusing even to consider adoption.
Celia
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: To the author's aunt Sor Isolina Ferré
, also known as the "Mother Teresa of Puerto Rico." - Taking the Veil: She becomes a nun against Chaguito's wishes.
Amparo
She marries Arnaldo Rosales.- Flat Character: Unlike her sister Celia, the only thing she does is sabotage her mother's plan for her to become a nun, and later marries rich.
Other characters
Miña Besosa
Hired as wet nurse to the Rivas de Santillana children.- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Alvaro does not want Valeria's beautiful breasts to be affected by nursing, so they hire Miña. Her husband agrees readily and she ends up leaving her own babies with her sister to nurse someone else's.
- Hired Help as Family: She starts as baby Clarissa's wet nurse. In addition to serving, she often advises or rebukes Clarissa as an older sister or beloved aunt would. Miña tells her that all women should have the right to vote, not just the educated ones— and Clarissa listens. When Clarissa gets cold feet the night before marrying Aurelio, she is the one to soothe her nerves.
Brunhilda Casares
A widow whom Chaguito meets after Adela dies and Celia joins the convent. They marry shortly after.- Big Beautiful Woman: Chaguito meets her on the return trip from dropping off Celia at the convent. He is mesmerized by her figure and her laugh.
- The Ditz: What she appears to be at first.
- Elder Abuse: When Chaguito becomes very ill, Brunhilda assures Aurelio that she will take good care of him. But at night, if he needs a bedpan, she pinches and smacks him to make him hurry up.
- Foil: To Adela. Adela is very frugal and manages her household with an iron fist. Brunhilda is much more frivolous and has no qualms about spending company money to redecorate her home.
- Hidden Depths: She is a master baker and when her finances are cut off, she earns her own money selling wedding cakes.
