Dreaming in Cuban

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of sexual assault, violence, rape, suicide, attempted murder, and mental health conditions.

Pilar Puente

Pilar arrives in Miami, where she plans to see if her cousin Blanquíto will hide her for a day or two before taking her to Key West so that she can find a boat to Cuba. He and his parents live in a ranch-style house in Coral Gables, where much of the Miami family congregates on weekends. Pilar is wary of being seen by any of her other relatives. She makes her way to the home after stopping to sit in a church and looking in the shop windows of the ritzy stores on Miracle Mile. From the backyard, she can hear various family members inside the house, and she is struck by how disingenuous her aunts sound, how petty their judgements of one another are, and how much they remind her of her own disagreeable mother. After getting doused with rain, Pilar decides to stop hiding and falls asleep in a lounge chair. She is woken up by her Tía Rosario not long after she drifts off.

Lourdes Puente

Back in Brooklyn, Lourdes is visited by the spirit of her father while walking down the street.