erprets and explains events and behavior of other people through the eyes of that culture. The main feature of that culture seems to be magic, religion, and superstition. Magic is also a major part of the narrative. This surfaces when Loca rises from the dead (really an epileptic coma) (Castillo 24-5). It surfaces when she has visions of La Llorona and becomes a prophet of her sister Esperanza's death in the Persian Gulf (Castillo 160-1). It also surfaces when CaridadÆs body heals completely after she is beaten and raped and when Domingo wins the lottery by playing the numbers of a license plate (Castillo 56-8). The issue of religion is evident throughout the novel. Thus the "curandera" Felicia, places trust in God and ritual. The importance of religion and magic as defining features of the culture is best summed up by Caridad:
[T]o Caridad such events as her Holy Restoration, her clairvoyance, the Screaming Sister (a some unkind people back in Tome still referred to Fe), and such were just part of life. Falling in love . . . now that was something else altogether! (Castillo 80).
Caridad's perspective shows a contrast between the magic (which is so important to the inner life of the family) and the reality of disappointment with love and marriage. The fact that she considers
...