Summary

“Aguantando” is a collection of anecdotes from when the narrator was living in Santo Domingo. For the first nine years of his life, Yunior lives in Santo Domingo without his father. During these years his mother would tell her sons their father had sent her letters telling her that he was coming to bring them back to the United States. After the first few letters, when Papi never showed up, they stopped believing him.

To provide for Rafa and Yunior, their mother works long hours at a chocolate factory. When she can not afford to feed or clothe them they stay at relatives’ houses. During one period, shortly after receiving a letter from their father promising that he was coming home, Mami is gone for many weeks. When she returns she is distraught, inconsolable, and distant from the boys. Yunior is upset that he doesn...