Summary

In Chapter 7, “Qué India” (105), Tía Dora is not speaking to Hernández after she has come out as bisexual. Tía Dora is also chronically ill with, it is believed, a parasitic disease called Chagas. In 1980, she comes to New Jersey from Colombia, and the following year she has stomach surgery. As Hernández grows up, Tía Dora constantly corrects her behavior and manners; when she is rude, she is accused of being “una india” (108) — an Indian. She explains that “una india” is her aunt's shorthand phrase for someone who “behaves badly and is loud about it” (110). She also notes that Tía Dora's husband, José, is Peruvian, meaning he is “un indio” (111). José dies while Hernández is in college. She believes if he was still alive, he would make Tía Dora talk to...