The Agüero Sisters

by Cristina Garcia

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American Dream

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Constancia embodies the American Dream. Her success in marketing lotions and creams to Cuban-American women highlights her deep understanding of her target market. Her passion for selling is so strong that she even decorates Heberto's motorboat with a floral design to advertise her new perfume, Flower of Exile. Reina is uneasy with Constancia's fixation on profit and views the boat as a ''gliding advertisement for her sister.'' By the time Constancia returns to Cuba, she has become so Americanized that she sees the rough skin of her fellow countrywomen as a business opportunity. ''When El Commandant kicks the bucket, Constancia speculates, just imagine all the lotions and creams she could sell!'' This novel suggests that the comforts of the American Dream may come at the expense of exploiting one's childhood culture and family connections.

Change and Transformation

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In this novel, the characters experience physical transformations that mirror their spiritual states. One example is Reina's accident. After being struck by lightning, she undergoes skin grafts from different lovers and family members, turning her into a living representation of the various people in her life. Perhaps the most striking transformation occurs with Constancia, whose face morphs into that of her mother. Before this change, Constancia dreams of having plastic surgery and wakes up to find her face seemingly "rearranged in the night ... Then it hits her with the force of a slap. This is her mother's face." This altered appearance has multiple effects. It ties Constancia to a woman and a past she sometimes loathes, and it also leads to her business booming, as her youthful look aids in selling products.

Memory and Reminiscence

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In The Agüero Sisters, confronting family history is both a literal and metaphorical journey. Silvestre, who never met his father, and Constancia, who despises her mother, are inevitably reminded of their parents because their own features reflect their lineage. In contrast, Reina embraces her responsibility as the keeper of her parents' personal histories. She appreciates her insomnia because it allows her to sift through her father's books, documents, and bird specimens. "The past she combs through is long dead, sloughed off from Papá's life like the desiccated skin of a snake." In this novel, as long as someone is remembered, they have not truly passed away. "To be forgotten," Reina concludes, "is the final death."

Sex

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Reina expresses her identity through her sexuality, offering her lovemaking as a gift to men across Cuba. "Often, Reina chooses the most timid, smallest electrician in a town for her special attentions, leaving him weak and inconsolable for months." She possesses a robust sense of self-worth, believing that the signs of aging never diminish a man's desire—an idea that directly contrasts with Constancia's dedication to providing women with creams to appear younger and more attractive. At one point, Reina tells Constancia, "Oye, chica, since when did cellulite ever deter passion?" In another instance, she remarks, "Por favor, mere creams and lotions won't make a woman desirable. Confidence in her stride is what ignites lust." While Reina's self-assurance is captivating, she finds the same overt sexuality unattractive in the men she meets. "They are all far too convinced of their charm. This is an issue in Cuba. Even the most gnarled, toothless, scabrous, sclerotic, pigeon-toed, dyspeptic, pestilential men on the island believe they are irresistible to women." Reina has contemplated this contradiction, attributing it to excessive mothering. After the affection and attention of a Cuban mami, what man wouldn't consider himself the center of the universe?

Truth and Falsehood

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In the initial scene set in the Zapata Swamp, Ignacio Agüero fatally shoots his wife and carries her body...

(This entire section contains 124 words.)

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seventeen miles to the closest village before he "began to tell his lies." For his daughters, who are misled to believe their mother drowned, Ignacio's deceit becomes a catastrophe, fundamentally altering their perception of the world. Constancia later falls for another lie, thinking her mother committed suicide. These falsehoods lead to a violent clash between the sisters. Reina "lifts her sister by the throat. To choke out the final lies. Papá's lies. Constancia's willful, stone-blind lies." Only after this confrontation, which occurs in a boat drifting between the U.S. and Cuban shores, can both women begin to move forward with their lives.

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