In "Geraldo No Last Name," is Geraldo stereotyped or does he have an individual identity?

Marin is drawn to Geraldo and mentions details about his work and his appearance that make it evident that he has a persona. He makes an impression on her, and she does not see him as just one of many. He is different. Marin even commits to accompanying the severely injured young man to the hospital after he is hit by a vehicle in a hit-and-run accident. She spends hours and hours there "for somebody she didn't even know."

The story emphasizes the fact that stereotypes are a construct created by a society that does not care. The story makes it clear that it is not so much that Marin does not care but that the questions and thoughts such as "What does it matter?" are those expressed by a society ruled by carelessness and prejudice. It is much easier to deal with one's negative perceptions of others than to admit and try to understand that such individuals also have feelings, a life, and a history.

Knowing more about others outside their immediate influence, control, or understanding is problematic for such a society. It is much easier to brush off a tragic incident such as the one mentioned in the sketch than to show compassion, since the victim is just one of many and they are "all the same" anyhow.

In "Geraldo No Last Name" by Sandra Cisneros, what do we know about Geraldo's character?

What we know about Geraldo is obviously very limited. We are told that he likes to dance, he is good looking and young. He was wearing "green pants" and a "Saturday shirt" when he was dancing with Marin. He works in a restaurant. He is also obviously an illegal economic migrant, working illegaly in the United States to send back money home to his family. Apart from that we know nothing more.

Yet this is precisely the point that Cisneros wants to make. This vignette reveals to us the harsh existence of such migrants like Geraldo. They live their lives in fear of being deported and are forced to work in low paying jobs, living in terrible conditions, such as the "sleeping rooms" we are told he probably rented. As "just another brazer," he "always looked ashamed" of being illegal and having no status. He was not able to tell Marin any more information about himself, not even his last name, because of the way that fear forces him to live a life of secrecy. Thus the very limited description we have of Geraldo's character reinforces the central theme of this powerful fragment.