Woman Hollering Creek

Rachel, of “Eleven,” is desperate to be more mature and expects to feel older and wiser on her eleventh birthday. When she is undone by the incident of the red lost-and-found sweater heaped on her desk, Rachel gets a more realistic view of maturity. Rachel comes to see that understanding life and having a firmer grasp on one’s emotions doesn’t magically appear on one’s birthday. 

Salvador, of “Salvador Late or Early,” is a child who has been thrust into an adult role, taking care of his younger brothers while his mother tends to the baby and his father, it seems, is absent from the household entirely. Salvador is uncomplaining and does the best he can, making excuses for his lateness and arriving in wrinkled clothes. His quietude and his despondent staring into the distance seem to suggest that Salvador feels a deep sadness that he knows he is not allowed to express.

Micaela, of “Mericans,” is an embodiment of a bi-cultural identity, pulled in two directions and between two different cultures and their values. Micaela is frustrated by time spent with her “awful grandmother” and the excessive praying to La Virgen. She is also somewhat aghast by the clueless American tourists who arrive on the scene, wearing the wrong clothes for the occasion and obsessed with getting a souvenir photo to prove they experienced something authentic (though they did not). Micaela is very much a “Merican,” as she is both Mexican and American, both at the same time and neither one completely, all at once.

Ixchel, of “One Holy Night,” is a vulnerable 13-year-old-girl, eager for romance and poetry in her rather plain life. When she meets a much older man who promises to make her his Mayan queen, she surrenders to his predatory advances. She is a victim without realizing she is a victim because she so desperately craves love, identity and passion. The fantasy she concocts in her head about Boy Baby is far more appealing than the reality of her job selling fruits and vegetables from the family’s pushcart. She is so sold on her fantasy that she can’t see the truth, even when newspaper clippings reveal him to be a serial rapist and murderer.

Patricia, the tocaya of “My Tocaya,” is another female character stuck in a life over which she has little control. The narrator reports that she is intelligent and was promoted ahead several grades, making her the youngest in the class. She wears flashy clothes, hoping to stand out, but is forced to work at her family’s Taco Palace and the narrator surmises that she is being abused by her father. In death she enjoys a bit of attention, as her school and the community weep and mourn. When she returns again, having only runaway, the narrator is annoyed. 

Cleofilas, of “Woman Hollering Creek,” is another character stuck in an abusive relationship. Cleofilas has high hopes about her marriage to Juan Pedro. She imagines him being a devoted husband and father. When this proves to be a fantasy, she seeks comfort in romantic telenovelas. Juan Pedro becomes more and more abusive towards her, covering her body in bruises that are eventually detected by an ultrasound technician. This technician and her friend decide to help smuggle Cleofilas out of her abusive home and marriage. By the end, Cleofilas demonstrates her courage and vents her rage when she joins her rescuer, Felice, in screaming when they cross the arroyo known as Woman Hollering Creek.

Felice, of “Woman Hollering Creek,” is a strong example of the power of female solidarity. Though she doesn’t know Cleofilas, she helps her out of her abusive marriage. Felice is the opposite of every rule of female identity that Cleofilas has been taught. Felice drives a pick-up truck, has money, and curses like a man. She is unafraid, irreverent and unable to be silenced.

Carmen, of “La Fabulosa: A Texas Operetta,” is a man-eater, according to the narrator. Her romantic conquests include rich and powerful men. She is never content to stay with one and instead uses her physical charms to manipulate and seduce. Though she too is the victim of abuse, having been attacked by a vengeful ex-lover, by the end of the story she is still unphased, out drinking and dancing with her new partner.

Clemencia, of “Never Marry a Mexican,” is one of two main artist characters in the book. Clemenica has never married and feels that a distrust of marriage was ingrained in her at a young age, as her mother always lamented about marrying young and being harshly judged by her affluent in-laws. Instead of marrying, Clemencia gets together with a number of married men. They provide her with pleasure and companionship of the amount she wants while mostly devoting her time to art. Her plans for independence are foiled when she becomes involved with Drew, one of her art teachers. Though Clemencia is clearly in love with Drew, it is obvious that he has no intentions of leaving his wife for her. Clemencia decides to exact her revenge on Drew and his wife, Megan, by taking their son as her new lover. Though she is creative and passionate, Clemencia is also vindictive, and, by the end of the story, potentially violent as well. 

Ines Alfaro, of “Zapata’s Eyes,” recounts her experiences of being devotedly in love with Emiliano Zapata, though he is not as faithful to her. Like other female characters in the book, she is lovelorn, at one point taking to bed and nearly dying of a broken heart. She is also passionate and poetic, describing herself as a witch and visionary who can follow Zapata wherever he is and can also see the past, present and future all at once. She is a woman who values the wisdom of other women, most especially her Tia Chucha.