Celaya “Lala” Reyes is the youngest child of seven children, and the only daughter. As the narrator/author of the novel, Lala is a natural storyteller, much like her grandmother and her father. She not only shares her own coming-of-age experiences moving back-and-forth between Chicago and Mexico City, but narrates the stories of her parents' marriage and her Awful Grandmother Soledad’s marriage to Narciso Reyes. Through these stories, she is able to process her experiences and access the parts of her legacy that matter most deeply to her. At times, Lala also takes poetic license to augment the drama of her stories and fill in the voids of her memory. As Lala herself explains, “Talk is all I’ve got going for me” (353).

Inocencio is Lala’s father, and the much-adored son of Soledad, the Awful Grandmother. His family gives him the childhood nickname "el Tarzán," after he attempts swinging from a tree and breaks his arms. Soledad makes no secret of the fact that Inocencio is her favorite son, and she enjoys spoiling him with special treatment (including his favorite mole dish) whenever he visits her in Mexico City. Likewise, Lala is Inocencio’s favorite child, and he showers her with special affection.