Claudio Ponce / Yuk Yuk Character Analysis in Always Running

Yuk Yuk is one of Luis Rodriguez’s friends from his teen years. Though Luis is never as close with him as Luis is with Chicharrón or Miguel Robles, Yuk Yuk and Luis participate in many gang activities together. They rob houses, get high, and on several occasions fight with rival gangs. Luis is shown to be highly critical of some of Yuk Yuk’s behavior—especially the belittling, aggressive way Yuk Yuk treats women. Ultimately, Yuk Yuk dies in a car accident when he steals a car and swerves off the road, killing himself and his friend.

Claudio Ponce / Yuk Yuk Character Timeline in Always Running

The timeline below shows where the character Claudio Ponce / Yuk Yuk appears in Always Running. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Clavo disappears. Nobody is sure if he’s gone home or to jail. A new boy, Yuk Yuk (real name Claudio Ponce), joins the gang. Yuk Yuk has spent years in a... (full context)

Yuk Yuk also introduces Luis to two big-time robbers, Jandro Mares and Shed Cowager. Both men... (full context)

Yuk Yuk plans armed robberies, too. One night, Yuk Yuk asks Luis and his friends to... (full context)

...of jail cells and hearing about his gang exploits. For a time, Luis stays with Yuk Yuk’s family and later with other friends. Eventually, he starts sleeping by the railroad tracks... (full context)

One evening, Yuk Yuk, Luis, and some other friends are leaving a quinceñera (i.e., fifteenth birthday party). In... (full context)

Luis stops inhaling sprays but starts experimenting with meth, PCP, heroin, mescaline, and pills. Luis, Yuk, and Chicharrón work together to steal heroin. Sometimes, he and Chicharrón go to new neighborhoods... (full context)

Soon afterwards, Luis learns that Yuk Yuk and his friend have stolen a car and gotten into a horrible accident. Fleeing... (full context)

Politics, Resistance, and Activism Theme Icon

...and economics, which Chente sees as the three pillars of revolution. One day, soon after Yuk Yuk’s death, Luis shows up to The Collective, very high. Chente confronts him, and Luis... (full context)