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Mr. Washburn
Mundín is Anita’s older brother; he’s 14 when the novel begins. He has a nervous habit of chewing his fingernails, and he’s often nervous these days because of the danger that the family is in. As the novel progresses, Mundín gets involved with the resistance movement. Papi allows this, but he makes it clear that Mundín’s primary responsibility is to his family—particularly since he would be the man of the house if something were to happen to Papi. Even with all the political turmoil, Mundín still finds the time to pine after girls; he takes a particular interest in Oscar’s older sister, María de los Santos. On the night of Trujillo’s assassination, Mundín is supposed to stay home with Mami and Anita—but when the opportunity presents itself, he sneaks off with Papi and the other men in the resistance. After the assassination, Mundín goes into hiding at the Italian embassy. Eventually, the Italian ambassador sneaks Mundín out of the country on an Italian cruise ship, dressed as a girl. He joins the rest of the extended family in New York. Months later, once Anita and her family receive the news that Papi died, family members say that Mundín takes the news the hardest. While Anita takes issue with this given her own all-consuming grief, she also thinks that Mundín’s bitten nails are proof that he’s having a hard time coping.
Mundín Quotes in Before We Were Free
The Before We Were Free quotes below are all either spoken by Mundín or refer to Mundín. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter Six
Quotes
Not even the thought of falling in love with Sam is a consolation anymore. Overnight, all boys (except for Papi and Tío Toni and Mundín) have become totally gross. Here’s an old lech flirting with my sister. Here are Oscar and Sam drinking liquor and throwing up. If only I could be like Joan of Arc, cut off my hair and dress like a boy, just to be on the safe side. Or even better, if only I could go backward to eleven, instead of forward to thirteen!
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Anita’s Diary
Quotes
Today’s note was just to me. I guess from his hiding place, Mundín caught a glimpse of María de los Santos sitting in the gallery with some young fellow, and he wants to know what I know.
I couldn’t believe that Mundín was thinking about a girlfriend at a time like this!
But then... I’m thinking a lot about Oscar! As Chucha would say, the hunchback laughing at the camel’s hump!
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Chapter Ten
Quotes
Then one of them shook our hands and said, “Welcome to the United States of America,” and pointed us out of Immigration. And there was my answer to how I would survive in this strange, new world: my family was waiting for us—Mundín and Lucia, my grandparents, Carla, her sisters, and Tía Laura and Tío Carlos and Tía Mimí—all of them calling out, “Anita! Carmen!”
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Mundín Quotes in Before We Were Free
The Before We Were Free quotes below are all either spoken by Mundín or refer to Mundín. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter Six
Quotes
Not even the thought of falling in love with Sam is a consolation anymore. Overnight, all boys (except for Papi and Tío Toni and Mundín) have become totally gross. Here’s an old lech flirting with my sister. Here are Oscar and Sam drinking liquor and throwing up. If only I could be like Joan of Arc, cut off my hair and dress like a boy, just to be on the safe side. Or even better, if only I could go backward to eleven, instead of forward to thirteen!
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Anita’s Diary
Quotes
Today’s note was just to me. I guess from his hiding place, Mundín caught a glimpse of María de los Santos sitting in the gallery with some young fellow, and he wants to know what I know.
I couldn’t believe that Mundín was thinking about a girlfriend at a time like this!
But then... I’m thinking a lot about Oscar! As Chucha would say, the hunchback laughing at the camel’s hump!
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Chapter Ten
Quotes
Then one of them shook our hands and said, “Welcome to the United States of America,” and pointed us out of Immigration. And there was my answer to how I would survive in this strange, new world: my family was waiting for us—Mundín and Lucia, my grandparents, Carla, her sisters, and Tía Laura and Tío Carlos and Tía Mimí—all of them calling out, “Anita! Carmen!”
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