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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Clap When You Land, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family
Secrets
Grief
Money, Security, and Immigration
Growing Up and Sexual Violence
Summary
Analysis
Camino looks like Yahaira, but golden. When Camino explains that she was swimming at the beach, this makes sense: she’s long and lean, like a swimmer. But Camino doesn’t smile much. Yahaira is shaky, but she tries to hide her nervousness as she studies her sister’s face. She can see Papi’s face in Camino’s, but she doesn’t say this aloud—Camino doesn’t seem to want to connect. Since Camino doesn’t seem like the sort to deal well with emotions, Yahaira tells her her plan and what she’ll need to attend the funeral. Camino’s forehead wrinkles like Papi’s used to, but she agrees.
Interestingly, both girls see Papi in each other’s faces—but neither is willing to mention it, so they lose out on an opportunity to connect over that observation. Yahaira, however, senses that Camino doesn’t actually want to form a relationship—despite the fact that in Camino’s narration of this moment, Camino expressed awe and excitement at putting a face to her sister. Put simply, the girls are keeping so much inside that they’re struggling to connect.
Themes
Forty-Three Days After. Yahaira doesn’t remember the last time that she and Mami went shopping. They don’t have the same taste in clothes—whenever Mami buys Yahaira rompers or low-cut shirts, Yahaira always wears them with leggings or a button-up. Mami is “a showpiece of a woman” who wears tight clothes, though it’s hard to remember how beautiful she is when she’s been wearing sweats and slippers for weeks. But as men watch Mami walk, it’s impossible to forget that she’s “every kind of feminine.” Camino would probably look more like Mami’s daughter than Yahaira does, but Yahaira grabs Mami’s hand so it’s clear that Mami belongs to her.
Now that Yahaira has met Camino over video chat, she’s contending with some jealousy—she feels territorial about her mother, since she thinks Camino looks more like Mami. But part of this has to do with the fact that Yahaira is forming her own identity separate from Mami’s; even if they both are interested in makeup, nails, and beauty, Yahaira’s personal style is less showy than Mami’s is. For now, Yahaira’s jealousy causes her to feel like this is perhaps a negative thing, not a neutral fact that reflects that she and Mami aren’t the same person.
Themes
Yahaira asks Mami if she ever wishes Yahaira looked more like her, so that nobody questioned if they’re related. Surprised, Mami says that Yahaira’s being ridiculous: she has Papi’s dark skin and hair, but otherwise Yahaira looks just like Mami. Mami looks annoyed (pinching her jaw is, incidentally, what Yahaira also does when she’s annoyed). Yahaira notes that everyone says she looks like Papi. Mami stops, agrees, and says that Yahaira always loved to hear people compare her to Papi. But she’s still an amazing, beautiful daughter, and they don’t have to have the same style. Yahaira is clearly Mami’s daughter, no matter what.
Mami makes the case that it’s not really a contest as to which parent shows up more in Yahaira’s physical appearance. It’s totally fine for her to resemble both her mother and her father, and the fact that she has Papi’s coloring and hair doesn’t make her less Mami’s daughter. The warmth in Mami’s voice shines through in this passage, helping Yahaira feel more secure in her relationship with Mami. This is also one of the first times that Mami and Yahaira speak openly about a difficult subject, which suggests they're forming a healthier, more open relationship.
Themes
Mami continues to insist that she’s not going to the funeral in the Dominican Republic, but she still visits the morgue and decides what to do with Papi’s remains. When she gets home, her face is gray. She hugs Yahaira and says, “Thank goodness / for that damn gold tooth.” She calls relatives in DR and says the funeral needs to be closed casket; “the girl” (who is clearly Camino) can’t see the body. Yahaira doesn’t understand her parents’ relationship, or how Mami must feel losing Papi again. Mami tenderly irons his pocket square, so she must’ve loved him—right?
Mami may resent Camino, but she shows here that she still feels some need to protect her from pain and suffering. This is why she makes it abundantly clear to (presumably) Tía that the funeral must be closed casket. Watching Mami is confusing for Yahaira, as she doesn’t yet realize how complicated relationships can be. It is possible for Mami to have loved (and still love) Papi deeply, while also feeling betrayed by him. But Yahaira immaturely still believes things should be simple and black and white.
Themes
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Papi will have two funerals, and people in two different countries will say goodbye to him. He had two lives—and has two daughters. He was split in two and he played a game against himself. The issue, though, is that when you do that, you always win—and lose.
Here, Yahaira begins to experience some sadness for all the things that Papi lost out on by keeping his two families secret from each other. There’s no way of knowing what might have been, but Yahaira believes that Papi still lost out on some things by keeping his lives separate.
Themes
Yahaira just wants Papi back. She wants him to stomp outside her door, say silly things, and speak rapid Spanish. There are pieces of him all over the house and even all over the Dominican Republic, but Yahaira can’t bring them together into anything that resembles her father.
Camino has already said almost the exact same thing about wanting Papi back, just switching out the places in this poem. This highlights that Camino and Yahaira are feeling the exact same emotions, even if they’re not yet ready to voice them to each other or anyone else.
Themes
