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Carlos Grande Rodriguez
Papi’s second wife, Mila, is a stylish and modern woman who is a U.S. citizen. As such she enjoys special privileges, and is able to travel freely between the United States and Mexico. She has three children of her own, but barely sees them—they were so angry at her for leaving her first husband for Natalio that they mostly refuse to have a relationship with her. Mila finds herself in charge of raising Reyna, Mago, and Carlos, though she reprimands them when they attempt to get too close to her emotionally or see her as a second mother. For most of the book, Mila avoids bearing the brunt of her husband’s alcoholic rages and physical abuse, while he shunts all of that violence onto his own children. As Mago, Carlos, and Reyna grow older, however, and Mago and Carlos move out to begin lives of their own, Natalio turns his attentions towards Mila and begins abusing her, as well. In the end, Mila forgives Natalio, retracts her restraining orders against him, and moves back into his home—under the condition that he sever his relationship with his children. Throughout the memoir, Mila is a source of “distance” between Reyna, her siblings, and their father, constantly serving as a reminder that they are not his first priority—and that even once the physical distances that once separated their family have been traversed, the emotional distances between them still threaten to tear them apart.
Mila Grande Quotes in The Distance Between Us
The The Distance Between Us quotes below are all either spoken by Mila Grande or refer to Mila Grande. 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:
).
Book Two: Chapter 23
Quotes
Carlos and Mago were furious about what our father had done.
Carlos said, "I spent all that time helping him with the lawyer, defending him from Mila and her restraining orders, for what? So that he could just betray us like this?"
"I'm never speaking to him again," Mago said. "He used us. He just wanted us around because he was lonely and depressed, and now that he has her back he doesn’t need us!" Once again, we were orphans.
I thought about the border that separates the United States and Mexico. I wondered if during their crossing, both my father and mother had lost themselves in that no-man's-land. I wondered if my real parents were still there, caught between two worlds. I imagined them trying to make their way back to us. I truly hoped that one day they would.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Distance Between Us LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mila Grande Quotes in The Distance Between Us
The The Distance Between Us quotes below are all either spoken by Mila Grande or refer to Mila Grande. 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:
).
Book Two: Chapter 23
Quotes
Carlos and Mago were furious about what our father had done.
Carlos said, "I spent all that time helping him with the lawyer, defending him from Mila and her restraining orders, for what? So that he could just betray us like this?"
"I'm never speaking to him again," Mago said. "He used us. He just wanted us around because he was lonely and depressed, and now that he has her back he doesn’t need us!" Once again, we were orphans.
I thought about the border that separates the United States and Mexico. I wondered if during their crossing, both my father and mother had lost themselves in that no-man's-land. I wondered if my real parents were still there, caught between two worlds. I imagined them trying to make their way back to us. I truly hoped that one day they would.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
