Always Running

by

Luis J. Rodriguez

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Always Running makes teaching easy.
María is Luis Rodriguez’s fiery, intimidating mother. The descendant of Native Americans, María marries Alfonso Rodriguez while she’s still very young, and then moves to Los Angeles along with him. As Luis notes several times, she’s willing to sacrifice her own dreams and ambitions for the sake of her husband. Although she and Alfonso have marital difficulties throughout the memoir, they decide to remain married, in large part because they want to take care of their children. During Luis’s teen years, María is an important presence in his life. She discourages him from participating in gang life, at one point forbidding him from living in her house (as a result of which he begins sleeping in the garage). Later, when Luis becomes more heavily involved in political activism, María supports him, even though she’s generally suspicious of political activism. In all, María is portrayed as a passionate parent who takes childrearing very seriously, and hates to see her son get involved in trouble of any kind.

María Rodriguez Quotes in Always Running

The Always Running quotes below are all either spoken by María Rodriguez or refer to María Rodriguez. 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:
Gangs and Crime Theme Icon
).
Chapter 8 Quotes

I could see my mom and dad with a couple of Bienvenidos staff members in the front desk area. I looked over where Night Owl was still holed up.
"Hey dude, here's for Sangra," and I stuck out my hand.
Night Owl looked at me for a second, then smirked, and shook my hand through the bars.

Related Characters: Luis Rodriguez (speaker), Alfonso Rodriguez , María Rodriguez, Night Owl
Page Number: 191
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Always Running LitChart as a printable PDF.
Always Running PDF

María Rodriguez Quotes in Always Running

The Always Running quotes below are all either spoken by María Rodriguez or refer to María Rodriguez. 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:
Gangs and Crime Theme Icon
).
Chapter 8 Quotes

I could see my mom and dad with a couple of Bienvenidos staff members in the front desk area. I looked over where Night Owl was still holed up.
"Hey dude, here's for Sangra," and I stuck out my hand.
Night Owl looked at me for a second, then smirked, and shook my hand through the bars.

Related Characters: Luis Rodriguez (speaker), Alfonso Rodriguez , María Rodriguez, Night Owl
Page Number: 191
Explanation and Analysis: