Dreaming in Cuban

by

Cristina García

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Dreaming in Cuban makes teaching easy.
Ivanito is Felicia’s and Hugo’s youngest child and Luz and Milagro’s brother. He is gifted at dancing and languages. He spends his early childhood mostly locked in Felicia’s house; his mother is obsessed with him and even tries to kill herself and him rather than allow Celia to take him away. After this, Ivanito is sent to boarding school to help him integrate with other children. Ivanito is a naïve, melancholy kid who longs to someday become a translator for world leaders. At the end of the book, Lourdes and Pilar help him escape Cuba as a refugee.
Get the entire Dreaming in Cuban LitChart as a printable PDF.
Dreaming in Cuban PDF

Ivanito Villaverde Character Timeline in Dreaming in Cuban

The timeline below shows where the character Ivanito Villaverde appears in Dreaming in Cuban. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Ocean Blue
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
...lipstick and darkens the mole on her cheek using an eyebrow pencil. Her sleepy-eyed grandson, Ivanito, appears in the doorway, and Celia tucks him back into bed. After she resumes her... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Religious Diversity Theme Icon
...claimed that Jorge ascended to heaven “on tongues of fire.” As Felicia hugs her son, Ivanito, she finally notices that Celia is damp and covered with seaweed. With annoyance, Celia explains... (full context)
The House on Palmas Street
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
...nothing but ice cream for days, and that their mother spends her days dancing with Ivanito. Celia takes the girls back to Santa Teresa del Mar with her, but Ivanito refuses... (full context)
The Fire Between Them
Passion, Romance, and Marriage Theme Icon
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Thoughts of Jorge unsettle Felicia, so she plays Beny Moré records and teaches five-year-old Ivanito all the dances she knows. When they dance, things make sense. When they stop, she... (full context)
Passion, Romance, and Marriage Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
...remembers deciding to murder her husband in the summer of 1966. She was pregnant with Ivanito and suffering from the syphilis Hugo gave her. One afternoon, while frying plantains, Felicia experiences... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
Ivanito Villaverde. Every day, Ivanito and Felicia dance to a song called “Rebel Heart.” Felicia wears... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
...a bin of coconuts. Felicia is still wearing her tunic and slippers. As she and Ivanito walk through the neighborhood, looking for more coconuts, they “speak in green,” talking about everything... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
When Luz and Milagro return home from their camping trip, they look upset. They tell Ivanito that they’ve seen Mamá this way before, but when he says, “What way?” they don’t... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
At the end of the summer, Celia comes and packs up Ivanito’s things. After she leaves, Felicia cleans the house and cooks an elaborate dinner. Ivanito helps... (full context)
Passion, Romance, and Marriage Theme Icon
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Celia del Pino. Celia worries that despite his young age, Ivanito looks like his father, and she wonders what goes through Felicia’s head while she’s locked... (full context)
Religious Diversity Theme Icon
Celia keeps visiting Felicia’s house, bringing food and trying to keep her and Ivanito clean. On her way home, she often stops by the ceiba tree in the nearby... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
...attempts suicide is similar to the rest. Celia hitchhikes to Felicia’s house with food for Ivanito. She assures Felicia that her job at the beauty shop is still there for her.... (full context)
The Meaning of Shells
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
...Rojas’s job to transform into revolutionaries. Felicia is there because she almost killed herself and Ivanito, though she doesn’t remember this. She has been deemed an “unfit mother,” and everyone convinced... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
With Ivanito gone, everyone encourages Felicia to find new meaning in her life—to become “a New Socialist... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
...offers only pretty, meaningless words. They even start calling her “not-Mamá,” even though this upsets Ivanito. (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
One day, Hugo asks to see Ivanito. Luz and Milagro feel jealous, but they decide that their brother should see what Felicia... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
...incident, the three children return to boarding school. Luz and Milagro are happy there, but Ivanito cries a lot. He feels guilty about visiting Hugo and fears that Felicia will find... (full context)
Baskets of Water
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
Ivanito. Ivanito started teaching himself English out of his Abuelo Jorge’s old textbooks. At school, students... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
One day, after class, Mr. Mikoyan stands close to Ivanito and says that he’s going back to Russia. He warns Ivanito that he might hear... (full context)
Passion, Romance, and Marriage Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
...spends the next week trying to piece her memories back together—she can’t remember anyone except Ivanito. For his part, Otto Cruz adores Felicia. He’d discovered her wandering around the spare-parts warehouse... (full context)
God’s Will
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
Ivanito. After Felicia’s funeral, Ivanito received a radio in the mail. He thinks it might be... (full context)
Six Days in April
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
...sees destruction and decay everywhere she looks, and it pains her. Last night, her nephew Ivanito ate six plates full of food at the tourist hotel—the best food is reserved for... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
After dinner, Pilar had danced sloppily with Ivanito. The boy was a wonderful dancer, and Lourdes couldn’t resist taking a turn, instinctively remembering... (full context)
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
Ivanito. Ivanito feels confused and overwhelmed these days, dreaming of escaping somewhere unknown on a horse.... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Religious Diversity Theme Icon
...question. Lourdes asks, “Will I see justice done?” She sounds angry, but she looks at Ivanito with kindness—she’s taken a liking to him. Lourdes buys him gifts and hugs him a... (full context)
Passion, Romance, and Marriage Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
Ivanito hasn’t seen Abuela Celia so happy in a long time. She and Pilar spend hours... (full context)
Religious Diversity Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
Later Pilar asks Ivanito to take her to Herminia’s house. She needs to learn the truth about herself, she... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
Celia walks along the beach with Lourdes, Pilar, and Ivanito. Lourdes goes back inside the house and smokes a cigar, thinking that she can’t keep... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
Very early the next morning, Lourdes wakes Ivanito. She’s laid out clothes for him and packed him a bag. They speed to Havana.... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
Pilar. When Celia discovers that Ivanito and Lourdes are gone, Pilar borrows Herminia’s car, and they rush to Havana. Celia tells... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
In Havana, they walk to the cordoned-off Peruvian embassy and search for Ivanito. People start fighting, a policeman smashes someone’s head, and rocks start flying. Pilar gets hit... (full context)
Intergenerational Conflict Theme Icon
History and Personal Identity Theme Icon
When Pilar rejoins Celia, she lies, claiming she couldn’t find Ivanito and that he must have already left on a plane. She hugs her grandmother and... (full context)