Verónica, who goes by Vampi, is one of Nayeli's "notorious girlfriends," and she's the only goth girl in Tres Camarones. Her goth phase began after her parents died in a tragic bus accident, and she gets away with the dark makeup and black clothes because her grandmother is too tired to fight her about her new look. She's a relatively ditzy and silly character, and her good ideas are treated as though she only has good ideas on rare occasions. In the United States, Vampi falls in love with a young man who goes by El Brujo. When Nayeli thinks about the landscape of the girlfriends' relationships, she questions if Vampi even ever truly knew herself, indicating that Vampi is truly a youthful and naïve character who develops much less over the course of the novel compared to the other girls.
Vampi Quotes in Into the Beautiful North
The Into the Beautiful North quotes below are all either spoken by Vampi or refer to Vampi. 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:
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Chapter 5
Quotes
"We are Mexicans," Irma informed the fruit seller—needlessly, he felt. "Mexicans eat corn and beans. Did you notice? The Aztec culture gave corn to the world, you little man. We invented it! Mexicans grow beans. How is it, then, that Mexicans cannot afford to buy and eat the corn and beans they grow?"
"These illegals come to Mexico expecting a free ride! Don't tell me you don't have Salvadorans and Hondurans in your school, getting the best education in the world! They take our jobs too [...] What we need is a wall on our southern border."
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
"You will see," Irma said. "The Americanos are kind. Friendly people. Generous people. They have quaint customs—they aren't really, shall we say, sophisticated like we are. You can't drink the water—it will give you diarrhea. But it's very clean there. Good food. You'll see."
Chapter 10
Quotes
The USA didn't look as nice over there as it did on television.
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Chapter 18
Quotes
Nobody but Nayeli's gang was on a quest to protect and repopulate their villages. They were there for food, to send money home. These invaders, so infamous on American talk radio, were hopeless and frantic with starving compulsion.
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Chapter 22
Quotes
Get the entire Into the Beautiful North LitChart as a printable PDF.
Vampi Character Timeline in Into the Beautiful North
The timeline below shows where the character Vampi appears in Into the Beautiful North. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...to everyone. Nayeli is thrilled. Yoloxochitl is a pin tender at the bowling alley, and Verónica is a shrimp peeler. Neither likes their jobs. Per usual, everyone stares at Verónica, as...
(full context)
...will marry Johnny Depp. Tacho agrees with the girls that Jack Sparrow is hot, but Vampi is dismissive. She claims she can only marry one man. Nayeli grumbles, but she searches...
(full context)
Chapter 5
The next morning, Tía Irma steers her ancient Cadillac towards Mazatlán. Vampi, Nayeli, and Yolo snore peacefully in the backseat. As usual, Irma points out a mountain,...
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...the woman to go home and says that Mexico is for Mexicans. Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi are appalled and embarrassed, but Irma goes off on a tirade anyway. She insists that...
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Irma agrees to let Nayeli drive home. As Vampi and Yolo sleep in the backseat, Nayeli whines that she's lonely. She says that she...
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Chapter 7
That night, Nayeli wanders around her mother's dark house and thinks about poor orphaned Vampi. Vampi's parents died in a bus accident: the driver fell asleep and drove off a...
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...the Cine Pedro Infante, fills for the festival. Nayeli attends with Tacho and shouts at Vampi and Yolo across the theater. The entirety of Tres Camarones comes, even Pepino, the "town...
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...movie is over, Nayeli pulls out her postcard and drifts out the door. Yolo and Vampi attempt to grab Nayeli, but Nayeli is lost in thought. The girls follow Nayeli to...
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Finally, Nayeli says, "The Magnificent Seven." Yolo and Vampi just stare. Nayeli declares that they have to go to the US and bring home...
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...boyfriends, babies, and no bandidos, and they could even find one gay boy for Tacho. Vampi suggests they take Tacho, and Nayeli says that they're on a mission from God to...
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Chapter 8
...Hills." Irma promised to manage the Fallen Hand in Tacho's absence and also negotiated with Vampi and Yolo's family members.
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...hundreds of years, then by allowing their men to escape, and finally by denying Nayeli, Vampi, and Yolo the future. She snaps her fingers at Tacho to get her coffee, and...
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...have quaint customs, but you can't drink the water there. Pointing to Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi, Irma says that God himself came from Tres Camarones, and she won't allow bandidos or...
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...board, Irma tells them to make her proud and hurries away. Nayeli, Tacho, Yolo, and Vampi take over an entire row of seats in the back of the bus, and the...
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...motion at Nayeli before opening the doors for armed soldiers. Nayeli wakes Tacho, Yolo, and Vampi as Chuy turns the light on. The soldiers make their way down the bus aisle,...
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Chapter 9
...for a thirty-minute break and to pick up a relief driver. Tacho, Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi cross the street to a diner to freshen up and eat. However, the toilets are...
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When the bus departs again, Vampi and Yolo sleep while Tacho listens to talk radio. The radio hosts talk about keeping...
(full context)
Chapter 10
...if they are willing to stand the rest of the way. Nayeli, Tacho, Yolo, and Vampi board the new bus, and Nayeli is nauseated by the smell of her own and...
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...her cell phone and rushes away. Tacho suggests they go downtown to find food, and Vampi whispers to Nayeli that she started her period, and her supplies are in her missing...
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Tacho, Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi pile into a taxi with two other people to go downtown. Loud music pulses out...
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...in Tijuana or any nearby cities. Nayeli nervously returns to the table, where Yolo and Vampi are drunk on two beers each and laughing. She shakes her head at Tacho, and...
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Chapter 11
After dark, the group stands against a wall, and Yolo suggests they call Irma. Vampi and Yolo insist they've already failed, but Nayeli vows to herself to find Don Pepe....
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...asks the men to direct her to a hotel, and one offers Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi fifty pesos each to have sex with him. Finally, the man leads them to a...
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...open a crack, and fires the pepper spray into the man's face. Tacho, Yolo, and Vampi start screaming. Nayeli allows the door to open fully and stomps on the man's genitals...
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Chapter 12
...down in the fruit market. Yolo grabs Tacho and drags him towards a chapel, and Vampi pesters a group of American missionaries. A man stops next to Nayeli and asks if...
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...if she's alright. Nayeli replies that they're in trouble, but they'll get out of it. Vampi tells Porfirio that she wants to go home, and Araceli asks if they're going north....
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Chapter 13
...now, hours later, Porfirio dances drunkenly. Tacho primly sips his rum, and Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi just sit on a bunk bed and stare at the filth. Araceli slices potatoes and...
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...herself, and Tacho insists on sleeping on the floor. Nayeli shares the bottom bunk with Vampi, who mutters, kicks, and tosses in her sleep. At dawn, Nayeli gets up and goes...
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Chapter 15
Vampi and Araceli water the roses, while Yolo and Porfirio drink a cocktail made with the...
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Nayeli dislikes Atómiko, but Tacho, Yolo, and Vampi insist on allowing him to come. Atómiko tells Nayeli he's coming with them because there's...
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...flips off the Mexicans with a smile before getting back in his truck. Yolo and Vampi wonder if they should just go home, and they brush off Atómiko's attempts to soothe...
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...point, the coyote takes off through the tall brush. Nayeli follows, with Yolo, Tacho, and Vampi behind her. They notice a pregnant woman (later revealed as Candelaria) running with them, and...
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Chapter 16
...soon stop when they see two agents beating a Mexican boy. Smith seems embarrassed, and Vampi and Yolo cry. Smith gets out to help the agents, and when he returns, he...
(full context)
...send them home. Tacho thinks the US is disappointing, while Yolo shakes with anger and Vampi cries.
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...breast. This distracts her, and when she turns her attention back to Tacho, Yolo, and Vampi, she can't find them. She looks around at the others in the pen and is...
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Chapter 17
When Nayeli finds Yolo, Tacho, and Vampi, Yolo is incensed. She pushes Nayeli, attracting the attention of an officer, and Tacho tries...
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Chapter 18
Nayeli leads Yolo and Vampi through the streets. She watches American men and wonders again what makes them different. She...
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Back in the hallway, Wino and Atómiko lament Tacho's fate. Yolo and Vampi open the door, and they discuss the phone call to Irma with Nayeli. They decide...
(full context)
Chapter 19
Wino drives Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi out past the Tijuana airport to a muffler shop. Yolo and Vampi are entranced, but...
(full context)
...directs them to a garage and from there, into a box truck. Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi clutch each other as the truck winds through traffic. After a while, they feel the...
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Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi look around and wander out of the lot. They come to a playground, and Vampi...
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Vampi asks the group what they want to do now that they're in America. Nayeli wants...
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Chapter 20
Yolo, Vampi, and Nayeli are lucky to discover that the Jack in the Box is staffed by...
(full context)
...into the Jack in the Box parking lot in Ma Johnston's minivan. Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi rush to him and hug him, and Matt is delighted to see the girls. They...
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...place a palace. Atómiko makes himself at home by turning on the TV and asking Vampi to get him a beer, and Matt offers the girls a shower. When Vampi asks...
(full context)
Chapter 22
In the morning, Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi quietly wash their clothes. They giggle at how fast asleep Atómiko and Matt are—the girls...
(full context)
...drives the group to get pancakes. Nayeli tries to explain what a pancake is to Vampi, but Vampi declares she'll order huevos rancheros. When they walk into a diner, a woman...
(full context)
Vampi turns and freezes—a short Mexican man with black hair puts down waters at their table,...
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...the diner and has been working there for the last six years. After he tells Vampi his story, he says he'll probably work for another six years. He asks Vampi if...
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Chapter 23
...girls on their mission. When Nayeli, Yolo, Atómiko, and Matt get back to the duplex, Vampi and Carla are grilling, and El Brujo is engaged in a game of Guitar Hero...
(full context)
Chapter 25
...yard. Atómiko pulls his shirt off and jumps in with her, and Carla explains that Vampi is off with El Brujo, and Matt and Yolo are inside. Nayeli steps inside and...
(full context)
Chapter 26
...pool, thinking that nobody knows she's here. She feels like she lost Yolo, Matt, and Vampi, and she wonders if she'll lose Irma now that Chava is in the picture. Nayeli...
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The next day, Nayeli, Tacho, Vampi, and Yolo walk into the hotel where Irma is staying. Irma greets them in the...
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Back at the hotel, Irma is incensed: Vampi promised El Brujo control of the cinema one night per week, and Angel wants a...
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Chapter 31
...Chava sits next to Irma: he's now the Deputy Mayor of Tres Camarones. Yolo and Vampi sit with Irma as well, and El Brujo and Atómiko act as security guards. Matt...
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