Yolo, whose real name is Yoloxochitl, is one of Nayeli's "notorious girlfriends" and was Nayeli’s soccer teammate, though Yolo wasn't as good as Nayeli. In school, Yolo was a straight-A student, which her friends tease her for regularly. She and Nayeli enjoy having debates about all sorts of subjects, which drives Vampi nuts. When it becomes apparent that the girls' journey to the United States isn't going to be straightforward or easy, Yolo feels that Nayeli has betrayed her. When the girls meet up with Matt, Yolo sleeps with him, which makes Nayeli extremely angry and feel betrayed in return. Yolo gloats, though Irma tells Nayeli later that while Yolo wants to stay in the United States with Matt, Matt doesn't want her to, suggesting that their sexual relationship came about more out of convenience and curiosity (on his part) than mutual attraction or emotion.
Yolo Quotes in Into the Beautiful North
The Into the Beautiful North quotes below are all either spoken by Yolo or refer to Yolo. 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:
).
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."
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
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.
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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.
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22
Quotes
Get the entire Into the Beautiful North LitChart as a printable PDF.
Yolo Character Timeline in Into the Beautiful North
The timeline below shows where the character Yolo appears in Into the Beautiful North. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...his bar, yelling "Adios," the customary greeting in Tres Camarones, to everyone. Nayeli is thrilled. Yoloxochitl is a pin tender at the bowling alley, and Verónica is a shrimp peeler. Neither...
(full context)
...a barstool and declares dramatically that she doesn't know how much more she can take. Yolo and Nayeli roll their eyes, but Tacho makes up a bowl of cut fruit sprinkled...
(full context)
Nayeli and Yolo pull up videos on the internet. When they find one of Captain Jack Sparrow, Yolo...
(full context)
Chapter 4
Nayeli and Yolo wade through the lagoon and giggle at Tacho, who is on the shore making a...
(full context)
...companions escape. Nayeli remarks that the crabs are much like the women in Mexico, and Yolo tells her to not let Irma hear.
(full context)
...crab and dives for it. When she pulls it out of the water, she and Yolo celebrate: the crab is a female and carries eggs, which means that Tacho will be...
(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, promises to take...
(full context)
...She tells 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...
(full context)
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 wants to...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...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 simpleton." Nayeli...
(full context)
...based on another film called The Seven Samurai. He attempts to explain the premise, but Yolo keeps blurting rude interjections, and Father François gives up. Nayeli follows him back to his...
(full context)
...When the 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...
(full context)
Finally, Nayeli says, "The Magnificent Seven." Yolo and Vampi just stare. Nayeli declares that they have to go to the US and...
(full context)
Chapter 8
...promised to manage the Fallen Hand in Tacho's absence and also negotiated with Vampi and Yolo's family members.
(full context)
...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 he grumbles...
(full context)
...kind and 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...
(full context)
...the girls 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,...
(full context)
...a calming 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...
(full context)
Chapter 9
...bus stops 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...
(full context)
When the bus departs again, Vampi and Yolo sleep while Tacho listens to talk radio. The radio hosts talk about keeping Guatemalans and...
(full context)
...anything to the officers and if she has marijuana, to get rid of it now. Yolo remarks that it'll be a miracle if they survive Mexico, and Tacho says he's not...
(full context)
...single tear rolls down Tacho's cheek as he argues with the Jefe, and Nayeli and Yolo tell the Jefe that they're all going to Tijuana for Tacho and Nayeli's wedding.
(full context)
Chapter 10
...to Tijuana 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...
(full context)
...his house. They discover that their bags were never transferred from the last bus, and Yolo begins to cry.
(full context)
...doesn't let her use tampons, so Vampi doesn't know how to use one. Nayeli and Yolo accompany Vampi to the restroom to help her, and Tacho wonders if he's the only...
(full context)
Tacho, Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi pile into a taxi with two other people to go downtown. Loud music...
(full context)
...a Chavarín 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...
(full context)
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...
(full context)
Nayeli 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...
(full context)
...the door 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...
(full context)
Chapter 12
In the morning, the group returns to the street. Yolo and Tacho discuss how they both loved Matt, and Tacho calls Nayeli promiscuous for kissing...
(full context)
...wander into the nice part of town and finally sit down in the fruit market. Yolo grabs Tacho and drags him towards a chapel, and Vampi pesters a group of American...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...eggs, and 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...
(full context)
Yolo claims the top bunk for herself, and Tacho insists on sleeping on the floor. Nayeli...
(full context)
Chapter 15
Vampi and Araceli water the roses, while Yolo and Porfirio drink a cocktail made with the rum. Tacho tells Atómiko the group's story,...
(full context)
Nayeli dislikes Atómiko, but Tacho, Yolo, and Vampi insist on allowing him to come. Atómiko tells Nayeli he's coming with them...
(full context)
...and he 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...
(full context)
...the first meeting 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...
(full context)
Chapter 16
...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 asks why...
(full context)
...happen: they'll conduct interviews and send them home. Tacho thinks the US is disappointing, while Yolo shakes with anger and Vampi cries.
(full context)
...touch her 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...
(full context)
Chapter 17
When Nayeli finds Yolo, Tacho, and Vampi, Yolo is incensed. She pushes Nayeli, attracting the attention of an officer,...
(full context)
Chapter 18
Nayeli leads Yolo and Vampi through the streets. She watches American men and wonders again what makes them...
(full context)
...father's message, "everything passes." Then, she pulls out her card from Matt. She notices that Yolo is awake and is also looking at her card from Matt. They wonder what Matt...
(full context)
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....
(full context)
Chapter 19
Wino drives Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi out past the Tijuana airport to a muffler shop. Yolo and Vampi are...
(full context)
...up. He 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...
(full context)
Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi look around and wander out of the lot. They come to a playground,...
(full context)
...to do now that they're in America. Nayeli wants to find her father and Matt, Yolo wants to find Matt and Tacho, and Atómiko declares he wants to go to Disneyland....
(full context)
Chapter 20
Yolo, Vampi, and Nayeli are lucky to discover that the Jack in the Box is staffed...
(full context)
Matt pulls 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...
(full context)
Chapter 22
...Spanish and English and try to keep quiet so they don't wake the girls. However, Yolo emerges from Matt's room wearing nothing but one of Matt's t-shirts and asks the boys...
(full context)
In the morning, Nayeli, Yolo, and Vampi quietly wash their clothes. They giggle at how fast asleep Atómiko and Matt...
(full context)
Back at Ma Johnston's house, Matt and Yolo search the phone book for Chavarín. They find a Salvador Chavarín, and Yolo places the...
(full context)
Chapter 23
In the present, Matt drives Yolo, Nayeli, and Atómiko to the Hillcrest bowling alley. Nayeli takes Matt's arm as they walk...
(full context)
Yolo and Matt bowl while Atómiko insults them, and Nayeli and Chava talk. He tells her...
(full context)
...have him back, and he agrees to join the girls on their mission. When Nayeli, Yolo, Atómiko, and Matt get back to the duplex, Vampi and Carla are grilling, and El...
(full context)
Chapter 25
...with her, and Carla explains that Vampi is off with El Brujo, and Matt and Yolo are inside. Nayeli steps inside and calls for Yolo but hears only her cries of...
(full context)
Chapter 26
...water of the 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...
(full context)
The next day, Nayeli, Tacho, Vampi, and Yolo walk into the hotel where Irma is staying. Irma greets them in the lobby with...
(full context)
Matt spreads out his road atlas and helps Tacho and Nayeli plan their route. Yolo watches and openly admires Matt, and Nayeli sneers at her. Tacho and Nayeli plan on...
(full context)
Chapter 27
...and Nayeli drop into a curio shop, Tacho suggests they get a wind-up penis for Yolo. Nayeli doesn't find it funny, and she drags him out of the shop. They find...
(full context)
Chapter 31
...for donuts. 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...
(full context)
Chapter 33
...it's a sign. She showers, crawls into bed, and dials Irma's number. Irma shares that Yolo decided she wants to stay in the US with Matt—but Matt doesn't want her to...
(full context)
