Titi Aurora is Mami’s eldest sister; she’s about 13 or 14 years older. Titi Aurora marries an older man at age 16 to escape their mother’s household and their mother’s failing health. However, Titi Aurora doesn’t abandon her family—she returns every few weeks to collect piecework from women who sew handkerchiefs, and she asks Mami to hem two-dozen handkerchiefs every week as her contribution to the family. With the proceeds, Titi Aurora provides Mami with shoes and clothing. When Mami’s mother finally dies, Mami goes to live with Titi Aurora in the city. To support her younger sister, Titi Aurora helps procure Mami a false birth certificate so Mami can join the Women’s Army Corps. Titi Aurora is a regular presence in Sonia’s life in the Bronx. Sonia attends church with Titi Aurora when she becomes disillusioned with the priest at Blessed Sacrament following Papi’s death, and when Mami moves the family to Co-op City, Titi Aurora comes to live with them. During this time, Sonia resents Titi Aurora’s presence, as Titi Aurora is frugal to a fault and takes issue with the fact that Mami buys things that she considers luxuries—and on top of that, Sonia believes that Titi Aurora is around to help keep an eye on any teenage rebellion or rule-breaking. Regardless, Sonia recognizes that Titi Aurora and Mami are connected to each other in a deep way that she’ll never fully understand. As Sonia grows up, she begins to place Titi Aurora’s life in the wider context of the Puerto Rican immigrant experience. Titi Aurora works illegally in the garment industry in New York, but she also values honesty, rules, and hard work. The one thing she loves and that allows her to loosen up is pro wrestling, which she watches with Kenny Moy on TV. Titi Aurora dies right after Sonia becomes a judge and Mami moves to Florida with Omar.
