When I Was Puerto Rican

by

Esmeralda Santiago

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on When I Was Puerto Rican makes teaching easy.

Delsa Character Analysis

Delsa is Mami and Papi's second child, and Negi’s sister. She's exceptionally beautiful and Mami and Papi refer to her as Muñequita, or "little doll." Negi says that Delsa can make perfect beans by age nine, and when she arrives in Brooklyn at 11 years old, she already looks like a woman.

Delsa Quotes in When I Was Puerto Rican

The When I Was Puerto Rican quotes below are all either spoken by Delsa or refer to Delsa. 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:
Identity Theme Icon
).
1. Jíbara Quotes

Doña Zena dragged Delsa and Norma into her yard, while I straggled behind, fretting about what had just happened, jealous that, even though my lap had been stolen years ago by Delsa and then Norma, another baby was coming to separate me further from my mother, whose rages were not half so frightening as the worry that she would now be so busy with an infant as to totally forget me.

Related Characters: Negi (speaker), Mami, Delsa, Norma, Héctor
Page Number: 18
Explanation and Analysis:
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Delsa Quotes in When I Was Puerto Rican

The When I Was Puerto Rican quotes below are all either spoken by Delsa or refer to Delsa. 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:
Identity Theme Icon
).
1. Jíbara Quotes

Doña Zena dragged Delsa and Norma into her yard, while I straggled behind, fretting about what had just happened, jealous that, even though my lap had been stolen years ago by Delsa and then Norma, another baby was coming to separate me further from my mother, whose rages were not half so frightening as the worry that she would now be so busy with an infant as to totally forget me.

Related Characters: Negi (speaker), Mami, Delsa, Norma, Héctor
Page Number: 18
Explanation and Analysis: