Yunior
Yunior is an immigrant who arrived from the Dominican Republic with his brother and his mother.
Initially, he was unable to speak English and longed to go home to Santo Domingo. However, as he mentions in "Invierno", he learns in large part from watching American television shows. He is described as a good student, with great potential, but often his life circumstances and his upbringing prevent him from developing into something more. Similarly, he has problems holding down a steady relationship; much of this book is centered on the women he has brief, unfaithful relationships with. Although he has feelings for the women, he appears to lack the emotional maturity to express them. His womanizer ways and his problematic habit of objectifying women stem in part from his twisted view of masculinity - he is a product of the culture of Dominican-American toxic masculinity.
He is very close to his brother and although they fight a lot, he stays with him throughout his entire life. He is very similar to his brother, who greatly influenced how Yunior became, but also has some differences as well. He is more mature, thinks more than his brother, is more rational, and is more caring and compassionate to his relatives.
Rafa
Rafa is Yunior's brother; he also arrived in the US from the Dominican Republic when he was a child. He is older than Yunior, and because he is the first child, he is loved the most, treated the best and gets away with things that his younger brother can't. He is handsome and always sought after by girls, who he usually cheats on. He is abusive, often beating and mistreating his girlfriends when they don't obey him or don't act as he wants them to act. Despite this, he is very successful with girls and has no problem finding beautiful girlfriends. He is disrespectful to everyone, even to his mum, and often shouts to her and disobeys. Because his mother allows him to get away with so much, he feels like he can do anything he pleases to anyone. Rafa always disagrees with Yunior but influences him a lot too. Rafa is diagnosed with cancer and eventually dies.
Vierta
Vierta is Yunior and Rafa's mother; she is also an immigrant who moves with her sons to the United States. She finds it difficult at the beginning because she has no friends to talk about daily stories and doesn't know how to speak English. In fact, despite her attempts, she doesn't learn to speak it properly. She favors her oldest son, Rafa, while she is more strict and reserved for her youngest son, Yunior. In fact, her relationship with Yunior can be considered as distant while her relationship with Rafa can be considered as childlike. She was very reserved to her boys' girlfriends too and would communicate with them very little - the exception being Pura, who is introduced in "The Pura Principle". She prays every day and after Rafa is diagnosed with cancer, she even invites a group of nuns to come every day to her house and pray for her son.
Pura
Pura becomes Rafa's girlfriend and later his wife. She already had two children and was in the U.S. illegally. She didn't care about Rafa but stayed with him for money and to marry him, in order to get legal status in the US. She was the only girl that Vierta clearly disapproved of; she knew about her intentions and wanted her son to stay away from her. When Rafa was hospitalized, Pura didn't show up at the hospital to visit her husband.
