• Collection of specimens in the Zapata swamp--reveals an interest in science and classification of plants and animals, flora and fauna.
• Shooting of birds predicts the violence of Blanca's own death
• Birds seem to be omens--Reina's electrocution
• Rooster used as purification
• Owl eats the placenta and becomes object of superstition
• Ducks used as guards
• Nature is channeled in Yoruban beliefs--Chango
• The Zapata swamps is where Ignacio and Blanca search for almost extinct animals or birds.
• Ignacio and Blanca search for nearly extinct birds in the Zapata swamp.
• The owl is known to steal the souls of people as well as to strike them deaf.
• Cuban folk culture maintains that the owl can steal one's soul and strike one deaf.
• Birds also are important; they seem to indicate what is going to happen.
• As symbols, birds announce birth, predict violence, and protect the vulnerable.

Characters:

• Reinaldo Aguero--lector
• Soledad Aguero
• Blanca Aguero
• Ignacio Aguero
• Reina
• Pepin-Reina's married lover
• Jose Luis Fuerte--father of Dulce Fuerte
• Constancia Aguero
• Heberto Cruz
• Gonzalo Cruz
• Silvestre
• Isabel
• Beatriz Urena--Nanny

Settings:

• Pinar del Rio--where Aguero family lives in Western Cuba
• Havana--where Reina lives
• New York
• Miami

To transport the reader, Garcia mixes Spanish and English as well as a standard font and italics.  We see this when she depicts the conversation between Ignacio and his father: "De acuerdo," he said. "But in case your mother asks you, tell her we've spoken" (Garcia 87). Italics represent the past, particularly in Pinar del Rio.
 

    Reina contemplates death in two different ways in her apartment after her release from the hospital.  She generalizes about how death begins as she reflects on the death of her daughter's father, Jose Luis:
"Death, she is certain, begins from within. It doesn't wait on-stage like a retired general, eager for the podium, but overcomes a body cell by cell." (Garcia 71).  Her awareness of nature influences her conclusion about death.
    The opposite is true when Reina's mind shifts to the question about her mother's death. She remembers the unnatural appearance of her mother in the funeral home, with her throat mangled.

    Reina contemplates death in two different ways in her apartment after her release from the hospital.  She generalizes about how death begins as she reflects on the drowning of Jose Luis:
"Death, she is certain, begins from within.  .  .For a few people, this happens long before the accidents and wrinkles, long before the conjugations of regret" (Garcia 71).  Her awareness of this mindset or impulse or potential influences her conclusions. (Accident; suicidal impulse)
    When Reina's mind shifts to her mother's death, she remembers her unnatural appearance in the funeral home, with her throat mangled. She knows there is nothing accidental about the way she died.

The use of opposites are exemplified by Isabel's anniversary birds--dead wrens soaking in formaldehyde and dressed in pastel, wool clothing.  Dead birds, other than a long lasting affinity to the great beyond, make poor celebratory gifts.

Isabel's anniversary birds exemplify Garcia's use of opposites. She soaks dead wrens in formaldehyde and dresses in pastel colored wool clothing.  Dead birds, other than representing a long lasting affinity to the great beyond, make poor celebratory gifts; we would expect something that affirms life. Although this gesture seems odd, Isabel is paying tribute to the family history.