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:
Pinar del
Rio--where Aguero family lives in Western Cuba
Havana--where
Reina lives
New York--where
Heberto runs his cigar import business
Miami--where
Heberto and Constancia retire and where she begins her make-up industry
Important moments:
Spring Migration
Reina inhabits the past by living
in her father's apartment and preserving his specimens
Reina a patriot--doesn't defect
when given the opportunity
Reina hurls the shotgun into the
ocean, from the malecon
Miami
Constancia too sexually driven
for her husband, she wears him out
Heberto prepares for his military
expedition by buying a knife, fatigues, and a utility belt--a search for
possibilities 77
Constancia recalls what Reina has
told her about their mother's corpse, but she favors her father's story,
that Blanca shot herself