“When asked where she’d come from, she’d roll her eyes, pitch her arms up to the night sky, and point to the stars with her long scarlet fingernails. So the other kids and I believed she’d flown down from a star.”

Doña Clara’s appearance at the start of the book represents an important quality of the story—that the lives that unfold on its pages are filled with magic and wonder. The young children believe Doña Clara came from a star, and this marks the beginning of a family culture that nurtures imagination through its traditions and rituals. What readers see right away is that Sofia’s world is one of marvel and awe, and that stories weave together the meaning and actions that perpetuate knowing who she is and where she comes from.

“Yes, kicking and biting like mules runs deep in our blood. Never forget that, for it might come in handy someday.” 

For the first time in her life, Sofia learns the recurring lesson that if she wants to get her way, she must be like a donkey: strong and willing to kick. Being a “kicker” is a running refrain throughout the book, and one that Sofia hears repeatedly. Sofia learns that fighting for what you want is something that has been in the blood of her family for generations. This quote teaches her two things at once: that there is past ancestral power in her present-day life, and that she needs to be tough if she wants something that’s not easy to acquire.