Letters from Cuba

Gentle, shy Papa has a characteristic “kind smile and a playful wink” (18), but in the three years apart from his family in Poland, Papa has grown thin. Now, he no longer has his beard, and there are worry lines on his forehead. Papa works hard to earn money to send to the family, but Esther recognizes that because he is reserved, insecure with his Spanish, and not very assertive, Papa is not a very good salesman. He is also more withdrawn than Esther. Papa does not ask questions about peoples’ lives and does not like conflict or a “fuss.”

Papa is a devout Jew: He carries the prayer book he received as a boy with him everywhere and dutifully attends synagogue and observes Jewish holidays. When bad things happen—like the attacks by Señor Eduardo—Papa finds comfort in prayer. He recognizes that life in Cuba requires him to adapt and be more flexible with his own traditions, such as working on Sabbath Saturdays and selling “idols” that go against his religion, but he prays for God’s forgiveness and understanding for these transgressions.

Papa initially worries about Esther straying from her faith because she gets close to so many people who are not Jews. However, Papa eventually learns from Esther and his interactions with the people of Agramonte that other faiths also have long histories and even similarities to their own. By the novel’s end, he has also grown in confidence and is less isolated and wary of others, while his reunion with his other children and his wife brings him joy in his new homeland.

Ma Felipa is a formerly enslaved person who cares for her son, Mario José, and her granddaughter, Manuela. Ma Felipa befriends Papa and Esther after purchasing a statue of a religious icon she calls Yemayá and later defends Papa against Señor Eduardo.

Ma Felipa’s religion is very different from Papa and Esther’s faith, but that does not cause tension between them. Ma Felipa welcomes Esther into some of her family’s religious celebrations, and Esther recognizes that she can be Jewish and still respect and appreciate others’ traditions. Ma Felipa’s history of being enslaved ignites Esther’s strong sense of justice and forms a connection between Ma Felipa and Esther and Papa, as well as a connection with Juan Chang: Like Ma Felipa, their ancestors also suffered enslavement and persecution.

Manuela is Esther’s first friend in Cuba. She is also outraged by the injustice of slavery and wants to become a teacher to help the Black descendants of enslaved people learn to read and write. Manuela’s friendship helps Esther cope with her separation from Malka. Esther tells Manuela, “I couldn’t have survived without your friendship” (193), while Manuela views Esther as a sister. Their powerful friendship illustrates the novel’s theme of The Benefits of Cross-Cultural Understanding: Had each not been open-minded and open-hearted, they may never have become friends.

Mario José works at the sugar mill. He grew up together with Señor Eduardo but does not agree with the other man’s intolerance. Mario José supports Papa and Esther against Eduardo’s hostilities and is a champion for equity and tolerance. Mario José organizes the worker strike for better treatment and inspires the workers to join the Anti-Nazi Society. Ma Felipa and her family help Esther and Papa learn the importance of cross-cultural understanding.

Like Papa and Esther, Juan Chang, the Cantonese owner of the local Chinese grocery store, emigrated alone to Cuba. He married a local Black woman, and they were very happy until she and their baby died in childbirth. Lonely, Juan Chang asked his nephew, Francisco, to come to Cuba. Juan Chang’s story illustrates the novel’s theme of The Difficulties of the Immigrant Experience. Juan Chang understands both the challenges of starting a new life in a foreign land and the importance of family ties. Juan’s gifts of sour cherry tea show his empathy for Esther’s occasional longings for her family and homeland.

Francisco becomes Esther’s other close friend. Francisco is a sensitive, talented artist and creates drawings that reveal his own open-mindedness and inclusivity of other cultures, like refugees aboard a ship and the Hebrew alphabet letter aleph. Although his Chinese name, Li Qiang, means “strong,” Francisco feels weak for missing his own mother—Francisco, like Esther, understands the difficulty of leaving one’s home and family.

Kindly Señora Graciela always wears black in mourning for her late daughter, Emilia, and carries pocket handkerchiefs in case she gets teary. Señora Graciela immediately likes Esther and gives Esther some of her daughter’s books, including the volume of José Martí’s poems and the sewing machine, both of which prove to be life-changing for Esther. Doctor Pablo is an educated, open-minded individual. He became vegetarian to punish himself for failing to save his daughter’s life. Doctor Pablo supports Papa and Esther’s right to live free from prejudice and discrimination.

Señora Graciela and Doctor Pablo have different religious beliefs and customs from Papa and Esther and from each other. Señora Graciela is Catholic, and Doctor Pablo is an atheist. They unite, however, in the belief that Cuba should be a welcoming haven for immigrants. The couple exemplify the novel’s theme of The Benefits of Cross-Cultural Understanding. Both Señora Graciela and Doctor Pablo oppose the narrow-minded hatred espoused by Señor Eduardo. Even though Eduardo is her brother, Señora Graciela sides with the Anti-Nazi Society in Agramonte to protect Cuba from his intolerance.