One of the core dynamics of the novel is the tension between Puerto Ricans who live in New York (or the wider United States) and Puerto Ricans who live on the island. María’s adjustment to her life in New York includes a transition period as she begins to more clearly understand the “battle between Island Puerto Rico and mainland Puerto Rico” (94). Ortíz Cofer’s choice to portray María’s parents as being representatives of these two perspectives heightens the importance of the conflicting aspects of María’s heritage. María believes that the conflict between the two groups of Puerto Ricans is what “finally drove [her] parents apart” (94).

Maria’s sense of her own cultural background develops over time as she observes the other Puerto Rican people living in New York. For example, she sees that her father seems more comfortable in New York and reflects that he had always “felt out of step with the island Puerto Ricans” (8). After his return to the city, María observes Papi performing a dream-like version of the Island in his songs for the other New York Puerto Ricans and realizes that many of her Puerto Rican neighbors in New York harbor a stylized, idealized image of the Puerto Rico that she knows.