“For me, the sea was a great comfort, Pilar. But it made my children restless. It exists now so we can call and wave from opposite shores.”

“I resent the hell out of the politicians and generals who force events on us that structure our lives, that dictate the memories we'll have when we're old.”

“We speak in Spanish when we make love. English seems an impossible language for intimacy.”

“The war that killed my grandfather and great-uncles and thousands of other blacks is only a footnote in our history books.”

“Papi, I don't know what to do anymore." Lourdes begins to cry. "No matter what I do, Pilar hates me.""Pilar doesn't hate you, hija. She just hasn't learned to love you yet.”

“There are white people who know how to act politely to blacks, but deep down you know they're uncomfortable. They're worse, more dangerous than those who speak their minds, because they don't know ...”

“Happiness is not only a hope, but also in some strange manner a memory ... we are all kings in exile.”

“Since God lives in the heart, I was not to seek some Being way up in the sky . . . my journey to God was not outward, but inward! The only way to get closer to God was to become ordered enough insi...”

“What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.”

“Cuando vayamos al maryo te dir mi secreto:Me envuelve, pero no es ola...Me amarga..., pero no es sal...”

“I resent the hell out of the politicians and generals who force events on us that structure our lives, that dictate the memories we'll have when we're old.”

“We speak in Spanish when we make love. English seems an impossible language for intimacy.”