What are some character traits for Tia?

Tia Solano, or just Tia is the aunt of Camino, or Camino’s mother’s sister. Tia means aunt in Spanish. She is a “curandera,” or a healer who uses traditional or folk remedies to cure people, and she is also a religious person, hosting religious ceremonies and praying at the altar she has set up (165). Tia represents the theme of the power of female relationships, and the theme of spirits and ghosts. Tia knew Papi from the day he was born, and later saw him fall in love with her sister. Tia was the first person to hold Camino and has been taking care of Camino since her birth, especially after Camino’s mother’s death. Camino describes their relationship as easy, “I do not chafe at her rules. [line break] She does not impose unnecessary ones.” (3). Tia provides guidance, comfort, and light advice to Camino while knowing that she is not a parent. However, she does not fully understand Camino’s life, as when she hears rumors about Camino and El Cero she assumes the worst, and that Cmaino is inviting his attention. She tells her, “I raised you smart. Right girl?” and tells her, “I raised you clean & fed” and “Choices. Did I not do everything [line break] to provide you choices” (154-555). This adds to Camino’s desperation about what to do about El Cero, as even Tia is making incorrect assumptions about the situation.

Tia is also a very religious person, adding to the theme of spirits and ghosts, and reminding the reader of the possibilities of life, despite Papi’s death. She holds ceremonies outside where women gather and chant together. However, as a healer, Tia also helps aid in two medical miracles - including the survival of Carline’s premature baby, and healing the woman with cancer. During Carline’s delivery, she breathes life into a seemingly lifeless Luciano, and he gasps as the lights turn on in the house. The woman with cancer’s tumor miraculously gets better with Camino and Tia’s care. At the end of the novel, it is Tia who knows where Camino has gone. When Camino leaves, she has Carline become her apprentice in her place, knowing Tia will also want to help watch the baby.