Importance of Mama (Dona Alma)

Chula's mother is referred to as Mama, distinguishing her from Petrona's mother, who is referred to as Mami. Mama is a complex character: at times she is extremely protective and maternal, at other times self-absorbed and selfish. She is both superstitious and pragmatic, both overly-sensitive and emotionally casual. There are times when she seems to be more motherly towards Petrona than towards Chula, a circumstance that perhaps springs from the fact that Petrona and Mama come from the same disadvantaged childhood background.