Importance of Prieto Acevedo

Prieto Acevedo is another of the novel's primary characters. His parents are Blanca and Johnny Acevedo and his younger sister is Olga Acevedo. Along with Olga, he grew up in his grandmother's house in the Sunset Park neighborhood of South Brooklyn, New York. After Prieto's mother left the family, Prieto assumed more familial responsibilities. Though he was frustrated with his mother and worried about his father, who had lapsed into drug use, Prieto chose to treat them with love. However, over the years, this love grew distorted. He idolized his mother from afar, crafting his life and identity according to her impossible standards. Meanwhile, he gave up his schooling upstate in order to be closer to his family. He moved back home and spent much of his time caring for his father, whose addiction had worsened.