Chapter 21 'Lombriz': Summary, Themes, and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens with Prieto in his Washington, D.C. office, throwing down a newspaper in disgust. The cause is a scathing op-ed by Reggie King, the music impresario who has recently become politically active, criticizing Prieto for canceling a PROMESA hearing and calling him a “toothless lion” guarding Puerto Rico. Prieto vents to his chief of staff, Alex, who had placed the article on his desk. Prieto reflects on his long, frosty relationship with Reggie, which has always been complicated by Reggie's romantic interest in Prieto's sister, Olga. Prieto admits to himself a mixture of contempt, admiration, and jealousy toward Reggie, who has built a public persona as a community-minded entrepreneur and has recently adopted Puerto Rico as his cause. Prieto notes that Reggie's op-ed didn't come as a total surprise, but he still feels betrayed by the public attack.

As Prieto and Alex discuss the fallout, a shriek comes from the outer office. Alex returns carrying a small box, and the Capitol Police have been called. When Prieto opens it, he finds the box filled with worms. He immediately knows it's a message from his estranged mother, who hasn't contacted him in over a year—not since he voted yes on PROMESA, which gave financial control of Puerto Rico to a mainland-appointed board. Prieto convinces Alex not to involve the police, claiming it's a prank, and instead has the box messengered to the FBI building.

The narrative then shifts to Prieto's memory of reviewing his mother's FBI file, which he obtained through his friendship with Miguel Bonilla, a Bronx-born FBI agent. The file is thick, dating back to his parents' involvement with the Young Lords and their earlier arrests. Prieto is struck by the concrete evidence of the surveillance his parents endured, which he had previously dismissed as exaggeration. After the Lords disbanded, the file goes quiet for years, but it picks up again in 1989 when his mother writes op-eds supporting Ojeda Ríos, the leader of Los Macheteros, a militant Puerto Rican independence group. The file details how his mother joined Ojeda Ríos in the hills of Puerto Rico, claimed credit for a bombing at the governor-elect's home, and later fled to Chiapas, Mexico, where she found refuge with the Zapatistas. Prieto notes the date of Ojeda Ríos's assassination by the FBI—September 23, the anniversary of el Grito de Lares—which fell just one day after his grandmother's death. He feels a deep sense of neglect as he imagines his mother mourning a revolutionary while his family grieved their own loss.

Prieto reflects on how, as a young man, he chose to idolize his mother rather than hate her for abandoning him and his sister. He shaped his life to reflect her values, hoping to be the “ideal soldier” in her cause. But reading her file recast her abandonment as futile, and he began to feel manipulated by her letters. When she lobbied him against PROMESA, he didn't vote for it out of revenge, but he stopped giving her approval the weight he once had. After the vote, she went silent, and Prieto realizes how much his status as “the good one” had grounded him.

Later, Agent Bonilla traces the package to a compost store on eBay, with the bill-to address of a Karen Price in Harlem. Prieto recognizes the name as his “Auntie Karen,” his mother's lifelong friend and proxy. Bonilla shares Karen's biography—her radicalization in college, her involvement with the Black Panthers, her time in Liberia, and her advocacy for political prisoners—but finds no direct link to Prieto's mother. Prieto knows the truth: Karen and his mother met at a Catholic high school and bonded over their shared awareness of systemic inequities. Karen is the only person who knows where his mother fled and has a direct channel to her. The worms, Prieto understands, are his mother's message that she sees him as a traitor.

Prieto returns to New York and decides to confront Karen. He dresses casually, takes the subway to Harlem, and walks through a neighborhood that has become gentrified, filled with white parents and luxury condos. When he reaches Karen's building, he buzzes her intercom, but she doesn't let him in. He calls up to her window, identifying himself as Johnny and Blanca's son. Karen appears, older but familiar, and tells him plainly that his mother has nothing more to say to him or hear from him. The chapter ends with Prieto standing on the stoop, rejected.

Key Events

Prieto reads Reggie King's op-ed and reacts with anger and jealousy.
A box of worms arrives at Prieto's office, which he recognizes as a message from his mother.
Prieto recalls reviewing his mother's FBI file, which details her radical history with the Young Lords, Los Macheteros, and the Zapatistas.
Prieto reflects on his idolization of his mother and his disillusionment after reading the file.
Agent Bonilla traces the package to Karen Price, Prieto's “Auntie Karen.”
Prieto travels to Harlem to confront Karen, but she refuses to let him inside, delivering his mother's final message.

Character Development

This chapter deepens Prieto's character by revealing the emotional and psychological weight of his political choices. His anger at Reggie King is tinged with jealousy and a sense of territoriality over Puerto Rican advocacy, but it also exposes his insecurity about his own record. The box of worms forces Prieto to confront his estrangement from his mother, and his recollection of her FBI file shows how he has long defined himself in relation to her radicalism. He idolized her as a child, shaping his life to earn her approval, but the file shattered that ideal, revealing her abandonment as a choice he cannot reconcile. His vote on PROMESA becomes a turning point: he stopped caring about her disappointment because he was already disappointed in her. Yet the chapter shows his vulnerability—he desperately wants to apologize to her, to regain his status as “the good one.” Karen's rejection at the end underscores his isolation and the finality of his mother's judgment.

Themes, Symbols, and Motifs

Political Betrayal and Colonialism: Prieto's vote on PROMESA is framed as a betrayal of Puerto Rico, and his mother's silence is a direct consequence. The chapter critiques the colonial relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, with PROMESA as a mechanism of control.
Worms as Symbol: The box of worms is a visceral symbol of decay, rot, and the consequences of Prieto's political compromise. It also evokes the idea of something buried and festering—his mother's anger and his own guilt.
Generational Conflict and Mother-Son Estrangement: The chapter explores the chasm between Prieto's pragmatic politics and his mother's revolutionary ideals. Her silence is a form of punishment, and Karen's refusal to let him in reinforces the emotional distance.
Idolization and Disillusionment: Prieto's childhood worship of his mother gives way to a painful recognition of her self-absorption and the futility of her cause. This theme is central to his internal conflict.
Government Surveillance: The FBI file serves as a reminder of the state's monitoring of radical activists, and Prieto's own access to it complicates his relationship with power.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 21 is pivotal because it provides crucial backstory for Prieto, revealing the personal stakes behind his political decisions. It explains his mother's absence, his idolization of her, and the emotional fallout of his PROMESA vote. The chapter also introduces Karen Price as a key figure who acts as a conduit for his mother's judgment, and it sets up a confrontation that leaves Prieto isolated and unresolved. The themes of betrayal, colonialism, and generational conflict are brought to the forefront, deepening the novel's exploration of Puerto Rican identity and the cost of political compromise.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Prieto react so strongly to Reggie King's op-ed?

Prieto's reaction stems from a combination of personal and political factors. He sees Reggie as an interloper in his political lane, but also feels jealousy over Reggie's relationship with Olga and his public persona. The op-ed attacks his record on Puerto Rico, which is already a source of guilt and anxiety for Prieto, especially given his mother's silence.

2. How does Prieto's view of his mother change after reading her FBI file?

Before reading the file, Prieto idolized his mother, seeing her as a heroic figure who sacrificed everything for her cause. The file reveals the extent of her radicalism and her abandonment of her family, which leads Prieto to see her as self-absorbed and his own life's purpose as misguided. He begins to feel manipulated by her letters and loses the grounding that his role as “the good one” provided.

3. What does Karen Price's refusal to let Prieto inside signify?

Karen's refusal is a final rejection from his mother, delivered through her proxy. It signifies that his mother has cut him off completely, with no desire for explanation or reconciliation. The act also underscores the theme of estrangement and the consequences of Prieto's political choices, leaving him without a path to redemption.