62 pages • 2 hours read
Celia C. PerezTumble
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Wrestling
Wrestling is a recurring motif throughout the book and is introduced in the very first scene. Specifically, the form of wrestling that appears is lucha libre, which is distinct from American professional wrestling or any other kind of mainstream wrestling, as it is specific to Mexican culture. Thus, wrestling grounds the book within a particular setting, which is important to the themes of Understanding Identity vis-à-vis Family and The Weight of Family Expectations and Legacy. Wrestling is also described to be a performance as much as sport, in that it requires skill, athleticism, and training, but the moves and storylines in matches are choreographed. Thus, wrestling functions as a form of storytelling, calling to the theme of Using Storytelling to Subvert Social Norms.
In keeping with this, lucha libre becomes a way for Addie’s character to grow in terms of identity, family, and social norms. She incorporates wrestling in the retelling of a classic story in her school production, blending two different forms of storytelling in an act of subversion; she participates in the Bravos’ legacy and grows closer to members of her family by learning movies from Mateo, Rosie, and the twins; and, when she enters the ring in an unscripted moment in the play, she discovers that she thoroughly enjoys being on stage, and that perhaps performance is truly in her blood after all.
Photographs
Photographs are an important recurring symbol within the story. The first mention of a photograph is in the Christmas tradition, where Lourdes and Addie take a picture in front of tumbleweed snowman every year. Addie goes looking for the missing photograph from her first year, and this is what ultimately helps her find her father. Once she gets to know the Bravos, she discovers that the tumbleweed photograph has always unknowingly connected her to her paternal family, as Rosie is the one who makes the statues, and Manny is the one who started the tradition. At the end of the book, Addie’s family gathers for that year’s picture: Lourdes, Alex, Marlene, and the Bravos (save Manny). Thus, the tumbleweed photograph in particular acts as a symbolic link between Addie and her paternal family.
Other photographs mentioned in the book include the ones in the Bravos’ family room and the one that Addie takes with her of Rosie dressed as “La Rosa Salvaje.” Upon observing the photographs in the family room, Addie reflects on how they tell an incomplete picture of the family’s story, particularly with respect to the women’s role in the Bravos’ lives. Addie corrects this by eventually ensuring that Rosie and her wrestling achievements, among others, are honored by a history larger than just the Bravos: She gives the photograph and Rosie’s belt to the historical society. In this context, photographs work as a historical record, capturing past moments of importance and showing how archiving can work as yet another form of storytelling.
Masks
Masks, in both a physical and metaphorical sense, serve as a recurring symbol from the beginning to the end of the book. In the opening scene, a mask is first seen on The Eagle. This is important because it establishes cultural context, as masks are a distinguishing feature of lucha libre as opposed to other forms of wrestling (See: Background). Masks are used to obscure one’s identity and present an alternative one; this symbolism connects to how Addie is in search of her father’s identity, while Manny is actively hiding his identity in the lucha libre world.
As Addie gets to know Manny, he confides that he is The Eagle. This is both a literal and metaphorical unmasking: Manny symbolically removes The Eagle’s mask to Addie, even as he reveals other parts of himself as father and daughter get to know each other for the first time. In line with this, Manny is eventually unmasked as The Eagle in a match; from this point on, he becomes completely unmasked to Addie, too. She gets to see the real Manny—someone who is consumed by the goal of the world championship to the detriment of the relationships in his life. It is after Manny the Mountain returns that Manny begins to spend increasingly less time with Addie. Eventually, he even gets and accepts an opportunity to move to Delaware for work, which will only add literal and metaphorical distance between them.
There is another person in Addie’s family that works with masks: Mateo. However, Mateo merely creates them; he doesn’t wear a mask himself, once again both literally and metaphorically. Mateo understands wrestling is just a career, and a performative one at that; he doesn’t let it consume him the way Manny does. Where Manny admits to never separating Pancho the father from the wrestler on TV, Mateo is clear about who his father and brother are. Thus, masks are culturally important, but they are also symbolic of hiding one’s true self.
