Olga Dies Dreaming

In a letter to Olga, her mother reveals that Olga’s father hated serving in the Vietnam War, but he was grateful to better understand the oppression that existed on a global scale. In general, “[l]eaving home, getting space, it can be very helpful in teaching us who we are” (67). Because of this, Blanca isn’t upset that Olga went away for college; however, she hates the school that Olga is attending because she believes Ivy League and predominantly-white institutions like Olga’s university affirm the hierarchy of society. Blanca writes that Olga was only admitted so the school could check off its quota of students of color. There, the people around Olga don’t value her; Blanca fears Olga will forget the values with which she was raised.

In 2017, Olga walks through Williamsburg and spots Matteo playing dominos with three other men. She is shy but delighted to see other Puerto Ricans when Brooklyn has become so gentrified. There is a small bar in the building where Matteo is playing dominos—Sylvia’s Social Club, “[t]he last of the Puerto Rican social clubs” (72). Matteo explains that he brought her there since they met in a dive bar.