Juan is a tireless worker confronting the harsh economic realities of New York City. He works grueling hours for inadequate pay and dreams of upward mobility in a capitalist system. Endlessly waiting for his lottery numbers to hit so he can purchase a new car, his experience represents the unfulfilled promises of the American Dream.

Miguel is a diligent laborer whose hard work continually fails to provide financial stability. He is forced to rely on the city's welfare system to survive, constantly waiting for his meager check to arrive. Despite his bleak circumstances, he maintains social awareness by dreaming about new anti-poverty programs that might ease his community's struggles.

Milagros is an exhausted mother working endlessly in the city's unforgiving labor market. Desperate for relief from her menial labor, she waits for the day her ten children are old enough to work so she can finally quit. The intense stress of poverty fosters a bitter rivalry with her peer Olga, though she still holds onto the beautiful dream of returning to Puerto Rico.

Olga is a determined worker trapped in a cycle of low-wage labor, forever waiting for a meager five-dollar raise. She dreams of owning real jewelry as a symbol of the wealth denied to her by a prejudiced society. The intense competition for scarce resources causes her to feud with Milagros and harbor a bitter jealousy toward Manuel's modest lottery successes.

Manuel is a laborer working under an oppressive supervisor, waiting morbidly for his boss to drop dead so he can finally secure a promotion. When not dreaming of career advancement, he places his hopes on winning the Irish Sweepstakes. His occasional luck with the local numbers game makes him a target of Olga's fierce envy.

Mister Goldsteins serves as a collective representation of the white American employers who profit from the grueling labor of the Puerto Rican immigrants. They demand cultural assimilation and subservience, maintaining a racist system that keeps workers trapped in menial positions while vehemently refusing to promote them due to discriminatory company policies.

The Number One Healer is a fortune card dealer and spiritualist operating in Spanish Harlem. Rather than providing true emotional solace, this figure is desperately sought out by the grieving families of the dead in a frantic attempt to contact spirits, specifically to learn the winning lottery numbers to escape poverty.

The ten children of Milagros represent the massive burden of family life in an unforgiving economic environment. Rather than being a source of pure joy, they are viewed practically by their exhausted mother, who desperately waits for them to grow up and find employment so they can relieve her of her grueling labor.

Manuel's supervisor manages his workplace and holds the position that Manuel desperately desires. Because racist company policies prevent the promotion of Puerto Rican workers, this supervisor's literal death is viewed by Manuel as the only realistic path to upward mobility.