Salvador Late or Early

Sandra Cisneros’s vignette “Salvador Late or Early” first appeared in her 1991 short story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. The work depicts a young Mexican American boy who must care for his younger brothers while attending school, a place where no one truly knows him. Cisneros’ portrait of Salvador explores Isolation Experienced by Young Caregivers, Invisibility Within Educational Institutions, and Poverty Reshaping Traditional Family Structures. 

Known for her poignant depictions of working class Mexican American families and children, Cisneros has garnered many awards for Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, including the PEN Center West Award for Best Fiction. The collection was also chosen by The New York Times and The American Library Journal as one of the important books of the year.

This guide refers to the story as it appears in the 1991 First Vintage Contemporaries print edition of Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of racism and child abuse.

Plot Summary

The story is told through a limited third-person perspective that develops the character of the protagonist, a young boy named Salvador. Instead of a traditional plot structure, the vignette describes Salvador’s life. 

Salvador has green eyes, messy hair, and “crooked teeth” (Paragraph 1). He has no relationships outside his family—he has no friends, and his teacher barely knows his name. Each morning, in an impoverished part of town, Salvador must wake his younger brothers, Cecilio and Arturito, and care for them, which makes him either early or late to school, as the title indicates. 

Because his mother is always busy tending to the baby, Salvador tends to his younger brothers’ morning routine and brings them to school. There is no mention of his father. Often, when Salvador walks to school with the boys in tow, Arturito accidentally drops his box of crayons, so Salvador, like a parent, must pick them up while the crossing guard pauses traffic. 

The final paragraph reiterates Salvador’s financial hardship; his clothing is wrinkled, which makes it obvious that no one looks after him. A slight boy of only 40 pounds, he not only bears a lot of responsibility, but has also endured abuse. As a result, Salvador experiences intense emotions that he struggles to define and to contain inside his tiny body. Despite all of this, Salvador is “a boy like any other” (Paragraph 3). However, because he must collect his brothers at the end of the school day, Salvador is unable to run and play with the other children in the school yard. Consequently, Salvador dodges his classmates, takes his brothers’ hands, and disappears down the street when he, Cecilio, and Arturito exit the school gate.