Miguel Chico is a university professor living alone in San Francisco, physically and emotionally distanced from his Texas-Mexico border town. He serves as the unofficial family historian, attempting to edit and understand the complicated lives of his relatives. His chronic intestinal illness leaves him permanently reliant on a medical appliance, a physical vulnerability that separates him from his family's strict religious expectations. He uses his intellectual detachment to cope with a legacy of cultural conflict.

Mama Chona is the formidable matriarch of the Angel family who fled Mexico during the 1910 revolution after experiencing profound personal losses. She insists on a strict Spanish-Catholic worldview, prizing European ancestry while actively suppressing her family's Indigenous heritage. Her rigid moral code and refusal to acknowledge physical or emotional vulnerabilities establish a culture of repression. She demands absolute respectability, viewing people of lower education or darker skin with disdain.

Miguel Grande is Mama Chona's youngest son and acts as the patriarchal head of the Angel family. Working as a police captain, he demands control and enforces traditional expectations of masculinity within his household. He struggles with his temper and aggressively polices his sons' behavior, fearing any sign of emotional softness. Despite his position of authority, he maintains hidden personal conflicts that threaten the stability of his marriage.

Felix is Mama Chona's oldest surviving son, working as a factory foreman where he hires Mexican laborers. He possesses a gentle, generous nature that contrasts sharply with the family's strict social codes. He actively supports the marginalized members of his family, including his outcast sister Mema. However, he also pushes ethical boundaries at his workplace, seeking private connections in a society that condemns his hidden desires.

Juanita is Miguel Grande's wife, characterized by her romantic idealism and deep capacity for trust. She values her close relationships and works hard to orchestrate the image of a perfect family life. When confronted with difficult truths about those closest to her, she demonstrates unexpected pragmatism and resilience. She attempts to maintain peace in her home while dealing with her husband's volatile nature.

Nina is Juanita's practical and stubborn older sister. She applies a strict, authoritarian discipline to her parenting, a trait she inherited from her own demanding father. Driven by a deep-seated fear of mortality and burial, she turns away from Catholicism and seeks comfort in spiritualism and séances. Her unyielding nature often puts her at odds with her family members, particularly her teenage son.

Lola is a confident and unconventional woman who refuses to conform to the expectations placed on married women in her community. She possesses a striking charisma that draws people to her, coupled with an unapologetic attitude toward her own desires. Her presence creates significant tension within the Angel family network, forcing others to confront the fragility of their relationships.

JoEl is Felix and Angie's youngest child, possessing an artistic and highly perceptive nature. He retreats into a private world of books to cope with the emotional turbulence of his family environment. His heightened sensitivity makes him acutely aware of the unspoken tensions around him, which leaves him vulnerable to psychological distress as he struggles to process family traumas.

Mema is Mama Chona's daughter who lives as a social outcast from the family after having a son out of wedlock. She refuses to conform to her mother's strict rules or abandon her partner across the border, choosing a life of personal authenticity over family approval. Despite the family's harsh judgment, she remains a compassionate figure who offers genuine care to her relatives in times of crisis.

Tia Cuca is Mama Chona's sister who shares the family's aristocratic self-image but applies it differently. She lives in a desert shack with a man she may or may not be legally married to, completely disregarding the community's gossip. She represents a more tolerant and unconventional approach to life, maintaining her refined manners while rejecting the strict religious judgments of her sister.

Jesus Maria is one of Mama Chona's daughters and a devout follower of her mother's strict moral ideology. She acts as an enforcer of the family's respectability, frequently judging relatives who fail to meet her high standards of piety. Her devotion often manifests as performative outrage when the family's image is threatened.

Eduviges is another of Mama Chona's daughters who closely aligns with her mother's prejudices and rigid rules. She supports the family's traditional hierarchies and looks down upon their Indigenous heritage. She maintains the family's superficial peace while enforcing its exclusionary practices.

Maria is a domestic worker from Mexico who cares for Miguel Chico during his early childhood. She introduces him to daily Mass and, later, to the intense, apocalyptic teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist faith. Her religious fervor deeply impacts the young boy, instilling in him a lasting association between love, death, and judgment.

Tony is Nina's teenage son who fiercely rebels against her strict discipline. He resists his mother's financial pragmatism and controlling nature, causing intense battles of will. He values his freedom and resents being isolated from his friends at the desert's edge, which creates severe tension in the household.

Ernesto is Nina's husband, a quiet man who disapproves of his wife's reliance on séances and spirits. He processes his emotions internally, often retreating into silence rather than engaging in conflict. He struggles to express his emotions and finds himself overwhelmed by the indifference of the desert environment.

El Compa is Miguel Grande's partner on the police force and Lola's husband. He forms part of a tight-knit social foursome with his wife and the Angel family, serving as a stabilizing presence in their community.

Gabriel is the youngest son of Miguel Grande and Juanita. He grows up under the weight of his family's complex dynamics and eventually pursues a life in the priesthood. He maintains firm boundaries regarding family matters, openly acknowledging the destructive nature of the relationships he witnesses.

Ricardo is Mema's son, born out of wedlock. After a period of childhood instability, he is adopted by his grandmother, Mama Chona. Despite the controversy surrounding his birth and the family's prejudice, he develops a surprisingly tender connection with the strict matriarch who teaches him English.

Angie is married to Felix and manages their household while raising their four children. She faces consistent prejudice from her in-laws, who look down on her background. She provides stability for her children while dealing with her husband's complex internal life.

Lena is Felix and Angie's daughter. She actively rebels against the Angel family's snobbery, choosing to associate with the working-class Mexican students her relatives disdain. She possesses a strong sense of justice and refuses to accept the family's tendency to prioritize pride over the truth.

Yerma is one of Felix and Angie's children. She grows up in a household managed by her practical mother and complex father, experiencing the broader tensions of the Angel family.

Roberto is one of Felix and Angie's children. He is raised within the family's strict social structure but away from the immediate control of the matriarch, Mama Chona.

Mr. Davis is Tia Cuca's long-term partner. Their relationship is a subject of family speculation, as no one knows if they are legally married. He is a devoted companion, caring for Tia Cuca and demonstrating a quiet, unconditional loyalty.

Leonardo is Miguel Chico's childhood friend. His struggles with mental health force young Miguel Chico to confront difficult realities early in life, shaping his early understanding of loss and religious judgment.