In 2019, Mara, a transplanted Cuban refugee from America was sent on assignment to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. She was now a freelance reporter based in her hometown of Salandar, Spain and was an expert on immigration. There seemed to be an uptick on boat people fleeing from North Africa to the Islands and her editor wanted the story. Of course, she couldn't go without notifying her mother in Miami. She was a 55 year old widow with a 20 year old son, but if she didn't call her mother, her mother would call her and that never turned out well. When Mara told her mother that she was flying to Tenerife, she received another assignment. Her mother wanted Mara to find her maternal grandmother's birth certificate so that she could apply for Spanish citizenship. The only thing she could remember was her grandmother's parents' names. Mara promised that she would try to research her mother's request, but didn't give it too much thought after beginning to interview refugees for her story.
In 1888, Catalina's story began. Her mother and grandmother came to Tenerife on a ship from Spain, and the man who became her father met them at the port-her parents married a few days after meeting and they moved to La Palma, a small dot in the Canary Islands, where her father owned a farm. They had three girls, one being Catalina. At the age of six, she fell in love with Juan, the boy down the road, and he with her-they always assumed that they would get married someday. But her father disliked him and summoned an acquaintance to their house to marry Catalina and take her to Cuba, where he lived. Before they returned to Cuba, they had a daughter, Carmen, who Catalina loved. The family finally boarded the boat, but before they reached their destination a tragedy occurred that upended all of their lives, setting Catalina on a completely different path.
Ojito tells both women's stories in alternate chapters so deftly that I found that while leaving one story was painful, I quickly became immersed in the other story. As Mara researches Catalina, her great-grandmother, we get a glimpse of the rich and unexpected history of an amazing woman who can now only be traced through genealogical documents and archives. To add a deeper dimension to this novel, it is actually based on the true events occurring in Ojito's family, and the author, herself, is a renowned journalist. If you have ever attempted to trace your family stories, you will be fascinated with this book.
Reviewed by Donna Ballard
November 4, 2025
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