Nelson Character Analysis

Nelson is Sonia’s same-age cousin and Tío Benny’s son. As kids, Nelson and Sonia are extremely close. Nelson is up for anything that Sonia comes up with, and they often get into trouble for their shenanigans. Nelson is a brilliant student, and Sonia believes that there’s no way that Nelson could not become a doctor, as Tío Benny wants him to. Sonia and Nelson’s relationship begins to fall apart as they enter high school. Nelson’s real love is music, a passion his father doesn’t support. He begins to pull away from Sonia, focuses on music, and ultimately becomes addicted to heroin in high school. Sonia loses contact with him for years at a time because of her disappointment in him, but they reconnect when they’re in their late 20s. After joining the military, mostly cleaning up, marrying, and having a daughter, Nelson is diagnosed with one of the first cases of HIV contracted through sharing needles. As his illness worsens, he and Sonia talk often and Nelson begs for forgiveness. When Sonia expresses confusion and sadness that Nelson didn’t manage to succeed despite his supportive family and intelligence, Nelson insists that he couldn’t succeed on brains alone. He lacks Sonia’s tenacity and discipline; he’s never able to apply himself like she does. Not long after the birth of his second child, right before he’d turn 30, Nelson dies.