These three tales chronicle the corruption Senor Matta sees in Puerto Rico. Whether it is drug smuggling, graft, or a difficult coming-of-age, each story just gets sadder and sadder.
Not being familiar with Puerto Rican culture I'm not sure how much the influence of the United States can be read into this, other than that the picture conveyed is one of a society that seems to operate out of accommodation to conditions that are not too different from those in the states. Certainly the drug-smuggling aspect is viewed as being middle men between the producers and the Northern public, the ability to fight big corporate/political interests is futile and drugs are corrupting the youth who are growing up in broken families.
The structure is good as these tales unwind in parallel. The unrelenting progression from bad to worse is hard to watch. No one gains much in these stories. No redemption, just more assurance that "life sucks" and the bad life just goes on.
Not being familiar with Puerto Rican culture I'm not sure how much the influence of the United States can be read into this, other than that the picture conveyed is one of a society that seems to operate out of accommodation to conditions that are not too different from those in the states. Certainly the drug-smuggling aspect is viewed as being middle men between the producers and the Northern public, the ability to fight big corporate/political interests is futile and drugs are corrupting the youth who are growing up in broken families.
The structure is good as these tales unwind in parallel. The unrelenting progression from bad to worse is hard to watch. No one gains much in these stories. No redemption, just more assurance that "life sucks" and the bad life just goes on.