Louis and his family live in the basement apartment under Meme Ortiz's house. Louise's family consists of her younger sisters, parents and two cousins. The first of his cousins ​​is Maris. She lives with Louie while the rest of her family is in Puerto Rico. Esperanza has only seen Louie's other cousin once. A group of neighborhood kids were playing volleyball in the alley when he arrived in a luxury yellow Cadillac. It had a white interior, FM radio and the windows went up and down at the touch of a button. He had let them circle the alley and the block several times, when suddenly the police sirens approached. He quickly evacuated the car and drove away, followed by a police car. When the Cadillac attempted to turn, it ended up crashing into a streetlight. The police arrested Louie's cousin. Louie's cousin had stolen the car, however, instead of immediately running away, he had chosen to take it around the neighborhood and give him a ride. This car is quite expensive and elegant, a dream car in the eyes of many people. When the cousin stole the car, he had somehow realized a dream and had the opportunity to leave his current living situation. This state of being is something that Esperanza seems to admire and hope for. She is neighborhood oriented, but dreams of a better place, as seen on page 5: “Then I knew I had to have a home. A real one