Isabel’s grandfather and Teresa’s father. (“Lito” is short for abuelito, meaning “grandfather.”) Lito is skeptical of leaving Cuba, but Isabel convinces him to join the rest of the family on the boat to Miami in order to keep the family together and help Teresa as she prepares to give birth to a new baby boy. Lito often gets into fights with Geraldo, whom he believes is prioritizing himself over the rest of his family. At the end of the story, it is revealed that Lito was Mariano Padron, the Cuban officer who decades prior saved Josef’s father, Aaron, when he dove into the water. Lito is haunted by the fact that he told the Jewish passengers on board the St. Louis that they would be able to disembark and arrive in Cuba “mañana,” but never let them in. He turned Josef and the others away and sent them back to Europe (many of them to their deaths), despite the fact that he could have let them in to Cuba. Driven by this guilt, Lito saves Isabel and the others at the end of the book by jumping off of their boat and pretending to drown so that the Coast Guard boat that is following them becomes distracted. He is then deported back to Cuba. Lito’s story highlights the importance of empathy, as he realizes that he had a responsibility to save the Jewish people on the St. Louis but chose to ignore their plight.
