In the book, "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents", author Julia Alvarez makes many references to the words, antojo and santos. The dictionary meaning of antojo is "whim, caprice" and santo is "saint, holy. However, through the usage in the novel, the words take on a new meaning and interpretation. "A person has an antojo when they are taken over by un santo who wants something" (Alvarez 8). Antojo refers to an inner craving, and santo implies the inner soul or spirit of a person. This is also the role that santos plays for the antojo. Therefore, Alvarez brings together santo and antojo to symbolize the "cravings of the inner soul".
             It is no irony that Alvarez conveys the two words in her novel. She uses the words to reflect herself also. The importances of these concepts, in respect to the author's own personal life, is the antojo of her native country, the Dominican Republic. In the article, "Julia Alvarez on the Dominican Republic", Julia states that what she misses the most is "...the warmth of the tropics" and "...being part of a tribe" (Study Notes 8). For that reason, it is no coincidence that she reflects this type of antojo in her daily life and in the works that she accomplishes. For example, one day a man asks her about her writing structure and she replies to him, "...the endless tropical rhythm and musicality gets into my English and therefore influences the way I write my sentences" (Study Notes 8).
             In the chapter entitled, "Antojos", Yolanda's aunt asks her what her antojo is for the rest of the time she is spending at home. At first, Yolanda does not understand what the word means, but her aunt tells her, "Antojo is like a craving for something you have to eat" (Alvarez 8). So Yolanda replies that she is craving for guavas. In her search for the guavas, the role of antojo and santo played illustrates t...