Jonás Vélez do Campo

Jonás Vélez do Campo is Bea’s father, a forceful and restless presence whose energy fills the family home when he returns. His attachment to work and making things helps him manage that restlessness, but a weakened hand threatens the pursuits that have long sustained him. His decisions and uneven bonds with his daughters also leave marks on the family long before he arrives in person.

Identity and Family Background

Bea identifies her father as Jonás Vélez do Campo when Diego asks whether that is his name. The question comes as Diego opens a folder of contracts after Bea has explained that the chestnut trees belong to her family. The documents connect her father to a dispute with immediate consequences for her: when she tells Ángela that he sold the family’s chestnut trees, Ángela is surprised, and Bea says the sale took place seven months earlier. The revelation exposes a gap in what mother and daughter know about his decisions.

Temperament and Work

When Jonás finally arrives, the family greets him with celebration, embraces, and gifts. He comes full of energy and good intentions, already making plans to keep himself occupied. He does not want to feel useless, and activity is also a way to guard against depression. Bea describes him as being like an earthquake: he says the first thing that comes into his head and cannot remain still. She sees the same restless quality in León and Irene, whom she compares with their father.

Work gives that energy a focus. Jonás spends eight months confined aboard a ship, and Bea finds it difficult to understand how someone so kinetic can endure that life. She supposes that his capacity to absorb himself in a task keeps him from becoming agitated. Working aboard the ship, working with wood, and repairing motorcycles all offer him that concentration. He also enjoys repairing and building furniture and motorcycles, making practical labor both a habit and a source of purpose.

Relationships with His Daughters

Jonás loves all his daughters, but Bea describes Débora as his favorite. She suggests several possible reasons: Débora was the rebellious daughter, the one who caused the most trouble and seemed to need his help most, or simply the one with whom he had a particular personal affinity. His preference is especially painful for Irene. She idolizes him and, without being asked, has acted as his representative during his absences, yet she knows that he favors Débora. Irene resents the mismatch between her own devotion and the attention her father gives her sister.

Vulnerability and Change

Jonás’s restless character has a vulnerable counterpart. He knows that, when circumstances go wrong, his high spirits can collapse into melancholy. His hand is now unwell and lacks much of its former strength, limiting the woodworking and mechanical hobbies that help him stay absorbed and active. He needs rehabilitation and must take recovery slowly, a pace that conflicts with his habitual inability to sit still. His return is therefore not simply a burst of renewed family life: it also brings the practical constraint of an injury and the possibility that his usual means of holding melancholy at bay will be harder to reach.