Parroquia de Santiago

Parroquia de Santiago is identified as the venue for Rosario Salazar’s funeral. In the family’s response to her death, the church becomes the place where Amaia Salazar is expected to join the others in a public farewell, despite her inability to accept that Rosario is dead.

Funeral Venue

Flora tells the family that Rosario’s funeral will take place at Parroquia de Santiago two days later. James asks Amaia to accompany him to the church, while making clear that he does not want to know the reason for her disagreement with Flora. His request is also a plea that, for the duration of the funeral, Amaia act as though Rosario has died.

The Church in the Family’s Conflict

In the conversation surrounding the funeral arrangements, Fermín Montes asks Amaia to walk with him. They cross the plaza and the road and stop at a church entrance, where he tells her that he has resumed his relationship with Flora. The passage does not explicitly identify this entrance as Parroquia de Santiago; the church’s firm connection to the location is its stated role as Rosario’s funeral venue.

For Amaia, attending the service would mean yielding, at least outwardly, to the family’s understanding of Rosario’s death. She understands why James asks her to do so, but finds it intolerable that the person who loves her would ask her to suppress her own nature. The church therefore marks not only the planned funeral but also the pressure surrounding Amaia’s refusal to treat Rosario’s death as settled.