What's in a Name?

Amanda Celeste Suarez-Rivera

Amanda Celeste "Mandy" Suarez-Rivera- Cuban-American ancestry; Mandy Suarez is the headstrong older half-sister of Mia Vasquez-Rivera, who currently works as an orthodontist assistant for a local clinic. The daughter of a Caucasian father of Cuban ancestry, her appearance contrasts Mia's drastically with her short height, long, layered chocolate brown hair, brown eyes, and light complexion. She is very short in stature, reaching a mere 4 ft. 11, and was relatively slight-framed and petite growing up due to continuous exercise and dieting, although her body has become increasingly pear-shaped with age. She is seen as the type of person who enjoys having her loved ones constantly reaffirm her and feels more at ease when she knows that she is admired and loved. Mandy is often considered vivacious and easily charms others, attracting male attention with her spontaneous, energetic, and fun-loving nature and taking pleasure in the things around her. She is typically warm and talkative and has a friendly personality, as she likes to be in the middle of the action and lives in the current moment. She has a playful, open sense of humor and likes to draw out other people and help them have a good time, urging her younger sister to think more positively. She is observant of others and their needs, being responsive in offering assistance and finding enjoyment in helping other people in practical, tangible ways. Mandy often acts as if the world revolves around her, and this lack of self-awareness has been shown to hurt quite a few of her close friendships and relationships. Regardless, there have been many moments where she has done the right thing and shows up for the people she cares about, as she is never purely ill-intentioned. 

This arrogant and sometimes thoughtless behavior is tied to her desperate need for approval and everyone to like her, which is a huge issue in regards to her initial failed friendship with her good friend Michelle. In addition, despite her vanity and confident front, she is extremely insecure and, as noted by Mia, she doesn't value her own talent and rarely stands up for herself when she is taken advantage of. With her Caucasian looks and finer features, Mandy was always considered the "pretty one" among herself and Mia, whom never quite fit into conventional western beauty standards and often felt inferior to some of her peers due to her mixed appearance. Her younger sister also has a much more shy, sensitive demeanor by comparison to her older sister's more vocal, irritable personality. While she doesn't seem to have everything in order, she does deeply care about Mia and encourages her to always move forward in life. She feels a sense of resentment towards her biological father however, a white man named Raúl Suarez to whom she bears a strong physical resemblance except for a scar she got on her forehead from falling down the stairs at age three. After a terrible divorce, Linda and Raúl no longer wanted to see each other, as he thought it was best to disappear from her life. She dislikes family reunions and is sometimes reluctant to spend time with him, especially whenever she is forced to interact with her father and share him with her half-siblings. She has a heart of gold, but it won't end well for those who make her angry, as her kindness is not a weakness and she never forgets those who have wronged her. Her father divorced hers and Mia's mother, Linda, when she was two and is said to have moved to St. Louis, Missouri and started a different life with a new family. 

Mandy ultimately visits her father for the first time when she turns 10 years old, as he had sent her a letter requesting to reconnect with her. This prompts her to fantasize about a possible reconciliation between her parents and bring them together, which leads to unexpected consequences. She is very agile and has taken kickboxing classes for self-defense, in addition to participating in a 5k marathon with a group of women. She once dyed her hair blonde during her early twenties and bonded with a fellow Airman, with whom she developed a close friendship while living in South Dakota. Mandy's earliest memory involves dragging her father along at age four as he drunkenly walked her home late at night. She often yearns for a solid paternal figure in her life with her father's absence and does not get along well with her stepfather, a dark-complexioned Afro-Puerto Rican man named Lester, who she rejects for his austere personality. She disapproves of Linda's relationship with Lester, whom she perceives as overly strict and controlling, and often refused to refer to him as "daddy".  As a younger child, she claimed that her mother appeared "changed" with her hesitant behavior when dealing with her ill-tempered stepfather. Mandy is a very hospitable person who ironically forms friendships with people after they both approach each other and resolve their conflicts, suggesting an understanding side. She is shown to agree with her best friend Sharpay on almost everything, as the two share a love of the color pink, a similar taste in men, and a love for the Black Eyed Peas. Her coworkers include Hilary, the manager at the clinic, April, Yara, Sabine and an elderly woman named Agatha who is employed as the receptionist. According to Mia, she is very smart and observant, something especially seen when her coworkers plays Pictionary, and she is a clever and a quick learner.