What's in a Name?

Lester Vasquez

Lester Vasquez- Afro-Puerto Rican ancestry; Lester is the stern, hard-nosed father of Mia Vasquez-Rivera and stepfather of Mandy Suarez, whom is noted for his logical mindset and concern with practicality and tradition. Focused and driven, he is very detail-oriented and principled, having developed a strict, if callous demeanor, as well as a formidable temper, after several years of serving as an enlisted soldier in the US Army. He is noted both by Mia and his wife Linda to be a very intense person whom frequently clashes with his biracial daughter due to their differing personalities, yet similarly hot-blooded temperaments. His relationship with his daughter is often relatively difficult with their inability to come to an agreement and make a compromise with Lester's prideful stubbornness and Mia's hypersensitivity to her father's words. Lester is regarded as being completely unflappable and rarely appears anxious or stressed, even under seemingly difficult circumstances. He is described as a good provider for his family, but an emotionally distant husband and father, having been raised by a single, similarly unaffectionate mother named Penelope from Florida, Puerto Rico, who was troubled by her own insecurities and the burdens of having to provide for Lester and four additional children. Despite his blunt demeanor, he is willing to change things that do not bother him like turning down the temperature in his house when Linda asked. He is also secretly sensitive to the rumors that other people spread about him, saying that those are what really hurt his feelings. Lester's harsh, scrutinizing words and disappointed eyes have pushed Mia to try harder and do better, but other times, they've only served to make her feel like a failure. He has unintentionally made her think about quitting on her goals more times than she can count, since neither she nor her father feel like she's up for it. 

He still tries to encourage his daughter to be proactive in some occasions and apply for steady government jobs that he feels will allow her to have a more reliable income. He also tries to monitor her eating habits and spends some Sundays talking to her in the car while running his usual errands. Although Mia's grandmother tried her best to sustain her 5 children by working long hours as a textile worker at a factory, she often succumbed to recurring depressive states. She had limited energy to devote to Lester and his siblings after a long day's work beyond a stern reprimand or scolding of her children for misbehavior. Penelope also carried a bitterness regarding her turbulent past with Lester's biological father that hardened her over the years, causing her to transmit her lack of demonstrativeness onto her children and rear them in a secure, but cold and unloving environment. She carried the trauma of having seen a then 5-year-old Lester assaulted and beaten by her former husband, leading to his developing permanent health issues with his liver after receiving an emergency operation that would leave a thick scar across his abdomen. Lester nonetheless loved his mother and was fiercely protective of her until her sudden death from a massive heart attack at 75 on New Year's Eve, after some brief struggles with what appeared to be flu-like symptoms. He often worked odd jobs alongside his siblings throughout the summers to raise money for his college funds and put significant effort into his studies and academics in hopes of receiving a scholarship to study medicine. He buried his feelings and would come to sacrifice his own education however, as he chose enlist in the military instead to help support his impoverished mother. He also helped ensure his physically disabled younger sister Talia could pursue her dreams of attending university and becoming a teacher. 

Lester had 2 previous marriages before meeting his current wife, which included a relationship with an African American woman named Tamika and a female of Samoan descent named Charlotte. He spent much of his early 20s going to clubs with other young men that he had met while drafting into the service and was at one point stationed in Watertown, New York. He became good friends with a man named Clarence Miller, with whom he shared a brotherly bond and attended survival training with in the woods. His estranged biological father is shown to currently be living in Lexington, Kentucky, which he was notified of by a half-sibling of his named Javier. Despite his occasionally severe temperament, Lester could be very altruistic and selfless, often being the first to extend a helping hand to others and generously provide his loved ones with money to ensure their financial stability. He would one day come to meet his current wife Linda unexpectedly as she took care of his late mother as a hospice at a nursing home. This resulted in the two falling in love and remaining married for over 25 years, despite some hardships and issues with miscommunication throughout their union. The passion within their relationship dwindled over time nonetheless and made their actions appear more standard and routine. Linda desperately tried to preserve her marriage with Lester despite her growing unhappiness due to her lack of financial independence, along with her desire to have Mia grow up with a father. She nonetheless cared for Lester deeply and as they had promised each other once, had vowed to remain faithfully by his side until one of the them passed on. Although relatively affable and laidback with his acquaintances and work associates, Lester is a man of few close friends whom is sometimes difficult to like due to his harshness and overly pedantic demeanor.