Rodrigues final post

I think the theme of the book is really well summed up with the last few lines.
"in the last days, when he drifted in the stream after Raul's death, when the Negrura came, when she arrived dressed in darkness, he had seen tiny, fleeting specks of color swirling in her breast, like the fiery little blossoms of the framboyan carried by the wind, dancing in the wind."
These few phrases sum up the entire theme of the book. It means simply this; pain leads to new beginnings. In Juan’s case, the pain of losing his father inspired the beginnings of his fears. the pain of his fears inspired the begging of his bravery, and pushed him ninety miles across part of the ocean, through storms, and ocean trials to a new hope. For Vivian, the pain of losing her father inspired her interest in her Cuban heritage. The physical pain of Andres and Raul caused Juan to be able to begin a new life in Miami.
And Juan comes to realize this as he stands in José’s warm embrace. He sees that even the Negrura, despite her darkness, is cloaked in beautiful colors, and decorated with the ornate beauty of the framboyan flowers, which dance in the wind. And through the loss he feels for Andres and Raul, he has hope that perhaps even after the pain of death and darkness (the Negrura) there is still a new beginning.