Demetrio Macías
Macías's only sin was being poor, but that was enough to put him on the wrong side of the law. He was exploited by a powerful business man, and when he ends up on the landlord's bad side, he learns how corrupt the police are. The powerful businessman simply hires the army to kill him. He flees to the mountains to survive, and he starts a band of rebels to overthrow the police state, but throughout the journey, he can't help but feel that he is going to fail.
Luis Cervantes
This man is a fair, charming man who is eloquent and well-read. He is well-educated and somewhat powerful, but after the Federal police mistreated him and exploited him of his possessions, he turned against them and decided that it was a cause worth dying for. He joins Demetrio in a hopeless war against the corruption of the Mexican government.
Güero Margarito
This man is not like Cervantes at all. He is kind of dishonorable, actually. He doesn't take anything seriously at all, but he has gotten in the habit of committing crimes to make his life more extravagant and easy. He simply hates the government for the same reasons any career criminal hates the government—because the government tries to stop criminals. Margarito is a violent man.
La Pintada
This woman's name is translated by the author not just to "paint" but to "War Paint." She is a warrior whose difficult life has made her gritty and powerful. She is way more honest than Margarito, and her presence in the group as a layer of toughness to the team. She is direct and forward as a person.
Camila
Camila is not that honest. She's manipulative, so she represents a different kind of feminine energy than La Pintada. She's the flirt, the coquette, but that means that she is powerful too, and her inclusion in the group puts her right next to the most powerful person, Macías himself. Why? Because when she realized he was single and attractive, she figured out a way to signal to him that she was into him, and it worked. They never work out the details or anything, but Camila is Macías's girlfriend, basically.
