Rodriguez, Carmela E.
Younger sister of Helena and second oldest sister of Kit, Carmela is the "middle child" of the Rodriguez family.
Full name / formal name: Carmela Emeda Rodriguez
Nickname: 'Mela
Height: cm / x' x"
Weight: kg / lb
Ethnicity: Hispanic-American
Age: +/-? Template:Age warning
Birthday: November 6
Education: (primary) North East Primary, Hempstead NY
(secondary) Rose Avenue School, Hempstead NY; Hempstead Jr. Sr High, Hempstead NY
(Note: Carmela's unusual middle name "Emeda" is an acronym made up of the initials of the first names of three of her aunts and two of her uncles. AWOM)
Timeline issues yet to be resolved make it unclear exactly how much older than Kit Carmela is (see the discussion area for this page): Carmela is at least two years older than Kit, but possibly more.
Nothing much is seen of Carmela in the canon until TWD, where she first appears lying around in her bedroom, watching anime (in the original Japanese). This is the first indication of an aptitude for languages which becomes more marked as the series goes on, and becomes a serious cause of personal annoyance to Kit, and general astonishment to everyone else.
It must be assumed that Carmela found out that her brother was a wizard during (or shortly after) the events of DW, at which point Kit needed to reveal the fact to his parents. Whatever the exact timing of the revelation, Carmela's attitude to Kit's wizardry seems from the start to have been more accepting and casual than that of their elder sister Helena, who thought it likely that Kit had done some kind of deal with the Devil. Conversations reported in TWD make it plain that Carmela finds the concept of wizardry at least untroubling, if not actually cool. Her quick acquisition of a basic vocabulary in the Speech suggests that the latter is more likely.
Carmela is reported to have been rather late in acquiring any particular concern about clothes -- apparently overalls were about all she was interested in until her late teens -- but has made up for much lost time with the discovery of the alien shopping channels which have become available on the Rodriguez family entertainment center since Kit started using wizardry to tinker with the TV's, cable's, and DVD's settings. Much of her spare time in the later books seems to be taken up with channelsurfing for bargains of various kinds. Some of these have been alien cultural artifacts: some of these, to her parents' considerable concern, have been weaponry. She has used this kind of "bargain" to good effect on occasion, especially during the events of WAW.
It would be easy for someone unfamiliar with her growing list of exploits to dismiss Carmela as a fluffhead mostly interested in clothes and boys -- as, from Kit's point of view, an endless parade of the latter seem to be trying to get Carmela's attention (and she's apparently not above letting them think one or another of them are getting it, at a rate of one per week or so). But her continuing interest in the far-out, fun, and freaky conceals a rock-solid loyalty to and protectiveness of her little brother, who she sometimes seems to think is getting in over his head, and needs taking care of. This attitude frequently drives Kit to distraction, as do her unpredictable attitudes toward his fellow wizards -- alternately affectionate (in the cases of Filif and Sker'ret), faintly scornful (as in the case of Prince Roshaun), or predatory (as regards Ronan). But from all indications, this situation seems scheduled to go on as it's been going, or possibly to get even worse, as Carmela becomes more fluent in the Speech, the world of errantry, and the fine art of driving her little brother nuts. (TWD et seq.)