Hija de Agustina y madre de Nadia y Leidy. Trabaja todos los días en el negocio familiar y es quien carga con la mayor responsabilidad práctica dentro de la casa. Busca mantener el equilibrio entre cuidar a su madre, sacar adelante el trabajo y proteger a sus hijas mientras el entorno del barrio se vuelve cada vez más hostil. La muerte de Don Manolo, vecino de su puesto y amigo entrañable de la familia, sumada al crecimiento del control ejercido por Tony, nuevo encargado de la Asociación de Comerciantes, la colocan constantemente frente a decisiones difíciles. Aunque suele actuar con prudencia, no evita confrontar aquello que considera injusto cuando la situación lo exige. Mantiene una relación con Ángel, un viejo amor que regresa a su vida después de muchos años, pero procura que sus responsabilidades familiares estén siempre por encima de su vida personal. Intenta preservar la unidad de su familia mientras enfrenta amenazas, pérdidas y las consecuencias de desafiar el nuevo orden impuesto en Tepito.

Comerciante de Tepito con más de tres décadas trabajando en el barrio. Es la cabeza de la familia Martínez y la figura de mayor autoridad dentro de su núcleo familiar. Dirige el puesto de ropa junto a su hija Mariana y mantiene una relación cercana, afectuosa y exigente con sus nietas Nadia y Leidy. Conoce el funcionamiento del barrio, sus códigos y a quienes lo habitan. Es ""La Cabrona"" mayor: una mujer conocida, respetada y querida por comerciantes y vecinos, que no duda en enfrentar aquello que considera injusto. Tras la muerte de Don Manolo, vecino de su puesto y amigo entrañable de la familia, rechaza normalizar la nueva dinámica de violencia e intimidación que comienza a instalarse entre los comerciantes. Mientras enfrenta un deterioro en su estado de salud derivado de la diabetes, se resiste a dejar de trabajar o perder independencia. Cuando la familia decide abrir un negocio de “chelas” para salir adelante, Agustina se opone por el riesgo que implica, aunque termina respaldando la decisión. Se convierte en el principal sostén emocional de las mujeres de su familia, impulsándolas a mantenerse unidas y no ceder ante las amenazas.

Nuevo jefe de la Asociación de Comerciantes de Tepito. Tras asumir el control del barrio, impone una nueva forma de administrar el comercio a través de un grupo de ""cuidadores"" encabezado por Cristiano, Omar y Kevin. Controla los cobros, establece nuevas reglas y vigila la actividad de los comerciantes mediante cámaras de seguridad y rondines constantes de su gente. Su autoridad se sostiene tanto por el miedo como por su capacidad para intervenir y resolver cualquier conflicto dentro del barrio. Tony rara vez actúa por impulso. Es paciente, estratégico y calcula cada uno de sus movimientos antes de ejecutarlos. Prefiere ejercer presión económica y demostrar su poder antes que recurrir a la violencia, aunque no duda en hacerlo cuando considera que alguien desafía su autoridad. Es padre de Yamilet, mejor conocida como La Brat, con quien mantiene una relación marcada por el control y la desconfianza. La independencia de su hija representa uno de los pocos aspectos de su vida que no consigue dominar. La apertura de la chelería de las Cabronas desafía el control que ha construido sobre Tepito, convirtiendo a la familia Martínez en uno de sus principales objetivos.

Mecánico especializado en motocicletas y propietario de un taller en Tepito. En su juventud mantuvo una relación con Mariana, pero decidió irse a trabajar a Estados Unidos, dejando atrás esa historia. Años después regresa al barrio con la intención de reconstruir su vida y recuperar la relación que nunca logró olvidar. Aunque Mariana mantiene cierta distancia al principio, poco a poco ambos retoman su vínculo. Ángel se convierte en uno de los apoyos más importantes para ella y para toda la familia Martínez conforme el conflicto del barrio se intensifica. Participa activamente cuando necesitan ayuda, desde cuidar a Agustina durante su recuperación hasta colaborar en la nueva chelería y respaldarlas en momentos de peligro. Procura mantenerse al margen de los problemas relacionados con Tony, aunque su oficio lo obliga a mantener contacto con distintos grupos del barrio. Mariana desconoce por qué varios integrantes de la organización de Tony confían en él y suelen pedirle favores, situación que despierta dudas y genera tensión entre ambos.

EDDIE (Mid-life): A quiet, socially neutral office worker stuck in the routine of life. Lonely but not alone. Hopeful optimism will define his the dating apps. Today its Eddie’s birthday.

RICO (Late 30s): A small-time criminal on the run, sharp tongued, impulsive, and business sharp, he sees something that will give him advantage, he'll take it. Beneath his bravado, there’s a real human.

RUBY (Early 30s): Street-smart, charming, and dangerous — Ruby lives moment-to-moment. Her teasing energy and moral ambiguity blur the lines between ally and threat.

MOM (60s): Well-meaning but overbearing, Eddie’s mother represents the comfort and suffocation of routine.

JEAN-FRANÇOIS (Late 40s): Eddie’s oblivious childhood friend.

Eddie sits at a table with his back to the tattoo artist who is almost done with the ink. He doesn't flinch. He gives a look to Rico and Ruby and deliver his lines (regarding the fresh ink given to Eddie)

Female any ethnicity, 26-33. Juliette is a woman with a self-assured presence. Practical over emotional. Impatient. Her younger sister, Kiki, is the only person she’s ever had any kind of power over, and she wields it almost aggressively at times. As much as she genuinely cares for Kiki, Juliette resents that Kiki feels she has any options, when Juliette always felt she had to do what was expected of her—right down to her own marriage and child.

Female any ethnicity. Early 20s woman, a little naive. Still holding onto an idealism about the world that her older sister, Juliette, has long since lost. She is in the very early stages of a pregnancy, and facing the possibility of being a single mother, but it’s hard for her to engage with the reality of the situation. She rarely stays still, always fidgeting with something.

Female, any ethnicity, 20-29. Curly hair. A charming shy girl desperate to fit in. Someone who gives into peer pressure because she wants people to think she’s cool and wild. Think NEEDY in Jennifer’s Body.

Female, any ethnicity, 20-29. A magnetic mean girl. Someone who uses confidence as a weapon to manipulate people in doing what she wants. Think JENNIFER in Jennifer’s body.

NOMI NICKEL (16) is a curious and sardonic young woman with a wicked sense of humour that is trapped inside her, just as she is trapped in a small Mennonite town. Once devout like her doleful father Ray, Nomi is beginning to question the world around her now that her mother Trudie hasn’t come home. Nomi’s adolescence is shaped by the breakup of her family; fiercely loyal to her father, she believes she must stay in East Village for his sake. She yearns to find herself and where she belongs, express herself, and live loudly. Inquisitive by nature, her compulsive questioning brings her into conflict with the town’s authorities. She has rebellious and iconoclastic tendencies, she is empathetic and quick to help others who are vulnerable and overlooked. CAUCASIAN

RAY NICKEL (40s) Nomi’s quiet, reserved father and patriarch of the Nickel family: a bit stooped, formally dressed; gentle, soft-spoken, indecisive. He is a committed teacher at the local elementary school, and a man of faith who has not missed Sunday church in over ten years - the only life he’s ever known. He survives the unforgiving conformism of East Village by toeing the line and trying to be a perfect citizen. Inevitably, he is caught between the “laws” of the town and his love for his family. Ray deals with his manic depression in private, and while he is a man of few words, he deeply loves his daughter and wants what is best for her – though he doesn’t always know what that is. A side effect of Ray’s inner conflict is that he is often funny to others, even when he isn’t trying to be. CAUCASIAN

LYDIA “LIDS” VOTH (16) is Nomi’s best friend. She comes from an ultra-conservative but loving family. She has an ethereal, haunted beauty, as do all nine of her brothers and sisters. Nomi loves Lids because she doesn’t judge anyone. As a young girl, Lids was a free spirit like Nomi. They were each other’s escape, until one day when it all took a turn. Now 16, Lids’ cousin has been sent to stay with the Voth family in the hopes that he might make her a wife -- all the duties and confinements of female adulthood approachesCAUCASIAN

TRAVIS KLIPPENSTEIN (18) is Nomi’s erstwhile boyfriend. He left high school to works for his father laying carpets and he also does the odd shift at the Mennonite Village Museum, pretending to be old fashioned for the American tourists. He postures as a broad-minded Bohemian who wants to escape to Montreal, but in the end proves to be just another pawn of the Church and familial duty. CAUCASIAN

PASTOR HANS ROSENFELDT (40s) is Trudie’s brother, Nomi’s uncle — referred to as “The Mouth” by Tash and Nomi — and the weak but domineering pastor of the Church. A long time ago he tried to escape the community by going to Winnipeg, the nearest city, to be a Bohemian provocateur, but was only mocked. He returned to East Village to rule with an iron fist. Many people in the town are afraid of him, as he revels in casting shame. CAUCASIAN