Dona Charito was a German artist who married a Dominican man and taught the Garcia sisters art when they were children. They called her house, where she lived with her husband, Don Jose, the Hansel and Gretel house. The couple had met in Spain while sketching at the Prado. As a girl, Sandra was recognized to be talented at art, and drew pictures of the servant's baby or the cat. The baby's mother thought that the art was a curse when the baby became sick, and she begged Sandra to release the baby from her spell. Sandra burned the sketch and the baby got well. Sandra then drew the cats on the stucco wall of the house, and was punished for defacing the walls. The family then decided she needed art lessons to keep her out of trouble and also cultivate her talent. Because the family wanted to be fair, all of the female cousins would take the lessons together. Don Jose was busy, trying to complete a sculpture commission, and he was rumored to be insane. Fourteen of the cousins were sent for art lessons with Dona Charito, who was available.

When they arrived at the house, the children removed their shoes and were given a tour. They were shown paintings of fruit, guitars and horses before being instructed in the proper way to hold a paintbrush. Sandra became bored and painted a gold cat while Dona Charito was not looking. She painted several more cats before the teacher discovered them, and threw her out of the class for disobedience. Sandra wandered around the house and heard a