Tías and Primas

From the author of For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts, a celebration of the women at the heart of Latine families  

Born into a large, close-knit family in Nicaragua, Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez grew up surrounded by strong, kind, funny, sensitive, resilient, judgmental, messy, beautiful women. Whether blood relatives or chosen family, these tías and primas fundamentally shaped her view of the world—and so did the labels that were used to talk about them. The tía loca who is shunned for defying gender roles. The pretty prima put on a pedestal for her European features. The matriarch who is the core of her community but hides all her pain. 

In Tías and Primas, the follow-up to her acclaimed debut For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts, Mojica Rodríguez explores these archetypes. Fearlessly grappling with the effects of intergenerational trauma, centuries of colonization, and sexism, she attempts to heal the pain that is so often embodied in female family lines.  

Tías and Primas is a deeply felt love letter to family, community, and Latinas everywhere.

• “Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas—laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”
   
  Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker
• “In this collection of cuentos, Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez advances her commitment to ‘democratize knowledge’ by bringing her own ‘book smart’ insights home to la familia latina. Mojica Rodríguez paints portraits that resonate for Latinas and immigrant women who suffer the deep and daily pangs of patriarchy without a clear name for it. This book provides the names and counsels with compassionate knowing. A warrior against vergüenza, Mojica Rodríguez strives for a feminist and liberated latinidad. Her story may not be all of our stories, but we will recognize our relations, perhaps even our ancestors in this telling. It is a significant gift.”
   
  Cherríe Moraga, author of Native Country of the Heart
• “Part memoir, part sociology, part family reunion—Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez shows her revolutionary vision once again: by honoring the Tías and Primas of her past and present, Mojica Rodríguez is cultivating a new path forward. This is a book that will save lives.” 
   
  José Olivarez, author of Promises of Gold
• “Once in a lifetime, a reader finds a book that answers questions they didn’t even know they had. In Tias and Primas, Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez lovingly brings the truth to the archetypes of women we are all raised by, thus giving context to what our mothers, aunts, cousins, and sisters have lived. The childless Tía now becomes a woman with autonomy and power. The standoffish prima can understand why she hesitates to connect to other women in her family. This love letter to intergenerational relationships opens every window and door to one’s heart, allowing the reader to see the women in their lives as complex beings who have overcome generations of trauma. Tías and Primas is a healing work of art, an urgent beckoning to one’s own understanding.”
  Yesika Salgado, author of Corazón
• “Reading through the pages of Tías and Primas reminded me of my own upbringing; the lessons I learned and the ones I had to unlearn as an adult. Mojica Rodríguez illuminates the complexities of intergenerational trauma, navigating machismo, and domestic life among the women who shape us with tenderness and empathy, while penning a love letter to the fierce and the outcast women who sacrificed and fought so we could be liberated. This is an important read for any woman seeking to live life on her terms.”
   
  Saraciea J. Fennell, editor and contributor, Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed
• “Tías and Primas is the family reunion you’ve always wanted, and one you can return to each time you open this beautiful book. Mojica Rodríguez is our loving guide, exploring and adoring the feminine archetypes we grew up with.”
   
  Virgie Tovar, author of You Have the Right to Remain Fat
• “This book goes beyond the idea of Tías and Primas as solely familial. Even those of us with complicated family histories will find ourselves and the families that we have chosen for ourselves in these pages. Each Tía and Prima archetype is a person we know, a person we have been or a person we wish to become. Each chapter culminates in the way any conversation with a loved one would – with loving guidance, invitations for self-reflection, and affirmations that feel like bendiciones. This book is the Tía and Prima we all need.”
   
  Elisabet Velasquez, author of When We Make It
• “Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez’s powerful storytelling gives voice to emotions often suppressed for survival, but necessary if we are to become who we need to become. Offering moral wisdom through the lives of the women who raise us, Mojica Rodríguez not only beautifully weaves tales, but contextualizes them in socio-political theory that indicts the systems that injure us and gently points the way back to who we desire to be.”
   
  Dr. Courtney Bryant, author of Erotic Defiance