Tortillera: Poems

The TRP Southern Poetry Breakthrough Series

by Caridad Moro-Gronlier

The word tortillera means lesbian in Español. The moniker is familiar to most Spanish speaking cultures, but especially particular to the Cuban experience. In most Cuban-American households to be called a tortillera (whether one is one or not) is the gravest of insults, the basest of adjectives, a cat call that whips through the air like a lash whose only intention is to wound, to scar. Many a first-generation, Cubanita (the ones who are into other girls, anyway) has suffered, denied, wailed over the loaded term, but in Caridad Moro-Gronlier’s debut collection, Tortillera, she not only applies the term to herself, she owns it, drapes it over her shoulders and heralds her truth through candid, unflinching poems that address the queer experience of coming out while Cuban.

The first half of the book immediately plunges the reader into the speaker’s Cuban-American life on-the-hyphen through vivid, first person narratives that draw one in, making the reader privy to the moments that mold the speaker’s experience: marginalization at a teacher-parent conference; the socioeconomic distinctions at assorted Quinceañera celebrations; a walk down the aisle toward divorce amid a back drop of wedding registries and Phen-Phen fueled weight-loss; post-partum depression; a peek into a No-Tell motel that does tell of the affair she embarks upon with her first female lover; the agony of divorce vs. the headiness of sex and lust; the evolution of an identity in verse.

Part reckoning, part renewal, part redemption, part rebirth, the poems in Tortillera come clean, but more than that, they guide, reveal and examine larger considerations: the role of language on gender its subsequent roles, the heartrending consequences of compulsory heterosexuality, as well as the patriarchal stamp emblazoned on the Cuban diaspora. The work contained in Tortillera befits its audacious title—bold, original and utterly without shame.

Winner of The TRP Southern Poetry Breakthrough Series: Florida

Genres: Poetry, LGBT

118 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 2021

Reviews

[M B McLatchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I sometimes do, I read this collection of poems as a mother. I have the references to read otherwise, but some topics call on our deeper sensibilities, our humanity. Caridad Moro-Gronlier's collection Tortillera: Poems summoned this reading. Previous reviews of this collection point to the "heartrending consequences of compulsory heterosexuality." But, of course as a mother, a fellow poet and author, I cannot help point to how gracefully (and without blame) Moro-Gronlier acknowledges the compulsory in her culture -- and in the world. This is a collection to be applauded, not only for the celebration and humor with which it wears its crown of self-identity, but also for its humanity and forgiveness. I am still re-reading.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caridad Moro-Gronlier’s collection won Texas Review Press’s Southern Breakthrough contest for Florida, which, I think, means it was a first book. But it is written with the complete arc and varied themes of a collection that has come together over a long period.

The sections appear to be ordered chronologically, so it’s easy to follow the story’s arc. Given the title, I assumed that the coming out, and/or finding one’s self as a lesbian, would be the dominating theme, but the poems really spread out across several fields that are each attended to. It is about coming out, it is about building a life outside of the closet after spending decades inside one, but it helps us to see what other forces have formed this character. The poet doesn’t shy away from her cultural identity, but she is not limited by your ideas of what that “should” entail.

The first section is probably, IMO, the saddest, as the speaker watches her immigrant father grind himself to the bone and tries to assimilate into a world that doesn’t fit her. The second section is about the dissolution of a heterosexual marriage, and the third is about creating a new life that culminates in a new love.

These poems are very narrative driven, and Moro-Gronlier fills her worlds with vivid details and characters who, no matter their faults, are always human. She is also attentive to line breaks, and I love the interludes from Sappho.

Some highlights: Unpacking the Suitcase; Wet Foot, Dry Foot; At Least I Didn’t Rape You; Waiting to be Discharged; For My Lover, Returning to her Husband; For Marlene, who Asked why I Switched Teams; What you Called to Say at Lunch.

“my love in his pocket, / M-80 in his hand” (Waiting to be Discharged).

[Melissa Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is unflinchingly honest, brave, and bold. It's a book written by someone who has lived life fully and deeply, someone whose life changed because she was willing to change it. This is one of the most beautiful books of poetry I've ever read.

[Jenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

had to read for school. not my favorite poetry collection.

[Reader Views · Rating 5 out of 5]

This compelling collection of poems focuses on what it’s like to be a Cuban lesbian. When it comes to the word “tortillera,” it means lesbian, but as the poet explains in her works, this word is a loaded gun…a verbal assault. However, it doesn’t mean that the poet takes it to heart. She wears the label proudly, in fact, like a badge of honor. And as you read this volume, it will take you inside the author’s experiences that resulted in this striking cache of poetry.

Caridad brings you into her world from the very beginning in a personal, intimate way; it’s as if she is telling her secrets to you alone. The detailed-filled scenarios are vivid and weighty. You’ll experience obesity battles, postpartum depression, and even walk the halls of a motel that holds “whispers.” Her first love experience with a woman is described, as well as the heartbreak of divorce, and a sex life driven by abandon. You’ll read of her upbringing, culture, coming-of-age, self-realization, and both the happiness and pain—the double-edged sword—experienced when coming out.

Most of all, you’ll find truth in these poems. The poet’s truth, as well as some universal truths. Even if you don’t agree with the theme of the book, or parts of it make you feel uncomfortable, it’s an eye-opening experience that will help you better understand the dynamics of what the gay community deals with on a daily basis. Some passages are painful to read about, but they also offer an avenue of hope and healing. These sensitive poems paint a portrait of courage through adversity. Each poem touches upon a slice of life—whether it be about love, family fractures, boldness, loss, or confusion—and each one is a brick in the building of this stirring body of poems that are beyond memorable. I especially liked the visceral lines of “What I Should Have Said, Instead.”

If you enjoy personal poems that house a universal message, you will fall in love with “Tortillera” by Caridad Moro-Gronlier.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite poem is For My Lover, Returning To Her Husband

[Ashur]

"The Gift" hit me the hardest, along with "I Don't Eat Plums Anymore".