LatinaMedia Co Feature

written by Brenda Gonzalez

Writer and activist Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez’s sophomore book, Tías and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us, examines the various archetypes of Latinas in our families and how these women shape who we become. Mojica Rodríguez meditates on the context and environments that carve our tías and primas, exploring their roles through stories and personal reflections.

I spoke to Mojica Rodíguez about how she approached writing this book that aims to bring some healing to the intergenerational trauma, ongoing sexism, and centuries of colonization that Latinas face.

She told me the concept came from her efforts to reclaim some of the narratives she was told about her tías and primas through the age-old Latina practice of “talking shit.” She asked herself, “What are these tías I grew up seeing and learning from and hearing about through other women in my life? And how do I get to pour into them?”