Mayra Lazara Dole’s first young adult novel, Down to the Bone, was published earlier this month by HarperTeen. It’s a surprisingly funny story about what happens after a 16-year-old Cuban-American girl is publicly outed and ostracized by most of her family and friends. Mayra has a unique ability to make us laugh through tragic circumstances, without making light of them, and she is definitely a rising star in the field of young adult literature. She was born in Cuba and now lives in Miami with her partner, Damarys.
What inspired you to write Down to the Bone?
My inspiration came from my teen experiences and also from a deeply rooted love for my Cuban heritage/culture and a desire for Miami Cuban homophobia to be exposed so it can be discussed openly. After being chemically injured by pesticides which destroyed my immune system at the time, I felt an overwhelming need to leave behind a book that inspired and moved others to promote free thinking, love and tolerance, and that would motivate straight, gays, monkeys, whatever… to stomp on hate.
Are there parts of the book that are autobiographical?
Yes. At fourteen, my first love and I were thrown out of high school due to a muy caliente love letter she sent me detailing our first time making love (too juicy to recount!). Much like Laura, I had a boyfriend but my heart beat passionately only for my one special girl. As a teen, I was a mix of Laura and Soli’s personality (I didn’t sleep around like Soli, though). The rest is realistic fiction motivated by emotions ranging from deep loss to extreme joy.
There are a lot of painful and tragic events that happen in your book. How did you manage to make your book so damned funny?
I haven’t a royal clue! Cubans are a fun, gregarious lot. We could be chopped into pieces after a tragic accident, eyeless, toothless, and pushing in our bleeding liver and we’d manage a final whisper, “Don’t worry. I’m fine. I’ve always wanted reconstruction organ surgery.” In my early teens, my closest friends were drag queens and gay guys. I’m still close with one of my first drag queen friends. We destroy each other via email with outrageous comedy skits that nearly burst our spleens. I do have a pensive, deep side which Laura also shares. It’s about being both extremes and workin’ it ’cause if you don’t, you’d die of the pain…
I was intrigued by the trans character Tazer, and was secretly hoping that Laura would get together with him. Can you tell us a little more about him?
In my first draft, Laura had fallen for Tazer but as I revised, Laura Rumba’d me into another direction: Miami Cuban lesbos’ true life experiences (they’d be terrified to be seen with a girl who looks like a boy, thus why most lesbos here look femme even if they’re butch under the sheets). In other words, in writing Down to the Bone, I stayed true to my culture. On the other hand, if Laura had been an adult, she’d have probably gone for Tazer, the handsome, sensitive, intelligent playwright. Wouldn’t everyone?
I know I would! Another colorful character was Viva, the mother of Laura’s best friend who took her in. I hope every queer kid has an adult like Viva in their lives. Can you tell us a little bit about where her character came from?
Viva’s loving heart was created from the love gifted to me by my now deceased paternal aunt, Nina. Nina raised my brother and me after my father died and my mother took on three factory jobs. Unfortunately, I was too terrified to come out to her and wish I would have. Once, out of nowhere, she said to me, “No matter what, I’ll always love you.” Down to the Bone is truly a tribute to her unconditional love. Viva’s quirky personality was inspired by Beba, my funny/wacky/metaphysical mother-in-law. Earlier today, Beba left us 12 consecutive messages on our phone machine of Walter Mercado’s entire astrological forecast for each sign (he’s an infamous sort of drag queen and celebrity astrologer Cubans adore). She then left her own voice message, scolding me in Spanish, “You’ve never had a cavity yet, so don’t forget to cut your fingernails on Fridays or you’ll start getting them!” She ended the message in her beautiful, broken English. “Me is gonna go to Miami Bitch’s (Beach’s) gay club wiss your book on Saturday night to sell to la familia.” (familia, in Cuban gay circle means, “gays”) I’m not exaggerating–I know I exaggerate for fun, but this is real.
Did you have any difficulty finding a publisher for the book?
At first, yes. I wrote Act Natural!–now Down to the Bone–in Cuban Spanglish and received a barrel of rejections! I quickly deleted the Spanglish, changed the title, and rewrote the novel on fire, with intense vigor and a new set of vibrant characters. Every moment alive counted and I zoomed through the writing while my health allowed, my fingers and brain worked, and with an oxygen tank by my side. Unlike many editors I encounter/ed, I lucked-out that mine wholeheartedly understands Latina/o culture (she speaks Spanish and is married to a Colombiano) or Down to the Bone would still be homeless.
Your bio on the Harper web site says you have worked as a drummer, dancer, landscape designer, Cuban chef, hairdresser, and library assistant. Which of these was your favorite job?
Hairstylist and landscape designer (like Soli and Laura). Creating “art” while having a blast, truly satisfies me deep, deep, down to the… to the what? To the marrow!
How old were you when you realized you were a lesbian?
I was fourteen, 100 percent heterosexual–what a disgrace!–and crazy about boys when a close girlfriend first kissed me (I still remember where we were standing, her rose talcum powder scent, and how I melted). It was so delicious, that I swear, I saw birds flying, heard elephants stampeding, and couldn’t see straight for years thereafter! Our relationship grew in depth until the infamous love letter. I had kissed with a boy I’d had a huge crush on but nothing compared to the one with my first love. Due to having been expelled from school, not ever being allowed to see each other again, the ostracism etc., I became terrified to come out, thus I went back into the closet. I was still physically attracted to guys, but I only longed for my first love. I had a good relationship with an Argentino for a year. Physically, I liked him, but emotionally? Nothing. Niente. Nada. I longed to fall in love with him to no avail. Finally, we ended it.
How do gays, lesbians, and trannies in the Miami Cuban community survive the homophobia?
Most Latinas/os are closeted due to extreme homophobia. Your “married-with-kids” Latina friend just might have a secret female life-partner on the side and her lover is dating a man for pretense. Miami is much looser now. Lots of teens are bisexual and don’t give a flying fricassee what others think. But traditional, religious Cuban-American teens attending Catholic and Christian schools (very high percentage) are still closeted and doomed to live a lie. Older lesbians tend to be closeted and married to men or end up living a celibate, lonely life. Survival for most Latina lesbians everywhere depends upon lying and never coming out.
When did you officially come out?
When I couldn’t take the homophobia in Miami, I split to Boston for nine years. Most of my haircutting clients called themselves, “Lesbian”–yes, the lesbos followed me everywhere!–and I couldn’t relate. I hated the word. Looking back, I realize that “Lesbian” reminded me of “Tortillera” a word that made me feel severely unsafe and disgusted. I shunned those words until recently. In Down to the Bone, Tortillera is used as both derogatory and powerful and ends in a word of empowerment. Miami Cuban lesbians will take issue. One friend exclaimed that Tortillera is, “So disgusting!” She yelled at me. “How could you use it?! No one will be caught dead reading your book! You’re crazy! People are going to think Cuban women are grotesque!” Insulted? I think so. But hey, she’ll get over it if she reads my novel, or she can just write her own! Writing Down to the Bone helped me come to terms with the fact that it’s important to come out when one feels safe in order to fight for your birthright to be who you really are. So finally, I’m an “out” er… l… l… See? Although I’m “out and proud” I still have trouble stating that word when it pertains to moi. Ok! Faked you out! I’m a total Tortillera!
If you’re a Latina reading this and cringing, just try using the word for fun. Call up your friend, “Hey Tort, what’s up?” They’ll laugh and it’ll catch on. The more you use it, the less the word will ever hurt us.
The book is dedicated, in part, to your mother. Has she read it yet?
If my mom reads Down to the Bone she’ll instantly die of a patatú! She speaks zero English, has never read a book in her life, and doesn’t have a computer (don’t get me wrong. Mami is brilliant, just not traditionally educated). I dedicated my novel partly to Mami not only because she’s ill now, and I adore her, but because she’s grown tremendously. She now accepts Damarys and me as a couple. This, of course, is beyond miraculous!
I know the book hasn’t been out long, but have you heard anything from teen readers yet?
Yes! I’ve gotten notes stating how much they love my novel, relate to Laura, and want a friend like Soli. Some quote their favorite scenes which melts my heart. Many express having cried and laughed their heads off. Some proclaim my story is also their own. Just yesterday, surprisingly, a Miami Cuban lesbian in her thirties stated that as a teen, she’d been through “most everything Laura went through emotionally.” My book moved her deeply. I can’t even express how much these responses mean to me. A great surprise is that straight teens and adult LGBTQ’s also love my book. Gay guys go nuts, but mostly, it touches lesbians of all colors, classes, and ages, in ways I dreamed it would.
What are you working on next?
I have many projects going on at once, but the one that’s just finished is a tranny story set in Miami with an all “out” Latina/o cast of LGBTQ characters.
I can’t wait for your next book to come out. When can we expect it?
Thanks KT. That means a lot to me. I’ve finished my next YA novel and would love for editors to be knocking on my door, but that will only happen if Down to the Bone is a success story and it’s too soon to know. I need to work harder than all authors put together at book promotion due to my being a Latina lesbo who lives in a “bubble.” Please, root for me. Ask your libraries to order and carry my book. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
Speaking of that bubble, if you don’t mind me asking about your health, are you okay now?
I’m trying hard to get better. Thanks for asking. I still must live sealed in a specially made room, but this past month I was able to go outdoors a few times using precaution. My immune system can no longer handle even the most benign chemicals until I get stronger. I was able to pick tiny flowers and made my first bouquet in 4 ½ years. It was a miracle neighbors weren’t spraying pesticides in their lawns and the builders next door weren’t working (they use all toxic chemicals that come my way due to wind direction). I just became a columnist for a Latino gay magazine, Ambiente, where I explain my plight in an empowering column titled, “The ‘N’ Word.” Don’t miss it. Leave me an email if you wish. I’d love to hear from everyone.
