Enduring Myths about Cuban Women
After Belkis Ayón
Many doctors have never encountered a Cuban woman
who can take a deep breath.
The loudest women I’ve ever met in my life,
long before losing their hearing,
the average Cuban woman has four hearts
for the good times, plus a few dehydrated hearts
in the cupboard, to help things stretch.
They don’t wash their hair or enter the ocean
when atonement rushes close to the surface.
Better loved as drums, revered as animal skin—
always caught with the missing fish,
always listening to something we’re not supposed to hear.
Many doctors have never encountered a Cuban woman
who can take a deep breath.
The loudest women I’ve ever met in my life,
long before losing their hearing,
the average Cuban woman has four hearts
for the good times, plus a few dehydrated hearts
in the cupboard, to help things stretch.
They don’t wash their hair or enter the ocean
when atonement rushes close to the surface.
Better loved as drums, revered as animal skin—
always caught with the missing fish,
always listening to something we’re not supposed to hear.
Fall 2026
Jeni De La O is a poet and storyteller living in Detroit. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming from New Orleans Review, Pinch, Obsidian, and others. She created The Brown Study and is a founding member of The Estuary Collective.
Art: L. I. Henley
“Scorpio Girl: After Rebecca Hart Olander's Singing from the Deep End,” 2026
Colored pencil, acrylic, notebook paper, found The Jesus and Mary Chain album art
“Scorpio Girl: After Rebecca Hart Olander's Singing from the Deep End,” 2026
Colored pencil, acrylic, notebook paper, found The Jesus and Mary Chain album art