About Abuela Lore in the author's words

​"At its core, Abuela Lore is a love letter to my abuelas. I was raised by both of them. I would go on yearly trips to Ecuador to visit my Mami Yolis and the rest of my family. Mami Yolis, as the unofficial matriarch of the house, made sure my sisters and I were happy and healthy. Back in the States, my abuela, who we call Chica, raised me. She lived in our house for 15 years, taking care of my sisters and me. Both Chica and Mami Yolis always told us stories of their youth. I grew up with so much respect for all the heartbreak they endured. My respect and appreciation for them grew even more as I got older. I decided to tell some of those stories in Abuela Lore."

​Isabella Santana

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Advance Praise for Abuela Lore

​In Abuela Lore, Isabella Santana speaks to us in a poetic voice that is both powerfully new and startlingly familiar. Santana reaffirms how we all come to know the divine feminine—through flesh and blood women who have lived and suffered and learned, “la voz de mi abuela/será mi guia,” yet Yolis and Chica are not in any way reduced to their roles as grandmothers or idealized archetypes. The concluding poems leave us knowing that the belief and example of real women is what is needed to begin to navigate the world as both a woman and a poet.
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ire’ne lara silva,
​2023 Texas State Poet Laureate

There is much to admire in Abuela Lore by Isabelle Santana. It is full of love poems for the poet’s grandmothers and gente. A marvelous depiction of the grandmother’s lives as seen through the eyes of a beloved granddaughter with lessons for all people to be brave in the face of calamity, and to laugh and be silly too. Lines like, “the woman who sent her oldest / to the unknown on prayers and pocket change.” Or, “She dances in the too tight aisle when a stranger / busks on the bus…,” these lines are wonderful tributes to the very people who made it possible for the author to become a poet, and the stories she shares are a reminder of how close we are all to each other.

Angie Trudell Vasquez MFA
Madison Poet Laureate 2020-2024
Macondo Fellow

Epic and elegant in its simplicity. Each poem in Abuela Lore is a mystical landscape. Las abuelas, Chica y Yolis, are mythic in proportion and breathtakingly beautiful. Isabella Santana is a powerful fresh voice from the lands of las Americas/Turtle Island/Abya Yala. The words of her pen;  much like the volcano of Tungurahua, Ecuador and the movement of the 1976 Terremoto in Guatemala; spit fire and shift earth. A pristine collection that flows on the diaspora con las mariposas. This poet is one to watch and I'm so blessed to encounter her medicine so early in her writing career.

Brenda Vaca,
​Writer and Publisher, Riot of Roses Publishing House

Embark on a stirring literary journey with Isabella Santana, a young poet whose collection, Abuela Lore, is a poignant love letter to the abuelas shaping her essence. As a first-generation Latina, Isabella skillfully weaves the narratives of Mami Yolis and Chica, inviting readers into the heart of a familiar theme for many first-gen Latinas. Abuela Lore explores the overlapping of shared identities, offering a concise and powerful introduction to Latino culture. This collection is a poetic homage and a testament to the resilience in familial bonds, celebrating the strength of our grandmothers and the women who shape our narratives. 

Fernanda Kelly
​Emmy Award-winning Television Host

Abuela Lore is a vivid collection of poems that weaves together memory, grief, ancestral reverence and the depths of a grandmother's love in beautiful, surprising and truth-telling ways. In this two-part chapbook, Isabella Santana, compels us to bear witness to the magical, and deeply human, experience of grandmothering-- inviting us to step closer into the intricate identities folded in between girl and grandmother. Her words are rooted in love. And they come together to convey a veneration of her elders--their beauties and strengths--while reckoning with their imperfections and utter human-ness with curiosity, grace and compassion.

Daad Sharfi 
​Poet. Immigration attorney

Abuela Lore is a must read for all of us that forever carry our abuelas deep inside our heart. The power, pain, laughs and endless love found in each word shook me to the core, touching my soul profoundly, awakening hidden emotions, and unlocking the unconditional love that lives within us...the kind of love that only an abuela can give. The poems in Abuela Lore not only resonate deeply; this masterpiece also invites us to remember, reconcile and reflect on the impact that our abuelas stories continue to have in our lives, standing the test of time and surviving future generations to come. 

Argelia Atilano
Radio & TV Broadcaster

Raw. Magical. Resistant! Beautifully haunting throughout, while embodying the healing and tender spirit of a culture and the dedicatory women of Abuela Lore. A full circle raza fairy tale! Abuela Lore takes you on a compelling journey through the lives of two strong and dynamic abuelas (grandmothers), and what a dynamic generational  journey it is! Love letter-esque as a whole, yet each poem weaves together interconnected tales of bravery, resistance, and the healing magic that comes from a culture as unique and fearless as Chica and Mami Yolis themselves! Being a LatinX writer is a resistance unto itself, but moreover, Abuela Lore also aligns with the spirit of both a heartrending call to action and the healing remedio (remedy) to injustice. Making space for daring poetic voices is invaluable, and Isabella Santana’s bold and magical chapbook Abuela Lore is proof of just that!

Yvonne Acosta
 Poet, WriteGirl Volunteer

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​About the Author

​Isabella Santana is a 19-year old poet from Los Angeles, California. She is the proud daughter of Ecuadorian and Guatemalan immigrants. She is part of the new generation of Latine authors and works to amplify Latine voices wherever she goes. She has received recognition from Urban Word as a Los Angeles Youth Poet Ambassador in 2022 and 2023. She has performed her poetry for organizations such as Univision. She is the author of Abuela Lore (2024, Somos en escrito Literary Foundation Press), her debut chapbook.