Line #6 Literature/SirenaSelena


1	[[quoteright:181:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oip_10.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:181:Clothed in sorrow...]]
3	''Sirena Selena'' is the first novel by Puerto Rican author Mayra Santos-Febres. The title character is a homeless gay teen who resorts to sex work to survive. Things look up when Martha Divine, the aging drag queen who owns a gay bar, hears him sing. Impressed, Martha Divine takes him under his wing to help him become the most beautiful drag performer anyone has seen. They travel to the Dominican Republic for what Martha hopes will be a good business opportunity.
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5	%%Interestingly, ''Sirena Selena vestida de pena'' translates to "Sirena Selena is dressed in sorrow". Instead of translating it so it rhymes in English or revising it to something new,
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7	!!Tropes in this work
8	* AmbiguousGenderIdentity: Within the same sentence, Sirena is referred to with masculine ''and'' feminine pronouns in her own chapters.
9	* AttractiveBentGender: In drag, Sirena Selena is an absolute beauty, thanks to Martha Divine's mentoring.
10	* AwfulWeddedLife: Solange and Hugo. Their IncompatibleOrientation is a big reason.
11	* BeautifulSingingVoice: What sets La Sirena from all other drag queens around. When she is singing at Hugo’s party, all guests are transfixed.
12	* BigPrickBigProblems: La Sirena struggles with “tucking”, given that she performs in drag.
13	* BilingualBonus: In addition to all the GratuitousEnglish, the chapter from the point of a gay Canadian tourist is written in English even in the Spanish version of the novel.
14	* BuryYourGays: In her POV chapter, Martha Divine mentions drag queens that lost their lives to AIDS or to violence. This applies to Valentina Frenesí.
15	* DarkAndTroubledPast:
16	** Sirena is raised by his grandmother. When she dies, he ends up homeless and living in the streets until a drag queen by the name of Valentina Frenesí takes him in. He doesn't go hungry, but he is assaulted by a john. And then [[BuryYourGays Valentina is murdered]], leaving him alone.
17	** Solange grew up impoverished thanks to her AlcoholicDad.
18	* DepartmentOfChildDisservices: Sirena's grandmother dies and there are no family members who could take him in. Rather than go to a [[OrphanageOfFear group home]] where he would be unsafe, he chooses to live in the streets.
19	* DisproportionateRetribution: La Sirena's grandmother tells a story of how when she was a young girl, there were a lot of sex workers in her neighborhood. Her father was decided to defend her and her sisters' honor. One day, he found her sister Finín making out with a sailor and along with her brother, drags her out by the hair. He ends up giving her a beating so bad that [[GoneHorriblyRight Finín rebels and becomes a sex worker for real]].
20	* ForgivenButNotForgotten: Martha Divine has invested a lot of money and time in Sirena Selena. After Sirena disappears without trace, Martha is furious at first, but comes to an understanding that Sirena will do whatever it takes to survive. She still feels entitled to smack Sirena in the face if they ever meet again.
21	* GoldDigger: La Sirena toward Hugo.
22	* IncompatibleOrientation:
23	** Solange and Hugo. He married her to hide his homosexuality in a very homophobic society. He tries to love her ("I will love you, Solange, like I always wanted to love a woman.") but the time comes when he can no longer fool himself.
24	** Hugo and Sirena: It becomes clear when Hugo calls Sirena "Sirenit'''o'''", a masculine diminutive.
25	* IWasQuiteALooker: Martha lets Sirena know how stunning she herself was in her youth. %%* ParentalSubstitute: Martha to Sirena.
26	* MeaningfulName: Sirena. In Spanish, ''sirena'' is the word for [[SirensAreMermaids both a mermaid and a siren in Greek Mythology]]. Sirena plans to exploit Hugo Graubel with her vocal talents.
27	* ProtagonistTitle: The English title, anyway which is a truncated version of the Spanish title ''Sirena Selena vestida de pena''[[labelnote:translation]] Literally, ''Sirena Selena Clothed in Sorrow''[[/labelnote]].
28	* RaisedByGrandparents: Sirena, by her grandmother.
29	* RapeAsBackstory: While still living with Valentina Frenesí, Sirena goes off with a client who rapes her. After Valentina finds her the next day, Sirena spends the next five days in hospital.
30	%%* TraumaButton: Hugo Graubel presses one when he refers to Sirena as "Sirenit'''o'''", a masculine form of the name. Think "little ''merman''" instead of "little mermaid".

Context Literature / SirenaSelena