Her mother called her testadura (bullheaded), but as a woman in mid-20th century Costa Rica, it was BERTELINA’s most necessary trait for challenging the gender limits on her bold aspirations. In an adventurous pursuit of the promise of love, she struggled against an abusive husband and, to honorably provide for her children, immigrated to the US…

The darkened room was forbidden to children, but the flicker of a candle inside it tempted Bertelina at age five to break the rule. Illuminated by the prayer candle, the portrait of her military grandfather attracted her attention, and yet she was taunted by his reputed heroic character. When discovered in the room, her mother’s warning that girls can’t be soldiers sets her on a path challenging female norms of early 20th century Costa Rica.

In her adventurous struggle for personal fulfillment, Bertelina becomes embroiled in the 1948 Costa Rican quest for social justice, and ultimately with women’s struggle for self-determination. With the inner strength of a soldier, she grapples to balance the traditional feminine role of mid-century Costa Rica with her eventual urgency to protect her children after a divorce from an abusive husband. In overcoming social and religious roadblocks, she immigrates to the United States. But after finally fulfilling her aspirations, everything about herself is threatened to be decimated by the devastation of Alzheimer’s dementia