Cantoras

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Set in Uruguay, this story begins in the year 1977, under a dictatorship that categorizes and enforces their anti-homosexual laws along with those laws opposing the civic- military through jail, and torture along with other human rights violations, as well as people who just “disappeared. It also shows how the deep bonds of friendship, queer relationships and hidden LGBTQ spaces have survived and thrived throughout many years of brutal dictatorship to the restoration of democracy and personal freedom in Uruguay. The political landscape is woven into their lives and I found myself being educated with little effort.

Cantorasis a wise, brilliantly compassionate, wide-ranging novel about women in Uruguay, and about the power and realities of love. If you would like to get caught up in the lives of five resilient, flawed and endearing characters and learn some of Uruguay’s history along the way, then this is the perfect story for you! Beautifully written, this was at times heartbreaking, but overall a story that reminded me that not all people are free to live free. Five queer women trying to live their lives under a dictatorship that would punish them for who they are if they were ever found out. The pacing felt a bit different upon reread; the story seemed to be faster but in more details at the same time.

From the highly acclaimed, award-winning author of The Gods of Tango, a revolutionary new novel about five wildly different women who, in the midst of the Uruguayan dictatorship, find each other as lovers, friends, and ultimately, family.

Cantoras seduced me with its stunning prose, its remarkable women, and its chilling reminders that history will take advantage of our willing ignorance and repeat itself while we hit the refresh button, hoping the news has changed. Consider, as you answer this question, Romina’s relationship with Felipe and with her parents; her family’s history; her job as a history teacher; and the specter of the Only Three. She gives most of the novel’s political knowledge to Romina, whose lucid explanations of the military coup enlarge the scope of the narrative and give it context.They approached the cape along a beach, the ocean to their right, shimmering in the dark, in constant conversation with the sand. It’s impossible not to fall in love with these fierce ‘girlwomen’—queer, courageous, and adventurous—as they find freedom in their relationships with each other while living under a ruthless dictatorship. It was wonderful to hear how the words were spoken, how the author sounded out the rhythm in the sentences, and how the cantoras banter back and forth.

On the bus, on the street, at home, no matter where you are or how ordinary you seem, you're in a cage. Izabela Matuszewska) ma wszystko, by stać się jedną z najważniejszych queerowych opowieści nie tylko tego roku. As a military dictatorship firms its hold on Uruguay from 1973 to 1985, targeting anyone who is not “normal” for punishment, five women refuse to have their authentic flame extinguished. She is the translator of Alejandro Zambra’s Bonsai, which was just made into a feature film, and Roberto Ampuero’s internationally bestselling The Neruda Case. Jedna z nich, mężatka, która zostawiła w Montevideo rodzinę i wybrała życie w lesbijskiej utopii, jest nim wyraźnie zaskoczona - “obracała to słowo w myślach.Flaca’s lover, Anita, figures out a way to leave her husband and unfulfilling marriage for the week. In addition, being a Latina woman brings about its own “esposas” or handcuffs, the obligatory pathway to being a man’s wife, most certainly not a lover of other women and especially not in those times. Like her fierce characters, her words pry and pull at the essence of not only what it feels like to be thwarted, condemned or quarantined because of your beliefs and identity, but also what it means to be a vulnerable yet empowered, infinitely beautiful and fully alive woman. These five women – “cantoras” (meaning singers but also the slang term for lesbians) – are united by a strong friendship starting in Montevideo (Uruguay’s capital) following to Cabo Polonio, an uninhabited cape located a few hours away. Inside, there was plenty of space for them; it would have been an ample house if it hadn’t been left to be eaten by the elements.

Did Malena only have herself to blame for suffering in silence, or did her friends take Malena’s unwavering presence and quiet but powerful support, for granted? At last they found the right place, or the closest thing to it, an abandoned house that could act as windbreak for their camp. Autorka splata losy pięciu różniących się życiowym doświadczeniem kobiet, by stworzyć coś, co przypomina symfonię poświęconą nienormatywnej miłości, ale też po prostu byciu kobietą w świecie patriarchatu i dyktatury.Given family (biologic, usually) versus created or chosen family, the idea of “shared ancestors”, the need to hide who you are - all very interesting and important, especially for gay people living in such dangerous times.