Las niñas del naranjel

by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara

Language: Spanish
Latin-American Narrative

Literatura Random House (2024)

A lyrical and irreverent imagining novel of the true story of the Monja Alférez, who was born a girl in Spain in 1592 and dressed herself as a man to participate in the Conquest of the Americas.

Las niñas del naranjel by Argentine writer Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz award winner) is the winner of the fifth edition of the Medifé Filba Foundation Award (Nov/2024).

To keep his vow to Our Lady of the Orange Grove -who saved him from the noose- Antonio flees with two starving girls. In the jungle, he begins writing a letter to his aunt, the prioress of the convent he escaped as a youth. He has been a mule driver, shopkeeper, soldier, cabin boy and page; he has wielded his sword and slashed with his dagger. Now he has a flock to tend, as well as Michi and Mitãkuña, who pester him constantly with hard-to-answer questions. In Catalina de Erauso, the legendary Lieutenant Nun, the author finds a unique narrator for the destruction of the Americas and a breaker of gender stereotypes. Where colonial greed destroys, this monumental novel builds a new language of love. With influences as varied as the films of Miyazaki, Latin prayers, Basque songs and terms borrowed from Guaraní, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara crafts new rhythms that transcend the bounds of Golden Age Spanish poetry.

Format: Paperback
Release Date: 19/03/2024
Language: Spanish
Size: 229mm x 136mm x 18mm