Cantoras
​​Carolina De Robertis

A gripping tale of love and survival, Cantoras follows five women as they forge their own paths in the midst of a brutal military dictatorship.

Beginning in 1973 and spanning a period of twelve years, the Uruguayan dictatorship was responsible for the imprisonment, disappearance, and torture of thousands. Homosexuality was viewed as a dangerous transgression, a crime, an “[affront] to decency” that could land one in jail amongst left-wing journalists and guerrilla fighters. Hopeful and bold, the novel explores the experience of living under this regime through the perspective of five cantoras—a slang for queer women—who create a small haven for themselves in Cabo Polonio, a secluded, scarcely populated cape away from the city. As the years go by, the women will each undergo their own personal struggles and triumphs, quietly defying the regime and making space for themselves in a society that insists on relegating them to the margins. As they grow together, they learn to seek refuge not only in Polonio but in each other.

Cantoras is a brilliantly executed work, one that demonstrates the ways in which the personal and the political are inextricably connected. De Robertis’ prose is masterfully versatile, delving into the characters’ loves and heartbreaks with as much thought and care as it does the everyday violence of Uruguay’s dictatorship. Her cantoras are all wildly distinct, brazen yet haunted, joyful and flawed. But it is their bonds which will make the heart ache and soar, inspiring the reader to keep turning the page.

Carolina De Robertis is an Uruguayan-American novelist, editor, and translator. She is the author of The Gods of Tango, Perla, and The Invisible Mountain, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She currently lives in Oakland, California with her wife and two children.

Cantoras is a publication by Knopf. Click here to purchase.
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Reviewed by
Isabella Pilotta Gois
​8/2/2020

Isabella Pilotta Gois is a Venezuelan writer and recent graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied Comparative Literature. She currently resides in Puerto Rico.

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