Cantoras
Uruguay

Cantoras

by Carolina De Robertis

Summary

Set in Uruguay during the military dictatorship of the 1970s, Cantoras follows five women who find one another in a society where political dissent is brutally suppressed and homosexuality is criminalized through social persecution. Romina, Flaca, Anita, Paz, and Malena discover a remote coastal village where they can escape judgment and explore their identities, relationships, and desires. Over the next thirty-five years, their lives intertwine as they navigate love, family expectations, political repression, and personal transformation. Through their enduring friendships and shared sanctuary, Carolina De Robertis explores queer identity, chosen family, and the courage required to live authentically under oppressive circumstances. The novel is a powerful celebration of resilience, solidarity, and the freedom to define one’s own life.

Reviews

Login to leave a review.

No reviews yet. Be the first!

Carolina De Robertis
Carolina De Robertis

Carolina De Robertis is a Uruguayan-American novelist, translator, and editor born in the United Kingdom in 1975 to Uruguayan parents. Raised in a family shaped by migration and political exile, she grew up in England, Switzerland, and California, experiences that inform her exploration of identity, belonging, and displacement. Writing in English, De Robertis often centres Latin American history, women’s lives, queer identities, and the lasting effects of political violence. Her debut novel, The Invisible Mountain (2009), follows three generations of Uruguayan women across much of the twentieth century, weaving their personal stories into the country’s turbulent political history. Her other notable works include Perla (2012), which examines the legacy of Argentina’s military dictatorship, and The Gods of Tango (2015), a novel about gender, music, and transformation in early twentieth-century Buenos Aires. Through lyrical prose and richly layered narratives, De Robertis explores how individuals resist restrictive social norms and reclaim identities shaped by family, history, and cultural inheritance.

View author page
Published
2020
Author
Carolina De Robertis