Las Biuty Queens : With an Introduction by Pedro Almodovar

'The American dream as seen from the height of a good pair of heels' From Pedro Almodóvar's introduction In this acclaimed short story collection, Chilean transgender performer and author Iván Monalisa Ojeda delivers an irreverent, honest and full throated love song to New York city from the perspective of a group of trans Latinx immigrant friends who walk the streets, smoke crystal meth, compete in beauty contests, look for clients on their impossibly high heels, and fall prey to increasingly cruel immigration policies. Drawing from his/her own perspective as a trans performer, sex worker, and undocumented immigrant Iván Monalisa Ojeda chronicles the lives of Latinx queer and trans immigrants in New York City. Whether she is struggling with addiction, clashing with law enforcement, or being subjected to personal violence, each character chooses her own path of defiance, often responding to her fate with irreverent dark humour. What emerges is the portrait of a group of friends who express unquestioning solidarity and love for each other, and of a unfamiliar, glittering and violent New York City that will draw readers and swallow them whole.