Nuestra Señora de la Noche es la historia de una de las mujeres más sensuales, complejas y trágicas de Puerto Rico, quien logró transformarse en la mujer más poderosa, temida y respetada de la isla. Pobre y abandonada por su madre, la niña Isabel se vio obligada a vivir una vida servil y ardura, llena de trabajos y constates luchas. Pero ahora armada con una belleza despampanante y una parcela de tierra obsequiada por su turbio amor, el licenciado corso Fernando Fornarís, la niña se esfuma y aparece en su lugar Doña Isabel ""La Negra"" Luberza Oppenheimer: una mujer de negocios, implacable, ambiciosa y ardorosamente ambiciosa. Con su prosa sensual, llena de color y poseía, Mayra Santos-Febres nos propone una reflexión sobre la naturaleza de la rabia y el amor, la marginación y el éxito, y la constitución de las naciones modernas.

Nuestra senora de la noche: Novela (Esenciales) (Spanish Edition)

Literature & Fiction

Santos-Febres, Mayra

United States

Rayo

From internationally-acclaimed novelist Mayra Santos-Febres comes a carnal, epic novel about the life of Isabel “La Negra” Luberza--a legendary Puerto Rican madam who, by the end of World War II, became the most powerful woman on the island.
Born into poverty and then abandoned by her mother, Isabel "La Negra" Luberza blossoms into a supremely sensual young woman. Obsessed with attaining aristocratic status—armed with incredible physical presence, indomitable ambition, and keen intelligence—she meets Fernando Fornarís, the man who will forever change her life. With a parcel of land given to her by her rich, white married lover, Isabel transforms herself into a hard-edged and merciless businesswoman—abandoning her own newborn son to become Puerto Rico's most feared and respected madam, a collector of society's secrets, a queen of the notorious brothel that emerges as the island's true political and economic heart.
Set against the rich backdrop of the Caribbean and the United States during the tumultuous years of World War II, Mayra Santos-Febres's Our Lady of the Night is a breathtaking novel of passion, power, and the devastating price of achieving everything one wishes for.

Our Lady of the Night: A Novel

Harper-perennial

Sirena Selena: A Novel

Discovered by Martha Divine in the backstreets of San Juan, picking over garbage, drugged out of his mind and singing boleros that transfix the listener, a fifteen year old hustler is transformed into Sirena Selena, a diva whose uncanny beauty and irrisistable voice will be their ticket to fame and fortune. Auditioning for one of the luxury hotels in the Dominican Republic, Selena casts her spell over Hugo Graubel, one of the hotel's rich investors. Graubel is a powerful man in the Republic, married with children. Silena, determined to escape the poverty and abuse s/he suffered as a child, engages Graubel in a long seduction in this mordant, intensely lyrical tragi-comedy - part masque, part cabaret - about identity (class, race, gender) and "the hunger and desire to be other things."

Literary

Picador

Humor & Satire

El cuerpo correcto: [Mayra Santos Febres] (Spanish Edition)

World Literature

R&R Editoras

Collection of stories that draws us into a world pulsing with desires.

Urban Oracles: Stories

Contemporary

Brookline Books

Julian Castrodad is a small town journalist working in a local newspaper. One evening after work he happens to meet Tadeo Chamdeleau, a man who works in a small motel in the outskirts of the Caribbean city. Soon after, Julián looses his job and his financial situation forces him to accept the position that Tadeo offers him at the motel. Through Tadeo, Julián discovers that the motel is the site of unnatural events and strange visits, and the gathering place of mysterious individuals with the appearance of drug dealers that meet at completely inappropriate hours. Without realizing it, Julián finds himself caught in a mysterious web where a woman, the beautiful Dama Solitaria, is not only the element that triggers the grandest passions but also the key to understanding this surprising story. Spanish Description: Julian Castrodad es un joven periodista que una noche, al salir de la redaccion del periodico donde trabaja, conoce a Tadeo Chamdeleau, empleado en un pequeno mote

Cualquier miercoles soy tuya / Any Wednesday I'm Yours (Spanish Edition)

Punto de Lectura

Sirena Selena, un adolescente gay que se ha echado a la calle para ganarse la vida, posee un don especial: una voz dulce, cristalina, fresca "como el mismísimo mal de amores sobre la faz de la tierra". Y cuando Martha Divine, una vieja travestí dueña de un bar en Puerto Rico, descubre ese talento sin igual, decide "promocionar" al joven... aunque hay un "pequeño" detalle: en Puerto Rico es ilegal el trabajo de menores. Miss Divine, como manager, decide buscar otros horizontes donde este aspecto legal se menos rígido, y para ello se dirigen a la República Dominicana.Sirena Selena vestida de pena es un excelente relato de un mundo de la sociedad caribeña y una magnífica elaboración de las ambigüedades de la sexualidad, escrito con un lenguaje fascinante y perturbador. Con esta primera novela, Mayra Santos-Febres explora el mundo de los travestis de una manera afortunada y con gran sentido del humor. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Sirena Selena is a gay teenager with a gifted voice. When she leaves home to make her way in the world, she meets bar-owner Martha Divine, an old transvestite who decides to promote” the young girl. Sirena Selena vestida de pena is a brilliant portrayal of a world within Caribbean society and a superb exposition of the sexual ambiguities of human beings, written in a fascinating and disquieting manner. In this debut novel, Mayra Santos-Febres explores the world of transvestites with a great sense of humor.

Sirena Selena vestida de pena (Spanish Edition)

Fe en disfraz es una novela para todos los tiempos y para beberse como una taza de café negro y engullirse como un manjar. Viajé con Mayra Santos-Febres y nunca me sentí tan arropada tanto por su literatura como por su inteligente escritura, cálida como ella misma, cálida como el mar del Caribe.Fe en disfraz se lee como un remedio a todos los males. Mayra nos dice: "El tiempo no existe y todo lo que existe es tiempo" y el tiempo con ella se vuelve frutal, vivible, y nos revela el movimiento de las estrellas. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Fe en disfraz is a timeless novel, and one that should be savored like a strong cup of black coffee and devoured like a feast. I traveled with Mayra Santos-Febres and have never felt so sheltered as I did when wrapped by her literature and intelligent writing, as warm as she herself is, as warm as the waters of the Caribbean. Fe en disfraz reads like the cure for all ills. Mayra tells us: Time does not exist and all that exists is time,’ and time, with her, becomes fruity, livable, and it shows us the movement of the stars.

Fe en disfraz (Spanish Edition)

Alfaguara

"Santos-Febres and 13 other contributors of Puerto Rican heritage take full advantage of San Juan's wide range of disparities between rich and poor, weak and powerful, tourists and residents, in this fine addition to Akashic's noir anthology series." --Publishers Weekly
"A welcomed addition to the publisher's popular noir series, San Juan Noir has the distinction of being issued in two editions, English and Spanish, to more accurately reflect the Caribbean island's bilingual culture. Editor Santos-Febres gathers a varied collection of stories she expects will 'reveal a side of Puerto Rico otherwise obscured by the tourist trade and preconception.'" -- NBC News Latino
"The stories within San Juan Noir stare right into the face of colonialism as they examine the gaps between the city's rich and its poor, its residents and its constant flow of tourists, its colorful exterior and its gritty underbelly. This is noir with a bite, noir that enthralls with its dark tales even as it challenges the reader--do better, do better, do better." --Literary Hub
"From the interiors of sleazy bars or chic resort hotels, shabby apartments and in open streets and avenues with no escape, the tales of San Juan Noir trace the doomed routes of their victims and villains with an acute social and tragic awareness. These journeys keep the reader transfixed and understanding this Caribbean city in entirely new ways." --Insights
Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
Brand-new stories by: Wilfredo J. Burgos Matos, Ernesto Quiñonez, Mayra Santos-Febres, José Rabelo, Luis Negrón, Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, Ana María Fuster Lavín, Janette Becerra, Manolo Núñez Negrón, Tere Dávila, Edmaris Carazo, Alejandro Álvarez Nieves, Charlie Vázquez, and Manuel A. Meléndez. Translated by Will Vanderhyden.
From the introduction by Mayra Santos-Febres:
"Puerto Rico is often portrayed as sandy beaches, casinos, luxury hotels, relaxation, and never-ending pleasure--a place that satisfies all senses and appetites.
Yet the city of San Juan is much more than that. The capital of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is the oldest Spanish settlement in all the territories and colonies of the United States. Since Puerto Rico is economically dependent on the US, the financial downturn of 2008 hit us hard. Many Puerto Ricans have left the island, looking for a better life. Crime has risen and the black market has thrived. As in many crises, art, music, and literature have also flourished. Never before has there been so much literary production. We have responded to our crisis with many stories to tell. And, especially in these times, many of those stories are noir...
I hope these stories spark your imagination, and reveal a side of Puerto Rico otherwise obscured by the tourist trade and preconceptions. Maybe it will also pique your curiosity, and you will come visit our 'pearl of the Caribbean.'"

San Juan Noir (Akashic Noir)

Akashic Books Ltd

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Books by Santos-Febres, Mayra

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Santos-Febres, Mayra. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Nuestra senora de la noche: Novela (Esenciales) (Spanish Edition)

Our Lady of the Night: A Novel

Sirena Selena: A Novel

Sirena Selena: A Novel

El cuerpo correcto: [Mayra Santos Febres] (Spanish Edition)

Urban Oracles: Stories

Cualquier miercoles soy tuya / Any Wednesday I'm Yours (Spanish Edition)

Sirena Selena vestida de pena (Spanish Edition)

Fe en disfraz (Spanish Edition)

San Juan Noir (Akashic Noir)