La reina de América

La Reina de América (The Queen of America) is a novel by Uruguayan author Jorge Majfud. It was published by Baile del Sol in 2002.

Plot summary
This novel is about a family of Spanish immigrants in the sixties and about the adventures of one of its main storytellers, Consuelo, the daughter of a prostitute to whom the title refers to. It is set mainly in Montevideo and Buenos Aires, in the midst of the repressions caused by the Southern Cone dictatorships.

Mabel and his father run away from their financial bankruptcy in Spain to Argentina in pursuit of the American dream of the first wave of immigration of the century. On their trip, Mabel meets a Danish anarchist and falls in love. Mabel's father dies in Montevideo and this “queen of America” stays in the port's lower neighborhood. Several problems hinder the Danish's ability to return to Buenos Aires to find Mabel. His daughter, Consuelo, is raped by one her mother's clients but she manages to enact her vengeance in a striking and cruel way. Ultimately, it seems that the whole drama develops according to the plots of power, politics, sociality, gender, domesticity and culture.

Characters
Mabel Moreno: an immigrant belonging to the ruined Spanish aristocracy. After the father's death and due to his fate in the port of Montevideo, he turns to prostitution to get by. Mabel dies in an asylum.

Consuelo Moreno: the daughter of Mabel, her father is probably Jacobsen. Consuelo is one of the main storytellers. Her story begins when she finds a Jacobsen in Buenos Aires after her mother's death, but he is immobilized in a wheelchair and can't speak. Like her mother, she loses her mind.

Jacobsen: a Danish anarchist. He never finds Mabel since she manages to avoid him on one occasion. He is persecuted by the military in Buenos Aires. He seems to have the most critical voice in the novel.

El Tito: Mabel's client. He abuses Consuelo and persuades her to abort her son. When Consuelo receives Mabel's cousin inheritance, he enacts his vengeance by paying two men to rape him.

Vicente Zubizarreta: Mabel's cousin. Successful immigrant. Ambiguous sexuality. He takes care of Consuelo until his suicide.
Abayuba: Consuelo's boyfriend, a typical example of the working class unemployed youth.

Other minor characters: Argentinean military officials, an Uruguayan radio announcer who has a big influence on “public opinion” (he's murdered by Mabel).

The book is set from approximately 1960 to 1990.

References

External links
 50 Great Hispanic Novels Every Student Should Read
 La reina de América.
 La reina de América - en soporte digital.
 Revista Lateral de Barcelona, por Oscar Carreño.
 "La violencia moral en «La reina de América» de Jorge Majfud", Laurine Duneau
 "La escritura sin anestesias de un uruguayo universal: Entrevista a Jorge Majfud" Revista Mito, por Leonor Taiano. 8 de junio de 2016.

Category:Hispanic and Latino American novels
Category:Spanish novels
Category:2001 novels
Category:Novels set in Argentina
Category:Psychological novels
Category:Novels set in Uruguay