#Iván Monalisa Ojeda

[smokefalls]

Some things are destined to encircle you in a spiral of energy that transcends time and space.

Iván Monalisa Ojeda, "Jennifer's Carnations" from Las Biuty Queens (translated by Hannah Kauders)

[youressentialsblog]

Iván Monalisa Ojeda’s New Book ‘Las Biuty Queens’ is Ojeda’s World

Iván Monalisa Ojeda’s New Book ‘Las Biuty Queens’ is Ojeda’s World

‘Las Biuty Queens’ by Iván Monalisa Ojeda Astra House Iván Monalisa Ojeda is a playwright, author, and performer who was born in Southern Chile in the 1960s and has been making a name for himself/herself in queer spaces in New York City for over two decades. Ojeda went onto study theater at the University of Chile and in 1995, he/she came to New York City to participate in the New Dramatists…

[ladychlo]

hi can u recommend me some trans literature please!!!!

Hi love! I'm so sorry, I'm awfully late to this! I tried to download some so they can be accessible to you but I might have a problem with my drive! anyways these are some of which I've read and some on my reading list!

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

Dagger: On Butch Women by Lily Burana

Invisible Lives: The Erasure of Transexual and Transgendered People. by Namaste, Vivian K.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

For Today I Am A Boy by Kim Fu

Yes, You Are Trans Enough by Mia Violet

Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Serrano Julia

Transgender History by Stryker Susan

Why Wanting in Arabic by Trish Salah

GENDERqUEER: voices from beyond the sexual binary

ComQueer and Trans Artists of Color: Stories of Some of Our Lives by Nia Kingplex

Trans Like Me by CN Lester

Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial by Stanley, Eric A. and Nat Smith

Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique by SA’ED ATSHAN

Bad Girls (Las malas) by Camila Sosa Villada

Las Biuty Queens by Iván Monalisa Ojeda

[hummingzone]

Iván Monalisa Ojeda’s New Book ‘Las Biuty Queens’ Explores Ojeda’s World

Iván Monalisa Ojeda’s New Book ‘Las Biuty Queens’ Explores Ojeda’s World

‘Las Biuty Queens’ by Iván Monalisa Ojeda Astra House Iván Monalisa Ojeda is a playwright, author, and performer who was born in Southern Chile in the 1960s and has been making a name for himself/herself in queer spaces in New York City for over two decades. Ojeda went onto study theater at the University of Chile and in 1995, he/she came to New York City to participate in the New Dramatists…

[elebeismo]

Primer fanzine de la serie “Buscavida”. Incluye una entrevista a Iván Monalisa Ojeda. 

[sonandocl]

ESTE VIERNES LLEGA A ONDAMEDIA LA PREMIADA PELICULA “EL VIAJE DE MONALISA”

ESTE VIERNES LLEGA A ONDAMEDIA LA PREMIADA PELICULA “EL VIAJE DE MONALISA”

VIERNES 11 DE JUNIO – ONDAMEDIA Basada en la historia de Iván “Monalisa” Ojeda  En 1995, tras una promisoria carrera teatral en Chile, el artista escénico, performista y escritor, Iván Ojeda es invitado en 1996 a Nueva York a realizar una investigación teatral de un mes. Una vez terminada su estadía oficial, Iván decide quedarse ilegalmente en Estados Unidos donde descubre su identidad de género…

[smokefalls]

We laugh and we dance until the sun goes down. From a distance, we must look like a coven of multicolored witches.

Iván Monalisa Ojeda, "Sabrina's Wedding" from Las Biuty Queens (translated by Hannah Kauders)

[smokefalls]

Title: Las Biuty Queens Author: Iván Monalisa Ojeda Translator: Hannah Kauders Publication Year of Translation: 2021 Publisher: Astra House Genre: fiction, short stories, queer lit

This was a really interesting look into the trans Latine community in New York City, with Ojeda guiding the reader through the joys and struggles that are unique to this particular community. Ojeda heavily draws from his/her own experiences to craft these stories, so much so that I feel it’s almost misleading to say that this short story collection is fiction. It sometimes read like a memoir in which he/she took many creative liberties. Furthermore, I wouldn’t quite call these short stories, so much as they were interconnected vignettes that captured the intimate lives of those on the margins of society. For this perspective alone, I think Las Biuty Queens is well worth picking up.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find the writing especially engaging, which I think was in part because the stories were a little too short; most (if not all) of them didn’t give the reader enough time to think about this vibrant and beautiful community. Ojeda brought up a number of fascinating points that could have been further explored, ranging from sex work to immigration, and I really found myself wishing more could have been said on these topics and how they intertwine with being trans.

Content Warning: drug use; addiction; death; transphobia; incarceration; references to cancer, murder, racism, and child abuse