Moving story about the marginalised existence of Argentine 'transvestis'

Camila Sosa Villada indulges the reader in Fake bitches an intimate and moving glimpse into the colourful, but also harsh and lonely existence of (Argentine) transsexuals. And thus holds a merciless mirror up to the intolerant, judgmental society.

A 'party'

'Being a transvesti is a party' was the motto of Angie, one of Camila Sosa Villada's transgender friends. An incantation to make everyday life more bearable. Because to this day, transsexuals are not accepted in many parts of the globe, but a few decades ago, 'transvestis' like Angie and Camila had it many times harder. Violence, humiliation and exclusion were the order of the day. To live the way they wanted - as women - many of them were forced to sell their bodies. Because even though they were not accepted as human beings, sex with transsexuals was very popular.

Today, Camila Sosa Villada (41) has a career as an actress, singer and writer, but for her, too, life began as a woman on the streets. In her debut novel Fake bitches she looks back on that relentless, formative period.

As a small child, Camila, then Christian, already knows she is a woman, but her parents don't want to know. After a childhood full of humiliation, violence and poverty, she ends up on the streets around the age of 16.

In Cordoba, she is included in the group of transvestis who gather every night in Sarmiento park and serve their clients from there. They share their make-up, narcotics and stories, and they comfort and defend each other when - as happens quite often - they become victims of violence or theft.

Ruthlessly honest but with love, Sosa Villada describes the lives of these colourful women. That life is not exactly a party, but at least the women try to make the best of it together by seeking refuge in their own imaginative world, with Aunt Encarna's pink house as a safe haven. Like a mother, Aunt Encarna takes care of a foundling baby, of Deaf Maria, who transforms into a little bird, and of Natalí, who transforms into a werewolf every month at the full moon. Together, they hold their own. Until AIDS and hatred in society mercilessly take their toll and the women are chased apart like rats.

Fake bitches is an important and moving story about a marginalised existence that you hope no one will ever have to experience again. Just a shame about that awful title - it doesn't do justice to the extraordinary, warm-blooded characters.