You also have the possibility to be happy. Remember that.
Las malas (Bad Girls, in English) is a 2019 book by Argentine writer Camila Sosa Villada. It's often classified as a semi-autobiographical Magical Realism book, being about the author's experience as a travesti prostitute in 2000s Argentina, snippets from her early life, plus her encounters with a group of travestis led by Aunt Encarna in the Sarmiento Park.Las Malas shows us these tropes:
- The '90s: Camilla's childhood happened during then.
- The Aughts: Most of the book happens between 2000 and 2004, roughly.
- Adorably Precocious Child: The Bright, who makes surprisingly intelligent remarks for a pre-schooler, feeds María after she transforms into a bird and never mixes up Encarna's pronouns when she needs to disguise herself as a male outside, due to harassment versus at home, where she dresses as a lady.
- The Alcoholic: Camila's father, who usually arrived home drunk and once feel in the gutter and needed his wife and "son" to come help him.
- Age-Inappropriate Dress: The Ravens dress in their mothers' clothes, which make them look like "rich old women who go out together because they're lonely".
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: It's mentioned that despite drinking like hell, abusing drugs and being cross-eyed, La Pato always looked good.
- Angie, even after getting into a fight with other travesti and being badly hurt. Eventually averted when her AIDS progresses, making her look very much ill until her quick hospitalization and death.
- Subverted by Camila herself, who comments on how being a prostitute is wearing her out and ruining her body. She even starts losing hair due to stress.
- Body Horror: Lourdes' industrial silicone eventually runs through her body (as it is known for in Real Life), and ends up in her blood current (due to AIDS-related weakness).
- Driven to Suicide: Camila herself, but she manages to find help before the medications she took actually killed her.
- The Headless Man who becomes Encarna's boyfriend, after being spurned by her.
- Sandra, after her depression takes hold of her.
- Aunt Encarna and the Bright of The Eyes, after various transphobic attacks.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Camila qualified, as she wouldn't ever refuse to help a fellow travesti.
- So did Sandra, friend to a homeless woman.
- Natalí as well, who cried when listening to Julio Iglesias' song with her name in it.
- Auntie Encarna and Auntie Mara, although the first was a certified Drama Queen.
- Transphobic Hate Crime: Camila almost got killed by two clients.
- A group of soon-university students humiliates and throws beer on travestis For the Evulz.
- Auntie Encarna's home gets vandalized by neighbors because she adopted the Bright.
- It's mentioned that numerous travestis are getting murdered.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: La Pato, or Patricia, who's constantly making mean remarks about Camila for no real reason other than hating herself and the world around her. Also for amusement.
- The Ravens, a duo of rich bitches who only mingle with the group from the Park so they can: a) show off their material goods; b) have the courage of dressing like women in public and c) stealing clients, despite not actually needing their money.
- Living a Double Life: Camila isn't out to her parents nor her university colleagues.
- Some of the travestis do this, like Nadina, who is a (male) nurse by day.
- Losing Your Head: The Headless Men are this, who lost their heads (i.e. their minds, but also literally) while fighting wars in African countries. Somehow, they still have looks, can speak and eat.
- Magical Realism: The book could be a normal biography of a travesti prostitute. Instead, it features a werewolf, someone slowly turning into a bird, headless men (who still have looks, mind you) and other strange happenings.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Natalí is the seventh "son" of her family, thus has to become a werehooker once a month. This takes a great toll on her body.
- Trans Tribulations: And how. From having to resort to sex work, facing abuse from clients and from other people, being kicked out by parents, to having their homes vandalized, everything is covered here.
- Twofer Token Minority: María is a travesti and mute.
- Pato is a travesti and has a limp.
- Unto Us a Son and Daughter Are Born: Laura gives birth to twins, and they are this trope.
- Wanted a Gender-Conforming Child: Camila's parents, specially her dad. Her dad used to compare her to her (male) cousins. It's actually said they felt ashamed about her as a kid.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: Angie, the most beautiful travesti at the Park. Fittingly, she dates the world's most beautiful man.
Being a travesti is a party!
