In the Roaring Twenties, two worldly young aristocrats embark on a journey to see one of their idols, the sublime Italian actress Eleonora Duse, who, to their utmost delight, has recently returned to the stage. What follows as they prepare for their adventure and, later, when they arrive in the Cuban capital, is a hilarious, erotic, and political tragicomedy, told in hallucinatory language, replete with Rabelaisian characters: among them, a quasi-widow who runs her family as if it were an army, sisters too ugly to marry off, a kind friend with the face of a monkey, a hermaphrodite nun, an iconoclastic, dissolute painter, the handsomest communist who ever lived, disheartened phantoms, bands of irresistible Cuban men, transmigrating souls, and, finally, the very seed of a demon who will one day make the Island his own. As they struggle to meet the celebrated actress, the two protagonists find themselves bouncing from the somber offices of the Cuban secret police to an Arabian Nights-inspired ball, to an agitated Lenin tribute and a drum celebration honoring Babalu Aye, to a horrific crime scene in the heart of Havana's Chinatown, and through a world of sordid brothels and interracial orgies. Yet at the heart of The Last Masquerade is the sickly, reclusive, and wearied stage legend Eleonora Duse, whose voice is heard at intervals throughout, as if from a distant land, revealing for the first time the story of her private life. She was rivaled in her day only by the great Sarah Bernhardt, and Duse's passing encounters with her two aristocratic fans reveal a person different from the one they had imagined: an ordinary woman whose life has been fueled by loss and sorrow, haunted by the fragility of love and by an inordinate intimacy with death, all of which she has used as instruments with which to sharpen her craft. As the final curtain drops on the novel, we are let into the mystery of a world long forgotten, of two cosmopolitan centers outside Europe and America where the ruling class had as much fun as anyone in the world, and, like everyone else, had to suffer the consequences.

The Last Masquerade

Literature & Fiction

Antonio Orlando Rodríguez

Humor & Satire

Rayo/Harper Collins

A lomo de cuento por Puerto Rico: el huerto de los viejitos / A Storybook Ride Through Puerto Rico: The Old People's Vegetable Garden (A lomo de ... Edition) (A lomo de cuento/ Storybook Ride)

Children's Books

Sergio Andricaín

Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths

Vista Higher Learning

A lomo de cuento is a unique series that encourages young readers to explore the geography and culture of fascinating countries as they explore and enjoy oral tradition. This volume about Peru opens with the folktale El abuelo de la quena and on the informational section covers different aspects of the Sierra region, Peru's geography and fauna, Machu Picchu and the Incas, and more. Includes an easy-to-make recipe, Quechua riddles, and an illustrated map.

A lomo de cuento por Perú: el abuelo de la quena / A Storybook Ride Through Peru: The Grandfather Who Played The Quena(A lomo de cuento) (Spanish Edition) (A lomo de cuento / Storybook Ride)

A lomo de cuento por México: el pájaro verde / A Storybook Ride Through Mexico: The Green Bird(A lomo de cuento) (Spanish Edition) (A lomo de cuento/ Storybook Ride)

A lomo de cuento por Cuba: el güije de la charca / A Storybook Ride Through Cuba: The Pond Elf (A lomo de cuento) (Spanish Edition) (A lomo de cuento/ Storybook Ride)

A lomo de cuento por Argentina: el Coquena / A Storybook Ride Through Argentina: The Coquena (A lomo de cuento ) (Spanish Edition) (A lomo de cuento/ Storybook Ride)

Jose Marti was barely 16 years old when he began to fight for the independence of his homeland through his writing. At 17 he was declared an enemy of Spain and sentenced to six years of prison and hard labor. But that did not stop him. Marti dedicated his life to defending Cuba s right to independence. Today he is remembered and honored as a man of integrity brilliant and courageous a lover of freedom and peace. Would you like to get to know Marti? Open this book and start reading!José Martí tenía apenas 16 años de edad cuando comenzó a luchar por la independencia de su patria a través de sus escritos. A los 17, fue declarado enemigo de España y condenado a 6 años de cárcel y de trabajo forzado. Sin embargo, eso no lo detuvo: Martí dedicó su vida a defender el derecho de Cuba a ser un país independiente. Hoy es recordado y honrado como un hombre íntegro, valiente y brillante, amante de la libertad y de la paz.

Conoce a Jose Marti (Spanish Edition) (Personajes del mundo Hispanico)

Biographies

Santillana Usa

José Martí was barely 16 years old when he began to fight for the independence of his homeland through his writing. At 17 he was declared an enemy of Spain and sentenced to six years of prison and hard labor. But that did not stop him. Martí dedicated his life to defending Cubas right to independence. Today he is remembered and honored as a man of integritybrilliant and courageousand as a lover of freedom and peace.

Conoce a José Martí / Get to Know José Martí (Spanish Edition) (Personajes del Mundo Hispánico / Historical Figures of the Hispanic World)

Santillana USA / Loqueleo

A lomo de cuento is a unique series that encourages young readers to explore the geography and culture of fascinating countries as they explore and enjoy oral tradition. This volume about Cuba opens with the folktale El güije de la charca and on the informational section covers different aspects of Cuba's geography and fauna, the country's rich African heritage and historical buildings, and more. Includes an easy-to-make recipe, Cuban adages, and an illustrated map.

A lomo de cuento por Cuba: El güije de la charca (Lomo de cuento / Storybook Ride) (Spanish Edition)

For restless little readers who have no interest in poetry, this unique book will help them realize that poetry can be truly fun too! The catchy verses mix together a lot of the monsters that visit us in our nightmares: Frankenstein, Dracula, mummies And along with these poems kids will find different verses to name their feelings and discover that good poetry just never goes out of style.

El rock de la momia / The Mummy's Rock Song (Spanish Edition) (Nidos Para La Lectura)

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Books by Antonio Orlando Rodríguez