In Entre azul y buenas noches, Samantha Flores opens the doors to a life filled with dreams, struggles, and triumphs that span over nine decades. Co-written with Antoine Rodríguez, this autobiography is much more than the story of a single woman, it is a testament to the power of authenticity, survival, and love against a backdrop of societal rejection and systemic invisibility.
Born Vicente Aurelio in 1932 in Orizaba, Veracruz, Samantha Flores has lived through eras of profound cultural transformation in Mexico, and through her words, readers are transported into a world where survival often required ingenuity, courage, and unwavering self-belief.
From the very beginning, Samantha's life was a delicate negotiation between who she was expected to be and who she truly was. Baptized Vicente Aurelio, she grew up as an effeminate, sensitive child in a world that had little patience or compassion for difference.
Her early experiences with love, notably her relationship at age twelve with the athletic and masculine David, left an indelible mark on her understanding of intimacy and betrayal. These early experiences, tender and painful, reflect the fragile space she occupied as a young queer individual in mid-20th century Mexico.
At nineteen, in search of freedom and a space where she could finally breathe, she left her conservative hometown of Orizaba for the bustling metropolis of Mexico City. There, she completed her studies in hotel management and worked diligently as a receptionist in various hotels. However, the conventional path offered little solace or excitement. Samantha was irresistibly drawn to the vibrant nightlife of the capital, to the bars, nightclubs, and cabarets where diverse forms of desire, identity, and artistry flourished in shadows and glitter. In those spaces, she found kindred spirits, performers, and free souls, and most importantly, she found herself.
More than a recounting of events, the book is a meditation on identity, how it is formed, challenged, concealed, and ultimately celebrated. Samantha’s voice, rich with humor and wistfulness, invites readers to see the human being behind the social labels. She shares tales of friendship, love affairs, heartbreaks, professional successes, and personal losses with an openness that is both disarming and profoundly moving.
The epilogue, written by Rodríguez, provides an insightful commentary on Samantha’s journey toward selfhood, weaving in a broader genealogy of theories regarding trans identities. It situates Samantha’s life not only within the personal and national histories of Mexico but also within the larger, still-evolving narrative of transgender recognition and rights.
What makes Entre azul y buenas noches even more remarkable is that it is the first Latin American autobiography written by a trans woman over the age of ninety. In a society where the voices of elderly LGBTQ+ individuals are often ignored or erased, Samantha Flores stands as a beacon of resilience. Her work with Laetus Vitae, the first completely free day shelter in Mexico City, and in Latin America, for elderly LGBTQ+ people, cements her legacy as a pioneer and activist whose contributions will ripple through generations.
Ultimately, Entre azul y buenas noches is a story about love: love for oneself, love found and lost, love for a community, and love for life itself, even when it is not kind. Samantha Flores reminds us that living authentically is itself a revolutionary act, and that sometimes, the most profound journeys begin simply with the courage to say goodnight to old fears and awaken into the blue promise of a new dawn.
Available via Amazon
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