Authentic Jewelry is a chronicle of love for dissident and camp identities, personified in these eight stories by transvestites, transformistas, and trans women. A jewelry box with which the author pays tribute to those who have helped build his culture, imagination, and personality.
"That older transvestite looked at me and smiled at me. She winked. Her eyelid supported the universe. It's the closest thing to a blessing I've ever felt. A goddess. Yes. A revelation. The anointing of the sacred. The blessed oil of transvestites is an eye shadow. I knew that this older transvestite was a mother, a sister, and an inspiration. That my childhood had originated in her steps. Without knowing it, I made her a promise. Someday she would imagine her life and write it down. I've called her Gladis, the Blonde, Lola Jurado, Sarasa, Nancy, Cherilyn... I've dreamed her life in a thousand ways, at different stages, in different places."
