My Tender Matador

In the spring of 1986, a poor neighborhood in Santiago buzzes with the tremors of a city under dictatorship. Protests, marches, and a quiet, stubborn thread of hope run through daily life as people imagine a future free from Augusto Pinochet’s rule. Into this tense mix arrives the Queen of the Corner, Alfredo Castro in the role of La Loca del Frente, a flamboyant travesti in her forties who rents a crumbling house and suddenly seeds a focal point for the neighborhood’s gatherings. Carlos, Leonardo Ortizgris, a handsome and vigorous young man, helps her settle the place and soon becomes a regular presence, drawing in other university friends during the nights under the pretense of a quiet place to study.

What follows are a string of secret nocturnal meetings held after curfew, growing in frequency and intimacy. When Carlos cannot attend, he remains at the house, conversing with the landlady, who, despite pleas from her gay friends, has not introduced a lover of her own. Through these conversations, the Queen opens up about a painful past—her ties to prostitution, a broken family, being motherless, and an abandonment of an abusive father when she was eighteen to avoid a forced military service.

As September arrives, the protests on the coup’s anniversary intensify. One day, Carlos leaves a suspicious metal pipe at the Queen’s house and invites her to Cajón del Maipo, a hillside retreat where Pinochet and his wife, Lucía Hiriart, are known to go with a strict military entourage. During the walk, the dictator’s armored vehicle passes by, and inside, Lucía reproaches her husband for not being received by authorities abroad, even in South Africa. The Queen, not wanting to look foolish, chooses not to question him, dancing for a moment as Carlos steps away from his tasks and gazes at her with a mix of astonishment and interest. Later, as they drive her home, a radio report speaks of a raid on weapons belonging to the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front, and Carlos leaves abruptly, without a proper farewell. Yet he soon returns, apologizing and resuming their uneasy bond.

Pinochet’s anger intensifies when he learns the couple seen near Cajón del Maipo are homosexuals, and he orders the mayor to set up surveillance at the site. The next morning, the Queen—who earns her living embroidering tablecloths—heads to the upper district to deliver an order to Señora Catita, the wealthy wife of General Ortúzar, who is organizing a grand military dinner for the September 11 commemoration. The narrative signals that these threads are interwoven and that numerous movements are happening simultaneously, with the morning paving the way for further developments on multiple fronts.

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 04:07