Description
LUNATICA
Book Summary
A charred corpse in a prison cell, an official version full of lies, and a prostitutes' strike that shook Bilbao in 1977. In *Lunática*, journalist Andrea Momoito reconstructs the story of María Isabel Gutiérrez Velasco, a woman forgotten by justice and the collective memory. Through passionate, street-level investigation, the author unravels the webs of exploitation, sexism, and repression that surrounded her death, offering a raw and necessary portrait of the margins of society during the Spanish Transition.
What is it about?
In 1977, the body of María Isabel Gutiérrez Velasco was found burned in Basauri prison. The official version points to suicide, but her cellmates—women imprisoned for sex work—do not believe it. In protest, they declare a strike that spreads throughout Bilbao, supported by political groups demanding amnesty for social prisoners and the abolition of Francoist laws.
Andrea Momoito, co-founder of *Pikara Magazine*, follows María Isabel's trail from judicial archives to the testimonies of those who knew her. The investigation becomes a detective-like, emotional journey that reveals a network of prejudices, institutional negligence, and systemic violence. The work not only examines a crime but also portrays life on the margins, the fight of prostitutes for their dignity, and the mechanisms of repression that survived beyond Francoism.
Main Themes
- Exploitation and sexist violence in contexts of social marginalization.
- Official lies and the concealment of crimes during the Transition.
- Prostitution as an ethical, social, and political issue.
- The prison system and the repression of social prisoners.
- Historical memory and the recovery of silenced voices.
- The Basque Country as a stage for social and political struggles.
Who is it recommended for?
For readers interested in investigative journalism, social chronicles, and feminism. Also for those looking for true stories about the Spanish Transition from a marginalized perspective, as well as those who value a narrative style that combines documentary rigor with emotion and indictment.
What this book offers
- Exhaustive research into a real case of institutional and sexist violence.
- Visibility for the struggle of prostitutes as political subjects in Spain's recent history.
- A critical reflection on the role of the justice system and the State in protecting the most vulnerable.
- A human and complex portrait of a forgotten woman, restoring her dignity.
- An original and committed look at the mechanisms of social repression.
Technical Specifications
- Author: Andrea Momoito
- Publisher: Libros del K.O, S.L.L
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Literary essays, reportage and journalistic article collections, social issues and processes, ethical issues: prostitution and its industry, prisons, Basque Country local history
- Collection: Narrative
- Publication Date: February 2022
- Number of pages: 232
- Weight: 423 g
Editorial Review
*Lunática* is a work that transcends true crime to become a social and feminist plea. Andrea Momoito manages to combine journalistic rigor with a vibrant and committed narrative, offering a reading that is as unsettling as it is moving. Recommended for those seeking to understand the cracks in the Transition and the resistance of those who were systematically silenced.