Promenade of Desire

A Barcelona Memoir

Isidra Mencos

• Publisher: She Writes Press
• Year: 2022
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781647422523
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

“A brave and unblinkingly honest portrait of a young woman’s sensual and sexual awakening in the face of censure and repression, and her refusal to be held back by the constraints of her family, culture, and religion. The same joyful spirit that expresses itself in Mencos’ love of dancing shines through in her story of her own personal dance into a brave new world beyond the one her mother prescribed for her. Her story is shameless, in the very best sense of the word.”
—Joyce Maynard, New York Times best-selling author of Labor Day, To Die For, and Count The Ways 

María Isidra is a proper Catholic girl raised in 1960s Spain by a strong matriarch during a repressive dictatorship. Early sexual trauma and a hefty dose of fear keep her in line for much of her childhood, but also lead her to live a double life. In her home, there is no discussing the needs of her growing body. In the street, kissing in public is forbidden.

Upon the dictator’s death in 1975, Spain bursts wide open, giving way to democracy and a cultural revolution. Barcelona’s vibrant downtown and its new freedoms seduce María Isidra. She dives into a world of activism, communal living, literature, counterculture, open sexuality, and alcohol.

And yet she knows something is missing. Longing to reconnect with her body—from which she has felt estranged since childhood—she finds a surprising home in a rundown salsa club, where the lush rhythm sparks a deep wave of healing. Transformed, she sets off on a series of sexual and romantic misadventures, in search for what she has always found painfully elusive: true intimacy.

Promenade of Desire is a rich journey into the life of a woman once contained, who finds a way to set herself free.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Autho’r Note
• 1964, San Julián and Santa Margarita.: There’s More Than Meets the Eye
• 1975, Barcelona.: The Rumors of Franco’s Death Are Not Exaggerated
• 1964, San Julián.: Tickled and Locked Out
• 1964, Barcelona and San Julián.: Iron Woman
• 1975–76, Barcelona and Berga.: Guarding the Fort
• 1964, Barcelona.: Red Balloon
• 1976–77, Barcelona.: Road to Disenchantment
• 1977, Mâcon.: A Loud New World
• 1966–67, San Julián and Barcelona.: A Hike in the Dark
• 1977–78, Barcelona.: La Torre
• 1978, Barcelona.: Rhythm and Emotion
• 1978–79, Barcelona.: A New Birth
• 1971, San Julián.: Summer Awakening
• 1979, Barcelona.: Danger Zone
• 1980, Barcelona and La Escala.: Finding Paradise
• 1980, Barcelona.: In and Out
• 1981, Barcelona and Madrid.: Test Time
• 1981–82, Barcelona.: Comfort Food
• 1969, Barcelona.: Whose Family Is This?
• 1982–83 Barcelona.: Love and Betrayal
• 1983–84, Barcelona.: A Mirthless Dance
• 1973, San Julián.: Betrayals
• 1984–85, Barcelona.: Addicted to Love
• 1985–86, Barcelona.: Call the Police
• 1986–87, Barcelona.: Bikini and Lingerie
• 1987–88, Barcelona.: A Place of My Own
• 1988–90, Barcelona, Colombia, and Paris.: Rollercoaster
• 1990, Barcelona.: Family Discord
• 1990–91, Barcelona and Egypt.: Endings and Beginnings
• 1992, Barcelona and Berkeley.: New Life in a New Land
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Selected Titles from She Writes Press