Latin America is home to macho men, or so goes the stereotype. But there’s nowhere else where women work their way with more success into supposedly male domains than in those 19 countries. Before Margaret Thatcher became Europe’s fi rst female prime minister in 1979, Argentina had already been ruled for two years by a woman. Likewise, the list of women who made extraordinary contributions to the political, economic and cultural life of Latin America is longer than in other parts of the world.
Eva Karnofsky and Barbara Potthast gather forty impressive examples in their book. With élan and skill they portray women who lead states and parties, like Michelle Bachelet or María del Rosario Green; those who founded human rights movements, like Azucena Villafl or; those who left a decisive impression on the economies of their countries, like Ernestina Herrera and, last but not least, those who became worldclass artists, like Frida Kahlo, Isabel Allende or Shakira.

Eva Karnofsky, Barbara Potthast

Eva Karnofsky, born in Wesel, holds a doctorate in political science. Since 1984 she’s written about Latin America, and she lived for ten years in Buenos Aires as a correspondent for the newspaper SZ. She is also a literature critic on the radio for Deutschlandfunk and SWR. Her most recent publication is the anthology »Cuba in Your Carry-on« (2011). Barbara Potthast, born 1956 in Bielefeld, is a professor of Iberian and Latin American history, and leader of the Latin America Center at the University of Cologne. She focuses on the history of women, gender and the family. Her most recent publication is »Of Mothers and Machos. A History of the Women of Latin America« (2010).