Anita de Monte Laughs Last

Anita de Monte Laughs Last (2024) is American author Xochitl Gonzalez’s second book. Part campus novel and part homage to the late Cuban artist Ana Mendieta, Anita de Monte Laughs Last examines eurocentrism in the art world, the impact of toxic masculinity on both personal and professional relationships, and the ways in which stereotypes and anti-Latinx prejudices harm young women of color. The story shares many common themes with Gonzalez’s first novel, Olga Dies Dreaming (2022), and the success of both books has established Gonzalez as an important new voice within Latinx literatures and American literature as a whole. However, Anita de Monte Laughs Last did generate controversy because Xochitl Gonzalez did not secure permission from Ana Mendieta’s estate to use her art and life story in the novel, and Mendieta’s relatives were unhappy with Gonzalez’s representation of Ana Mendieta and her legacy.

Xochitl Gonzalez, whose background is both Puerto Rican and Mexican American, grew up in Brooklyn and attended Brown University. Her parents were active in the Socialist Workers Party, and her novels reflect her strong interest in social, racial, and gender justice. At Brown, Gonzalez intended to major in creative writing but ultimately pursued a degree in art history.