Mexico City

The vast majority of the novel takes place in Mexico City, during the Mexican Dirty War of the 1970s. In Velvet Was the Night, the city is a place deeply at odds with itself. Political factions jostle for power, control, and loyalty; these include the Hawks, the DFS, and an array of communist and leftist activists, some aligned with Russian agents. Despite these conflicts, the city appears lively and dynamic. In particular, characters enjoy the variety of delicious restaurants, coffee shops, and street markets.

Maite's Atelier

Maite spends much of her free time in her spare bedroom, which she jokingly refers to as her ‘atelier.’ Here, Maite listens to records (many of them English-language records) and reads romance comics, in particular Secret Romance. For Maite, her spare bedroom serves as a source of escape from her mundane life as a legal secretary. In her atelier, she can...