Aurora Bertana

La ciudad de los jovenes Aurora Bertana

The City of the Young: fantasy press reportis about a journalist of the fictitious newspaper «Ara o Mai» (Now or Never) who travels from his city «The City of the Old» to «The City of the Young» to write about the way of life of their new generations.

Within the novel the narrator-reporter interviews several government delegates (of Public Order, Eclesiastical, Fine Arts, Sexual Hygiene, etc, ), equivalent to the Ministries at «The City of the Old», and is amazed by the differences.

In «The City of the Young» Government Officials do not belong to political parties, nor are the citizens subject to any authority. There is no king or president, and any citizen may be elected leader.

There is an absolute respect for equal rights for both men and women, sexual freedom and environmental care.

These and other findings surprise the narrator-reporter, but what he finds most astonishing is that «The Young» crave for a «Single Sex» or total hermaphroditism, and scientists work to erradicate the differences between men and women. Though still unsuccessful, they have already simplified women's lives by inventing an artificial uterus.

This translation into Spanish is based on the original manuscript that Aurora Bertrana submitted to the state censorship in 1971, and includes the crossed out fragments that were not included in the Catalan edition published in the same year.

The foreword analyzes these paragraphs and the role of the state censorship during the Francisco Franco regime. The preliminary study also delves into the author and her works -specially The City of the Young- to discuss Aurora Bertrana's cosmovision. This edition is suited for Spanish and Catalan Language & Literature, Culture & Society, Gender, and Women Studies courses.