(PNS reporting from NEW YORK CITY) Major book publisher Vintage House Editions announced the release this week of a Latino version of the popular soft-porn bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey.
Written by Santa Fe-based author Carmen Camacho, Fifty Shades of Brown is the erotic tale of a young woman swept up by a charming, detached older man and their tumultuous path towards amor.
The Spanish version of the original book, 50 Tonos de Café, has already been optioned for a Univision telenovela to be titled Te Sigo Pegando.
“Fifty Shades of Brown was written with the Latino market in mind and includes culturally-specific elements like facial hair, tequila and charreada-style BDSM instead of just the normal kind,” according to Vintage House spokesman Tristan Caldwell. “We think we can tie this audience up.”
“We’re marketing this book in hair and nail salons, meat markets, Mexican swap meets, and other places Hispanic ladies or ‘comadres’ gather to talk about stuff they can’t talk about at home so their Hispanic husbands, or ‘viejos’ don’t get jealous,” he added.
Although the plot of the original book follows a young woman who enters into a submissive relationship with a rich and powerful man, Fifty Shades of Brown is different.
Fifty Shades of Brown starts with young Catalina Luna trying to find a way to pay for the law school she attended to “give back to her community.” As her attachment to spice magnate Gustavo Arredondo deepens, however, their relationship evolves into a more culturally-appropriate model.
After a torrid affair which includes hand-tooled leather whips used in Mexican-style rodeos, and submission via slippers or “chanclas,” long and pained looks at each other, spicy salsa-flavored titillation and various styles of mustaches, the two fall in love and the tables turn.
The book ends with Catalina sending Gustavo out for tampons, and his heart swelling with love for the woman he once tried to dominate, only to be dominated by her indomitable “mujer” spirit.