review - girl trouble

“Girl Trouble: The true saga of superstar Gloria Trevi and the teenage sex cult that stunned the world”
By Christopher McDougall
(Harper Collins)

In Mexico, it was the story of the decade. But in America, while the scandalous story of Mexican singer-turned-fugitive Gloria Trevi was given media attention, it never reached household saturation - certainly not to the extent that native whirlwind cases like those of Laci Peterson, Chandra Levy, or Monica Lewinsky have achieved before or since. Christopher McDougall’s new book “Girl Trouble” may change that status.

McDougall meticulously traces Trevi’s often-sketchy history: from her short stint with girl group Boquitas Pintadas, to her missing years as an aerobic instructor with a mysterious abusive boyfriend, to her transformation from Gloria Trevino Ruiz, teen girl, to musician/actress Gloria Trevi, controversial wild-maned and stocking-tearing sex goddess, to Mexican fugitive, to Brazilian prisoner. He deconstructs her relationship with manager/producer Sergio Andrade, a short and – by most standards – unattractive man, who built a harem of young girls under pretense of making them stars.

Trevi’s story is amazing to those who may be unfamiliar with it: imagine a star of Madonna’s magnitude suddenly disappearing, accused of countless atrocities, including rape and kidnapping. A star who is routinely starved, beaten, and demeaned by her manager; locked naked in bathrooms and participating in group sex with young girls – all while presenting a fiercely strong “girl power” image on stage. McDougall, who met with both Trevi and Andrade while they were in prison, does an excellent job of telling not only their stories, but the stories of their accusers and victims, from future Mexican television star Aline to Gloria’s own cousin.

Despite the title, this story not only belongs to Trevi, but Andrade as well – one can’t help but feel that Gloria, more than anyone, fell victim to his ways – a judgment that a Mexican jury may have subscribed to as well, acquitting Trevi (and fellow harem member Mary Boquitas) of rape, kidnapping, and corruption of minors in September of 2004.

“Girl Trouble” avoids becoming the literary equivalent of a tabloid rag with McDougall’s analysis and insightful commentary on how these women could become so entranced by one, by all estimations, unspectacular man. All in all, “Girl Trouble” is compulsively readable; a wholly unnerving look at a story so wild, so unbelievable, that it stretches the bounds of fiction and comes back around to fact.