In 1998 she achieved international recognition when she was awarded the Azorín Prize for Best Novel in Spain for "El hombre, la hembra y el hambre". This work forms part of her series «The Occult Side of Havana», together with "Casa de juegos", "Gata encerrada", and "La isla de los amores infinitos" ("The Island of Eternal Love", Riverhead Books, 2008). The series has been described as “the most coherent novelistic project of its generation, indispensable for understanding the social psychology and spiritual vicissitudes of the Cuban people.”