This chapter delves into Colombia’s so-called trash literature, particularly Gustavo Bolívar’s widely criticized bestseller novel Sin tetas no hay paraíso (2005), in order to explore the encounter between women and narco money. It examines how various narcos came to finance beauty pageants in Colombia, how they allured attractive women with promises of fame and wealth, and how they transformed the female beauty ideal, insisting on plastic surgery that exalted voluptuousness and excess. Of questionable literary value, Sin tetas nonetheless became a poignant social testimony on the destructive forces present in narco societies, where the least privileged pay the highest price. Its insight into corruption and ultimately the demise of working-class youth who sacrifice themselves in exchange for the short-lived intoxication of consumerism, immediately connected with Colombian (and worldwide) audiences, as confirmed by the popularity of the Sin tetas franchise (it appeared as a film and various telenovelas throughout the Hispanic world).
