Romancing Pablo Escobar

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-130
Author(s):  
Aldona Bialowas Pobutsky
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
War On Drugs ◽  
Private Interests ◽  
The Subject

Chapter 3 focuses on Pablo Escobar’s former “trophy woman” (“mafia doll”), the 1980’s television celebrity Virginia Vallejo, whose autobiography details her tumultuous affair with the capo. It explores how Vallejo negotiates her own position vis-à-vis Colombia’s war on drugs, including the issue of culpability and her own victimhood once Escobar’s influences began to falter and how Vallejo became the subject of a multifold harassment that ended her career. Hers is the first melodramatic take on Escobar, an account that mobilizes the traditional tropes of female sentimentality wherein the Capo appears to be an alluring lover capable, nonetheless, of the most horrid acts. This chapter also examines Colombia’s infatuation with machismo and the figure of the classic Latin American strongman, whose brutality was part of their mass appeal. A substantial section of this chapter is devoted to the discourses born around Vallejo’s self-exposure as Escobar’s former lover, where public outrage, misogyny, sexism, and private interests reveal as much about Colombian society as about the memoirist.

scholarly journals Corridos en la guerra contra el narco : esteticas necropoliticas en Mexico

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Martin Mulligan
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Latin American ◽  
War On Drugs ◽  
Social Violence ◽  
Narrative Tradition ◽  
The Social ◽  
Consumption Practices ◽  
The Subject ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Siglo Xx

Narcoculture has been considered a phenomenon of socialization that exists in territories where drug trafficking has become politically, socially, economically and culturally influential. In Mexico, the phenomenon has an aesthetic and a vernacular philosophy based on fashion, on a film sub-genre, on ostentatious hyper-consumption practices, and most significantly, on a popular musical genre known as narcocorrido -- heritage of the age-old narrative tradition of epic ballads and Mexican banditry. In the 21st century, with the rise of digital practices predominantly on youtube, Facebook, and Instagram, its audience and industry reached heights of unprecedented popularity, largely due to a new generation of (narco)corridistas or composers that emerged in both Los Angeles, California and Sinaloa, Mexico. These corridos alterados, as they are also known, were written with unusual graphic brutality focusing on the social violence affecting Mexico. Taking into account the journalistic and academic considerations that have been made on the subject on the War on Drugs in Mexico, I propose from the field of cultural studies to analyze the phenomenon from the content and industry of these narcocorridos, as a means to provide other explanatory and interpretive approaches to this social violence that has produced more deaths than the Iraq War and more disappearances than any Latin American dictatorship of the 20th century. La narcocultura ha sido considerada un fenomeno de socializacion que existe en territorios donde el narcotrafico se ha insertado politica, social, economica y culturalmente. En Mexico, el fenomeno tiene una estetica y una filosofia vernacula basada en una moda de vestimenta, en un subgenero cinematografico (videohomes), en ostentosas practicas de hiperconsumo y, primordialmente, en un genero musical popular conocido como narcocorrido, herencia de las antiguas baladas epicas y del bandolerismo mexicano. En el siglo XXI, con el auge de las practicas digitales predominantemente en youtube, Facebook e Instagram, su audiencia e industria alcanzaron alturas de popularidad sin precedentes, en parte con una nueva generacion de compositores (narco)corridistas que surgieron tanto en Los Angeles, California como Sinaloa, Mexico. Estos corridos alterados, como tambien se les conoce, narraban con una brutalidad grafica inusual los motivos sociales de la guerra contra los carteles del narcotrafico. Asi, tomando en consideracion la cronica periodistica y los enfoques academicos, este trabajo desde los estudios culturales analiza la industria y los contenidos de los narcocorridos, para brindar otras enfoques explicativos e interpretativos de esta violencia social que ha producido mas muertes dolosas que la Guerra de Irak y mas desapariciones que cualquier dictadura latinoamericana del siglo XX.

THE G77@50 AND THE STRUGGLE FOR A DECOLONIAL FUTURE

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Siphamandla Zondi
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Colonial Legacies ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Good For

 This introductory article outlines the importance of the subject discussed in this edition of UNISA’s Latin American Report, the Group of 77+ China. It seeks to locate this discussion at the centre of the search for an alternative world to one that remains haunted by colonial legacies and new imperial designs. It makes the point that the G77 is born into an evolving pursuit of a dream for a world in which former colonies realise fully their aspirations for a future that is good for all. It shows that the G77 has played a crucial role in this, while it also poses questions about the Group’s ability to implement what it works so hard to reach consensus on.

scholarly journals INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF DECLARING PROPERTY, ASSETS AND PRIVATE INTERESTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 214
Author(s):  
Anna Tytko ◽  
Hanna Stepanova
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
The State ◽  
Financial Control ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Private Interest ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Private Interests ◽  
The Subject ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Practical Implications

The aim of the article. To analyse the specificities of asset and private interest declaration by public officials and representatives of political power, as well as to suggest the author’s original differentiation of declarations of assets, income, private interests, and gifts. The subject of the study is the procedure for submitting declarations by persons entrusted with functions of the state and local self-government bodies in some countries of Western Europe. Methodology. In the article, the method of deduction and induction enabled to study the features of violating the requirements of financial control through the procedure for submitting a declaration by persons entrusted with functions of the state and local authorities. The methods of deduction and synthesis enabled to define the concept of “asset and interest declaration”, practiced in some countries of Western Europe. A comparative legal analysis enabled to study the procedure for submitting an income and expenditure declaration in some Western European countries, identifying the main types of conflict of interest and income declarations, as well as differentiating persons obliged to submit declarations. The results of the study revealed that the foreign experience of asset declaration is closely intertwined with the private interest declaration. Practical implications. In the study: first, the specificities of foreign declaration practice, according to the subjects of such declaration submission, are outlined; second, the procedures for submitting declarations of income and expenditures, as well as interests, are analysed and compared; third, the author’s perspective on the differentiation of declarations and declarants is substantiated. Relevance/originality. The comparative legal analysis enabled to study the procedure for submitting a declaration of public officials in some countries of Western Europe, empowering to form perspective areas of legislation development in this sphere.

scholarly journals A APLICAÇÃO DO CONCEITO DE POPULISMO À AMÉRICA LATINA: pela necessidade de classificar, e não desqualificar

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
João Carlos Amoroso Botelho
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The Political ◽  
Socioeconomic Conditions ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
The Past ◽  
De Se ◽  
The Subject ◽  
America Latina

Desde que autores como Germani (1962), Di Tella (1969) e Ianni (1975) aplicaram a noção de populismo à América Latina, muito se escreveu sobre o tema. O conceito se estirou tanto que tem servido para definir políticos os mais díspares. Com a ausência das condições socioeconômicas descritas pelas formulações clássicas, a estratégia adotada é limitar a categoria à dimensão política. Esse procedimento, porém, não é capaz de descrever atributos exclusivos suficientes para que o populismo seja um fenômeno específico. Ao mesmo tempo, o conceito está tão enraizado que não é viável abandoná-lo. A solução proposta é avaliar em quais características um político se aproxima e se afasta dos casos paradigmáticos do passado. Assim, ele pode ser populista em certos aspectos e não em outros. Com esse procedimento, se chega a uma classificação, em que um líder apresente mais ou menos atributos descritos pelas definições clássicas, eliminando a necessidade de reformulação constante do conceito para adaptá-lo a novas circunstâncias. Também haveria menos espaço a que o rótulo de populista continuasse servindo para desqualificar políticos latino-americanos. O artigo aborda definições clássicas e recentes aplicadas à América Latina e avalia a viabilidade empírica da estratégia de se concentrar na dimensão política.---LA APLICACIÓN DEL CONCEPTO DE POPULISMO AMÉRICA LATINA: la necesidad de clasificar, y no descalificar Desde que autores como Germani (1962), Di Tella (1969) y Ianni (1975) aplicaron la noción de populismo a la América Latina, mucho se ha escrito sobre el tema. El concepto se ha estirado tanto que ha definido políticos muy dispares. Con la ausencia de las condiciones socioeconómicas descritas por las formulaciones clásicas, la estrategia adoptada es concentrarse en la dimensión política. Ese procedimiento, sin embargo, no es capaz de describir atributos exclusivos suficientes para que el populismo sea un fenómeno específico. Al mismo tiempo, el concepto está tan enraizado que no es viable abandonarlo. La solución propuesta es evaluar en cuales características un político se acerca y se aleja de los casos paradigmáticos del pasado. Así, ello puede ser populista en ciertos aspectos y no en otros. Con ese procedimiento, se llega a una clasificación, en que un líder presente más o menos atributos descritos por las definiciones clásicas, eliminando la necesidad de reformulación constante del concepto. También habría menos espacio a que el rótulo de populista continuase sirviendo para descalificar políticos latinoamericanos. El artículo presenta definiciones clásicas y recientes aplicadas a la América Latina y discute la viabilidad empírica de la estrategia de concentrarse en la dimensión política.Palabras-clave: populismo; América Latina; casos paradigmáticos; clasificación.---THE APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF POPULISM IN LATIN AMERICA: the need to classify and not disqualifyEver since authors such as Germani (1962), Di Tella (1969) and Ianni (1975) applied the notion of populism in Latin America, much has been written on the subject. The concept stretched out so much that it has served to define the most dissimilar politicians. In the absence of socioeconomic conditions described by classical formulations, the strategy adopted is to restrict the category to the political dimension. Such a procedure, however, is not capable of describing adequate particular attributes that populism would be a specific phenomenon. At the same time, the concept is so deeply embedded in our society that it is not feasible to abandon it. The proposed solution is to evaluate in which characteristics a politician reaches and moves away from the paradigmatic cases of the past. Thus, it can be populist in some respects and not in others. In such a procedure, we arrive at a classification in which a leader shows more or less attributes described by classical definitions, eliminating the need for constant reformulation of the concept to adapt it to new circumstances. Also, there would be less space to which the label of populist would continue to serve to disqualify Latin American politicians. The article discusses recent and classic settings applied to Latin America and assesses the empirical viability of focusing on the political dimension strategy.Key words: populism; Latin America; paradigmatic cases; classification.

scholarly journals La influencia de Pedro Luis Escrivá en el sistema defensivo colonial de América

X ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Pérez Gallego ◽  
Rosa María Giusto
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
Territorial Defense ◽  
Cultural Transfer ◽  
Charles V ◽  
Military Engineer ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
The Subject

The influence of Pedro Luis Escrivá in the American colonial defense systemThe architect and military engineer Pedro Luis Escrivá (1490 ca. - sixteenth century), at the service of Charles V of Habsburg and the Viceroyal Court of Naples, built two bastioned fortifications designed to considerably influence the subject of territorial defense structures: The quadrangular Spanish Fort of L'Aquila (1534-1567) and the reconstruction of the Sant’Elmo Castle in Naples (1537), with an elongated six-pointed stellar plan, served as a reference point for the European and American fortifications of the period. Due to its size and versatility, the model adopted in L’Aquila was widely used in the Latin American context between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. It is found in countries that were Hispanic colonies such as Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay; as well as in the Hispanic domains of the United States and in some of the dependent territories of the Portuguese crown, in Brazil. Based on a historical-architectural and contextual analysis of these structures, the effects of the “cultural transfer” between Europe and America will be investigated with respect to the model devised by Escrivá to promote its cultural valorization.

scholarly journals The Musical Offers of Children’s Programming on «Televisión Española» as its Hearing Universe

Comunicar ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (37) ◽  
pp. 177-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amparo Porta-Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Popular Music ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Formal Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Direct Experience ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Incidental Music ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Preliminary Study

The music that children are exposed to in their everyday lives plays an important role in shaping the way they interpret the world around them, and television soundtracks are, together with their direct experience of reality, one of the most significant sources of such input. This work is part of a broader research project that looks at what kind of music children listen to in a sample of Latin American and Spanish TV programmes. More specifically, this study focuses on children’s programmes in Spain, and was addressed using a semiotic theoretical framework with a quantitative and musical approach. The programme «Los Lunnis» was chosen as the subject of a preliminary study, which consisted in applying 90 templates and then analysing them in terms of the musical content. The results show that the programme uses music both as the leading figure and as a background element. The most common texture is the accompanied monody and the use of voice, and there is a predominance of electronic instrumental sounds, binary stress and major modes with modulations. Musical pieces are sometimes truncated and rhythmically the music is quite poor; the style used is predominantly that of foreign popular music, with a few allusions to the classical style and to incidental music. The data reveal the presence of music in cultural and patrimonial aspects, as well as in cognitive construction, which were not taken into account in studies on the influence of TV in Spain. Such aspects do emerge, however, when they are reviewed from the perspective of semiotics, musical representation, formal analysis and restructuring theories.La música de la vida cotidiana del niño tiene uno de sus referentes, junto a su experiencia real, en la banda sonora de la televisión, configurando una parte de su interpretación de la realidad. Este trabajo forma parte de una investigación más amplia sobre la escucha televisiva infantil en una muestra iberoamericana. El objetivo, conocer qué escuchan los niños en la programación infantil de «Televisión Española», ha sido estudiado desde un marco teórico semiótico con un enfoque cuantitativo y musical. El artículo presenta un resumen de los resultados obtenidos en un primer análisis del programa «Los Lunnis» mediante la aplicación de noventa plantillas y sus análisis musicales correspondientes. Estos resultados indican que el programa utiliza la música como fondo y figura, textura de monodía acompañada y utilización de la voz, predominio del sonido electrónico instrumental, acento binario y modo mayor con modulaciones. Aparecen piezas musicales cortadas y cierta pobreza rítmica, su opción estilística es la música popular no propia, con algunos guiños al estilo clásico y a la música incidental. Los datos muestran la presencia de la música en aspectos culturales, patrimoniales y de construcción cognitiva no considerados en los estudios sobre la influencia de la TV en España, pero que emergen cuando son revisados desde la semiótica, la representación musical, el análisis formal y las teorías de la reestructuración.

Moral Reform and Feminism: A Case Study

1975 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 386-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Jeffress Little
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Women Activists ◽  
American Woman ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Reform ◽  
Reform Movements ◽  
Time Period ◽  
International Reputation ◽  
The Subject

For the uninitiated the subject of moral reform appears to be a topic best suited for examining the traditional view of the Latin American woman: that of a female preoccupied with sin and salvation and with no interest in the world outside the home or increased rights for her sex. Closer investigation reveals, however, that moral reform movements often have indicated women's active presence and concern about the direction of a nation's social policies and customs. (Addams, 1912: 160-195; Davis, 1973; Smith-Rosenberg, 1971: 381-385, 562-564). Involvement in moral reform activities often but not always has meant that a woman considered herself a feminist and believed that the goals of these two movements were inextricably linked together. In order to explore these two hypotheses, this essay will focus on Paulina Luisi (1875-1950), an Uruguayan doctor whose lifelong dedication to moral reform and feminism earned her an international reputation as a fighter for one sexual moral standard and women's rights (Mapons, 1950; Scarone, 1937: 284-289). Examining her extensive writings and many projects provides an excellent insight into two movements which claimed the loyalty of numerous women activists, both bourgeois and socialist, in Latin America, Europe, and the United States (Addams, 1912; Chataway, 1962; Lloyd, 1971; Luisi, 1948). Given the Latin American context and the time period, Luisi can be seen as a major figure in the international feminist and moral reform movements.

scholarly journals ‘Cheap Merchandise’: Atrocity and Undocumented Migrants in Transit in Mexico’s War on Drugs

2020 ◽  
pp. 089692052096181
Author(s):  
Javier Trevino-Rangel
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Central America ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
War On Drugs ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
The Political ◽  
Undocumented Migrants ◽  
Undocumented Migration ◽  
The Subject ◽  
In Transit

Undocumented migrants in transit in Mexico are victims of atrocity. The subject has been largely ignored by scholars, however, until recently when a number of migration experts became interested in the matter. Most observers argue that abuses suffered by migrants are the consequence of the ‘securitization’ of Mexican immigration policy. For them, Mexican authorities perceive migrants from Central America as a threat to national security and have hardened laws and migratory practices as a result, but there is insufficient evidence to support these claims. This article looks at the political economy of undocumented migration in transit in Mexico and the violence associated with it. It investigates the abuses suffered by migrants not as the result of supposed security policies but rather as the consequence of the interplay between local and global economies that generate profits from undocumented migration. The article explores the role played by state officials, cartels and ordinary Mexicans in the migration industry.

Race-ing Performativity through Transculturation, Taste and the Mulata Body

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Arrizón
Keyword(s):  
Race Relations ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Subaltern Agency ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Latin American And Caribbean ◽  
The Way

A Cuban cocktail called mulata inspires an examination of the mulata body. Beyond an analysis of the cocktail as a commercial commodity, the mulata body can be placed within an intercultural space shaped by the processes of colonization, slavery and race relations. By examining the grammars in the mulata cocktail, the discussion moves the subject through other texts and discourses in order to mediate the mulata's embodied genealogy as a form of transculturation. As a hybrid body that inhabits a ‘racialized’ performativity, the mulata's subaltern agency is imagined beyond the exoticism charged to its presence in the Latin American and Caribbean contexts. A closer look at the mulata body helps to trace not only the process of objecthood affected by masculinist power and desire, but also by the way the process of subjecthood is performatively achieved.

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