Space, identity and violence in 'Sueños de frontera'

Abstract

ueños de frontera emerges after its publication in 1991 as a rara avis within the literary project dedicated to Belascoarán Shayne´s crime fiction saga. Set mainly in Mexico City and with the anti-PRI political and social denunciation as the predominant intention, Taibo II on this occasion moves the narrative to the northern border of Mexico with the purpose of projecting an incisive reflection on problems which go beyond literary or artistic motives. In addition to make this novel known in the field of cultural studies on Mexico and its border, this research article aims to reflect on its capacity for critical portrayal within Latin American neo-police narrative. In this sense, it will focus on two core themes of the story: on the one hand, the approach to issues such as space and border identity in the novel; on the other, the contextualized approach to the complex problem of the border / violence binomial, especially with regard to the origins and social consequences behind the Narco State that is based in this part of the country and with a look at the human exploitation that lies behind the migrations that this criminal regime fosters