Narcos in Jesús María: Dystopian empowerment in the amateur exploitation film Corazón cubano/Cuban Heart (2014) | Intellect Skip to content
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Volume 18, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 2050-4837
  • E-ISSN: 2050-4845

Abstract

This article analyses the film / (Liyuen Valdés 2014), a story about drug traffickers in the Jesús María neighbourhood of Havana, circulated only through the Paquete Semanal (Weekly Package). Examining the creators’ symbolic identification with the figure of the narco, this article explores as an example of amateur, alternative and informal media within the Paquete and its relationship with exploitation, cult and trash cinema. It argues that ’s appropriation of narconarratives through (the inhabitants of Havana’s peripheric and poorest neighbourhoods) is linked to the relationship between , rap and reggaeton and points to the filmmakers’ will to combine social criticism and entertainment. also reproduces controversial practices and discourses like ‘necroempowerment’ (Valencia) or ‘fascinating violence’ (Valencia and Sepúlveda), developing dystopian empowerment by appropriating the narco as a ‘cultural persona’ (Edberg).

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2021-06-01
2024-04-27
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