The Narcotrafficker in Representation and Practice

A Cultural Persona from the U.S.–Mexican Border

Bibliographic Data

ID7769156
AuthorsMark Edberg (0000-0001-9570-9706, George Washington University, corresponding author)
Year2004
Volume32
Issue2
Pages257-277
Publication date2004-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthos (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-2131 • E-ISSN: 1548-1352
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1525/eth.2004.32.2.257
OpenAlexW1985683421
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited16

This article proposes a type of cultural model of the self called a “cultural persona” that acts as a nexus between representation and practice, using evidence from ethnographic work in the U.S.–Mexico border region on popular interpretations of the narcotrafficker, particularly as represented via a popular song genre called the “narcocorrido,” and listener interpretations. Narcocorridos, in the form of a traditional border song called the “corrido” that typically portrayed actions of populist heroes (e.g., Pancho Villa), are narratives about the character and exploits of narcotraffickers. The paper looks at both popular and media industry interpretations of the narcotrafficker persona, the articulation of mass media imperatives on the persona, examples of individuals drawing on that persona in their own self‐presentation, and connections between corridos and the self

Aesthetics · Art · Articulation (sociology) · Character (mathematics) · Ethnography · Humanities · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Nexus (standard) · Persona · Political science · Representation (politics) · Sociology · Anthropology · Computer Science · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis · Latin American Literature Studies · Law

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