Can the Subaltern Fly? Female Bodies in Molano’s and Marston’s Narcofiction

Abstract

"Within the vast tradition of Latin American cultural production related to the phenomenon of narcotrafficking, this article focuses on two recent emblematic works of narcofiction that illustrate the connections between air travel and Colombian human courier drug smuggling. The first is “El arriero” (“The Mule Driver”), one of a collection of stories by Colombian journalist and author Alfredo Molano included in his book Rebusque mayor. Relatos de mulas, traquetos y embarques (1994). The second is the film María Full of Grace (2004), written and directed by American filmmaker Joshua Marston. A comparison of these two cultural productions on drug-muling identifies specific patterns of the transnational illicit drug trade fostered by contemporary global air mobility. These works are also deeply related to gender discrimination and violence, aggravated by socioeconomic issues specific to Latin America and the Global South.... This parallel between a locally produced Colombian short story and a successful American film targeted for an international audience demonstrates how the phenomenon of transnational drug smuggling is critically explored, respectively, by the dominant Western and Southern society, highlighting patterns of subalternity, gender inequality, and distorted mobility."