Bandit Narratives In Latin America: From Villa To Chávez Project Muse Upcc Books

Bandits seem ubiquitous in Latin American culture. Even contemporary actors of violence are framed by narratives that harken back to old images of the rural bandit, either to legitimize or delegitimize violence, or to intervene in larger conflicts within or between nation-states. However, the bandit escapes a straightforward definition, since the same label can apply to the leader of thousands of soldiers (as in the case of Villa) or to the humble highwayman eking out a meager living by waylaying travelers at machete point. Dabove presents the reader not with a definition of the bandit, but with a series of case studies showing how the bandit trope was used in fictional and non-fictional narratives by writers and political leaders, from the Mexican Revolution to the present. By examining cases from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, from Pancho Villa's autobiography to Hugo Chávez's appropriation of his "outlaw" grandfather, Dabove reveals how bandits function as a symbol to expose the dilemmas or aspirations of cultural and political practices, including literature as a social practice and as an ethical experience. Bandits seem ubiquitous in Latin American culture. Even contemporary actors of violence are framed by narratives that harken back to old images of the rural bandit, either to legitimize or delegitimize violence, or to intervene in larger conflicts within or between nation-states. However, the bandit seems to escape a straightforward definition, since the same label can apply to the leader of thousands of soldiers (as in the case of Villa) or to the humble highwayman eking out a meager living by waylaying travelers at machete point. Dabove presents the reader not with a definition of the bandit, but with a series of case studies showing how the bandit trope was used in fictional and non-fictional narratives by writers and political leaders, from the Mexican Revolution to the present. By examining cases from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, from Pancho Villa's autobiography to Hugo Chavez's appropriation of his'outlaw'grandfather, Dabove reveals how bandits function as a symbol to expose the dilemmas or aspirations of cultural and political practices, including literature as a social practice and as an ethical experience. Bandits Seem Ubiquttous in Latin American culture. Even contemporary actors of violence are framed by narratives that harken back to old images of the rural bandit, either to legitimize or delegitimize violence or to intervene in larger conflicts within or between nation-states. However, the bandit escapes a straightforward definition, since the same label can apply to the leader of thousands of soldiers (as in the case of Villa) or to the humble highwayman eking out a meager living by waylaying travelers at machete point. Dabove presents the reader not with a definition of the bandit but with a series of case studies showing how writers and political leaders, from the Mexican Revolution to the present, used the bandit trope in fictional and nonfictional narratives. By examining cases from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, from Pancho Villa's autobiography to Hugo Chavez's appropriation of his "outlaw" grandfather, Dabove reveals how bandits function as a symbol to expose the dilemmas or aspirations of cultural and political practices, including literature as a social practice and as an ethical experience. Book jacket Preamble : Porfirio Díaz's Paradox -- Introduction -- Part I. Banditry, Self-fashioning, And The Quest For Legitimacy. Speculum Latronis : On Villa's Retrato Autobiográfico -- Hugo Chávez, Maisanta, And The Construction Of An Insurgent Lineage -- Part Ii. Banditry And The Epic Of The Nation. The Burning Plains : On Las Lanzas Coloradas -- Bodies For The Gallows : On ¡vámonos Con Pancho Villa! -- The Andean Western : On Cuentos Andinos -- Borges And The Melancholic Cultor Del Coraje -- Part Iii. Banditry And The Latin American Left. Dangerous Illusions And Shining Utopias : On Seara Vermelha -- The Heart Of Darkness : On José Revueltas -- Part Iv. Banditry And The Dilemmas Of Literature. Borges And Moreira : Inglorious Bastards -- Language, The Devil, And The (out)law : On Grande Sertão : Veredas -- An Abundance Of Hats And A Scarcity Of Heads : On La Guerra Del Fin Del Mundo -- Banditry, Neoliberalism, And The Dilemmas Of Literature : On Plata Quemada -- What Is A Bandit? Juan Pablo Dabove. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.