Los Narcovecinos: The Daily Struggle of Living under the Power of Mexican Drug Cartels

Narcocultura has become a global phenomenon. Narcocultura (narcotrafficking culture) refers to everything narcotrafficking related, such as TV shows, Telenovelas, Religion (Jesus Malverde), Music (Narcocorridos), merchandise, and so much more. Today's popular culture has constant representations and glamourization of narcotraffickers and their lifestyle, which often centers on their fame and popularity. Narcocultura contributes to the normalization of the violent crimes committed on a daily basis by drug cartels in Mexico. Mexican citizens in territories taken over by drug cartels live in a daily struggle to go on about their everyday lives. Business owners are forced to pay a monthly fee just to stay alive. There are curfews set by the cartels that must be followed by the citizens or they will face the consequences, one of them being shot on sight if seen on the streets after the set curfew. The daily struggle is keeping yourself, and your loved ones, alive by giving in and following the cartels that rule the place. Narcocultura ignores the real-life struggle of the average people who are affected by this issue. It focuses on the glamour of the lifestyle, the narcotrafficker becomes a cultural persona (Edberg 2004). My research is focused on analyzing the representation and glamourization that narcocultura gets through TV shows, music, religion and such, the struggle of public speaking against the ruling of the cartels, and the importance of geography on the topic.