Theater, drug trafficking and violence. About the drama Contrabando by Víctor Hugo Rascón Banda

Abstract

In the present work, we studied the play Contrabando (1991) by Mexican author Víctor Hugo Rascón Banda, whose central theme is the phenomenon of drug trafficking. The illegal trade of narcotics inscribes the characters in a universe marked by violence and this acquires varying degrees of presence. Accordingly, we analyze the mode of representation of the violent actions associated with drug trafficking in the drama. We follow, mainly, the theoretical postulates of Benjamin (Para una crítica de l violencia y otros ensayos) and Reguillo (“La narcomáquina”), on violence and drug trafficking, and articulate these contributions with the dramatological model, designed by José Luis García Barrientos (Cómo se comenta una obra de teatro), for the commentary of a play.