Veracruz, violence and migration. A reading of Libro centroamericano de los muertos (2018) and Aquí no es Miami (2018)

Abstract

This work does a reading of Libro centroamericano de los muertos, by Chiapan poet Balam Rodrigo, and the literary chronicles of Aquí no es Miami, by Veracruzan narrator Fernanda Melchor. Both works were published in the second half of the 21st century in Mexico, and which, from my interpretation, manifest the political and social tensions of an insecurity-consumed Mexico. Although both works don't belong to the same genre and come from different reasons and traditions, this article attempts to reveal communicating vessels between them. From my point of view, three common aspects stand out: the recreation of the testimonial story, the dialogue with the journalistic note, and the figuration of the state of Veracruz as a dangerous and violent place. This work will follow the thoughts of modern hermeneutics to understand the strategies utilized by both Melchor and Balam Rodrigo in the figuration of the violence framed in one of Mexico's states most exposed to it.