This article points out the trajectory of cultural expressions linked to drug trafficking in Mexico, from a marginal position, as a subculture, in the Mexican society of the 1970s and 1980s - mainly in the form of narcocorridos and narcocine - to a place within Mexican mainstream culture, as of the beginning of the 21st century, with particular emphasis on narcoliterature. The escalation of violence, precipitated by the war on drugs, leads to the propagation of the issue in the media with effects on many cultural fields such as the plastic arts and literature, thus producing a new kind of artistic expression or narrative that may either appear as opportunistic and contribute to the banalization of drug trafficking violence or be critical and recount the individual and collective effects of drug trafficking, narrate the rampant and violent Mexican reality without falling into the yellow press style, folklore or action novel clichés.
Literature and Violence; Narco-literature; Mexican culture; Mexico