Resumen de Scattering Seeds and Laying Bricks in a Lettered Land: Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, Angel Rama and the Latin American City
Politicians and intellectuals decry the situation and call for alternative solutions. We could be talking about the police occupation of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, the crimes of Mexican narcotraficantes, or conflicts between the FARC and the state in Colombia. In this collective imaginary, violence has become synonymous with many Latin American cities. These conflicts become aestheticized in artistic representations like the 2002 blockbuster film Cidade de Deus. Seductive narratives, glossy publicity, and up-tempo soundtrack pull us further into this other world without pushing us to critically reflect on our consumption of this misery. We become the voyeurs of these urban realities, shocked by what we see, yet not quite able to pull ourselves away. The plight of these Latin American cities becomes reduced to a problem of drugs, gangs, and violence.
