Abecedario de Ju疵ez: An Illustrated Lexicon (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781477324073)

Southwest Book Awards, Border Regional Library Association (BRLA)

Uses key words and striking images to explore violence and everyday life in Ju疵ez, Mexico.

Ju疵ez, Mexico, is known for violence. The femicides of the 1990s, and the cartel mayhem that followed, made it one of the world's most dangerous cities. Along with the violence came a new lexicon that traveled from person to person, across rivers and borders--wherever it was needed to explain the horrors taking place. From personal interviews, media accounts, and conversations on the street, Juli疣 Cardona and Alice Leora Briggs have collected the words and slang that make up the brutal language of Ju疵ez, creating a glossary that serves as a linguistic portrait of the city and its violence. Organized alphabetically, the entries consist of Spanish and Spanglish, accompanied by short English definitions. Some also feature a longer narrative drawn from interviews--stories that put the terms in context and provide a personal counterpoint to media reports of the same events. Letters, and many of the entries, are supplemented with Briggs's evocative illustrations, which are reminiscent of Hans Holbein's famous Alphabet of Death. Together, the words, drawings, and descriptions in ABCedario de Ju疵ez both document and interpret the everyday violence of this vital border city.

Author: Juli疣 Cardona, Alice Leora Briggs
ISBN-10: 1477324070
ISBN-13: 9781477324073
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Language: English
Published: 03/15/2022
Pages: 264
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.65lbs
Size: 10.10h x 7.10w x 0.80d