Abecedario de Ju?rez

The violence in Juâarez, starting with the femicides of the 1990s and continuing with the explosion of cartel-related mayhem that made it one of the world's most dangerous cities from 2008-2012, has spawned an enormous number of books. It has also inspired a new lexicon. This glossary is composed of words gathered by the authors from personal interviews, media accounts, or conversations overheard on the street. Some are common words, some are slang, and collectively they offer a linguistic portrait of Juâarez and its violence. Occasionally, entries will be accompanied by a longer narrative drawn from Cardona's interviews. The stories put the term in context, though they also provide a personal, ethnographic counterpoint to media reports of the same events (not to mention an indictment of the Mexican state's approach to drug trafficking)--