Of the Cultural Market and Neo-Liberal Tendencies: Las Prepago's Time to Shine

As Nestor García-Canclini has remarked, “Latin America contributes with three main elements to globalization: oil, people and telenovelas.”  The purpose of this paper is to explore this last Latin American contribution to globalization, particularly the manner in which the drug trade has impressed upon the gender dynamics of telenovela representation.  In the last couple of decades female roles have transgressed to take a more central role in the drug trade in such telenovela representations of La reina del sur and Rosario Tijera.  Along with these more patriarchal expressions of femininity telenovelas have also represented the problematic characterization of las prepagos, companions to the narco lords who use the drug-trade money to enhance their bodies and surgically manipulate their appearance.  Ultimately, the paper will assess the complex manner in which neo-liberal objectives are continually represented through these telenovelas.