Dance for Me When I Die.

• Author: Cruz, Joshua Kohler Da

Alarcon, Cristian. Dance for Me When I Die. Translated by Nick Caistor and Marcela Lopez Levy. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2019.

Dance for Me When I Die is a masterpiece in urban anthropology, ethnography, and sociology. Cristian Alarcon provides a deep dive into the Argentinian favela of San Fernando and one of its inhabitants: Victor "Frente" Manuel Vital. The tragic death of San Fernando's most famous and beloved thief takes place on the first page of the book followed by quick-paced conversations of members of the community finding out that Frente had been murdered. As one reads the introductory pages, the reader is sucked into the emotional scene of Frentes mother coming to terms with the extrajudicial execution of her son in a dirty shack while his friend retells the story of horror. It is through these moments where Alarcon's skill as a talented journalist and professor at the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Foundation for New Latin American Journalism shines. The whole work is filled with these grabbing moments retold through interviews with locals who lived through the events of Frentes assassination and the subsequent struggle against the police that executed him.

Frente was just an average youth from San Fernando in that he did not expect to live a long life. He was the "Saint of Young Thieves" (46) and commanded respect among the favela dwellers. Frente helped to establish order in his slum. Throughout the work, he is known for stealing only from outside of the slum and distributing the wealth with those in need. After his death, however, the slum fell into madness and treachery with people stealing from their neighbors. Frentes story was told through the eyes of his friends, girlfriends, rivals, and citizens of the slum who were touched by Frentes kindness. The way in which Frente established order and brought happiness to his slum led to a sort of canonization, especially after his death. His impact on his slum was so lasting and meaningful, when his mom was held at gunpoint by a thief high on drugs, she was calm. All she said was "Son don't you know me? I'm Frentes Mom" and the robber dropped to his knees and prayed for forgiveness (76). The void left by Frente created a vacuum where pill popping drug addicts were roaming free, stealing from their own mothers just to get another fix. Frente, a virtual Argentine Robin Hood stealing from those who have and disbursing aid to those who have little, only to have his life brutally...