Neighborhood Violence

A look at the representations of Aranjuez, Medellín.

Abstract

Based on bibliographical compilations, fieldwork, and interviews with three inhabitants of Aranjuez, commune four of Medellín, Antioquia; this research aimed to address the categories of identity, masculinity, and space to think about the neighborhood in its violent dimension. As a meeting point, the authors of this article are interested in proposing suggestive ways of thinking about social phenomena from different people’s voices. We think that giving a horizontal space in the discussion to executors of violence such as “los duros” or gang boys, means broadening the focus of analysis and creating a more pertinent interpretative framework on the causes of violence that cut across the territory. However, our inquiry, beyond mentioning historical events, seeks to lead the focus of analysis to a closer level: that of everyday life. We argue that within segregation in contexts of poverty, inequality, and state marginalization, homogeneous and symbolic spaces are consolidated; structural exclusion zones foster a series of power relations and identity practices based on access to male figures of domination. The
unequal participation of gender in the conflict involves masculinities in practices of reproduction of status, supremacy, and identities. Some represented in material acquisitions, positions, and appointments. In this investigative product, we justify and exhort the need for new ways of reading violent contexts from interpretations closer to the subject. Which transgress traditional perspectives and provide new lenses to address questions about violence, actors, and conflict spaces.