On the morning of February 6, 1999, Buenos Aires police officers shot and killed seventeen-year-old Victor Manuel Vital, better known as Frente, while he was unarmed, hiding under a table, and trying to surrender. Widely known and respected throughout Buenos Aires's shantytowns for his success as a thief, commitment to a code of honor, and generosity to his community, Frente became a Robin Hood--style legend who, in death, was believed to have the power to make bullets swerve and save gang members from shrapnel. In Dance for Me When I Die-first published in Argentina in 2004 and appearing here in English for the first time-Cristian Alarcon tells the story and legacy of Frente's life and death in the context of the everyday experiences of love and survival, murder and addiction, and crime and courage of those living in the slums. Drawing on interviews with Frente's friends, family, and ex-girlfriends, as well as with local thieves and drug dealers, and having immersed himself in Frente's neighborhood for eighteen months, Alarcon captures the world of the urban poor in all of its complexity and humanity.

About the Author
Cristian Alarcon is a Chilean author and journalist whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone and other publications. He teaches at the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Foundation for New Latin American Journalism and is the author of Si me queres, quereme transa and Un mar de castillos Peronistas.

Reviews
"... Alarcon's work appears to renew a long tradition of artists and writers from the center of Buenos Aires seeking insights about the nature of modern Argentina by exploring its ragged outskirts and their sordid but authentic forms of popular culture.... Much to think about indeed." -- Brian Bockelman * American Historical Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9781478003786
Author Cristian Alarcon
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint Duke University Press
Publisher Duke University Press
Weight(grams) 227g