Sin tetas no hay paraíso. (Without Tits There Is No Paradise)

By staff -- Críticas, 9/15/2007

Bogotá: Quintero Editores, dist. by Random House Spanish. 2005./n/223p. ISBN 958-33-9309-6. pap. $16.95. FICTION

This is the first novel by Colombian television journalist Bolívar Moreno, well known for writing, investigating, and reporting on current and controversial stories within Colombian society—e.g., electoral fraud, political corruption, the murder of presidential candidates, and the killing of a woman in the apartment of popular singer Diomedes Díaz. In this first novel, using adolescent protagonists of low socioeconomic status, Bolívar Moreno presents a stark view of the dark world of drug traffickers in Colombia, who lure young females to their ranks with promises of money and success. Based on real girls the author met in the town of Pereira, the protagonists Catalina and Yésica each want to get a pair of silicone breasts in order to improve their social status. Together with several friends, they drop out of school at an early age to become prepagos (prepaids), that is, prostitutes for the drug traffickers, who can regale them with clothes, perfume, cars, and money—a quick exit from their dismal living conditions, and perhaps the only one. When Catalina finally gets the implants at the age of 15, she enjoys a very brief period of wealth and luxury as a prostitute for the big cartel bosses, but too quickly her life spirals downward. She finds herself both physically and emotionally ill, and she has been betrayed and abandoned by everyone for whom she cares: her true love, her mother, her 65-year-old husband, and best friend Yésica. On the surface, Bolívar Moreno’s story appears superficial (owing to the young protagonists’ obsession with fake breasts), but it carries with it strong undercurrents of social criticism. This juicy if controversial tale of the drug world enjoyed tremendous success in Colombia and was made into a popular soap opera and a film directed by Luis Alberto Restrepo. Already translated into Italian and German, the novel recently roused the interest of U.S. producers at NBC, which will air a television series similar to Ugly Betty. Entertaining and easy to read, this novel is recommended for academic and public libraries, as well as bookstores.—Liliana Wendorff, Univ. of North Carolina at Pembroke