A Look at Displacement and Family Disintegration in Urban Bogotá Based on Vírgenes y toxicómanos by Mario Mendoza (2025)

Abstract

This review analyzes Mario Mendoza’s novel Vírgenes y toxicómanos (2025), highlighting its portrayal of displacement, family disintegration, and emotional fragility in late-1980s Bogotá. Through the story of Antón Echeverry and his son Martín, the narrative explores grief, resilience, loneliness, and substance use as coping mechanisms in the face of trauma. The work provides a critical perspective on urban youth, structural violence, and marginalization, emphasizing the psychological and social complexity of its characters. The review underscores the value of urban narrative as a tool for reflecting on contemporary social problems.