Dawn Rose on a Dead Body: Armed Violence and Poppy Farming in Mexico - Incite at Columbia University

Adèle Blazquez’s Dawn Rose on a Dead Body: Armed Violence and Poppy Farming in Mexico will be published in English in March 2025 by the University of California Press.

This ethnographic work examines life in Badiraguato, Sinaloa—known as the birthplace of figures like "El Chapo"—focusing on small-scale poppy farmers, local shopkeepers, and women navigating violence and exploitation in this marginalized region. She offers a critical perspective on the impact of globalized economics and systemic violence.  Below is the publisher’s official description of the book:

Featured prominently in the Netflix series Narcos, Badiraguato is known as the birthplace of Mexico's most notorious criminals, from Caro Quintero to "El Chapo." But in this rural community in the Sinaloa sierra, what is the daily life of those invisible in the criminal fresco, who live in this jobless region, grow a tiny patch of poppies, run a grocery store, or hold a position in the local government? Who are the poppy farmers, caught between military repression and exploitation by those who buy their crops? What does it mean to be a woman in a place where men’s violence looms? How can people make sense of the killings that punctuate daily life? This sensitive ethnography lifts the veil on a marginalized territory that is the downside of our globalized economy; an ethnography that confronts us with the uncertainty that reigns when, once again, "Dawn rose on a dead body."

For more details about the new publication, visit the University of California Press website. To learn about the existing French edition, L’aube s’est levée sur un mort: Violence armée et culture du pavot au Mexique, click here.