Nationalism, states of exception, and Caribbean identities in Sirena Selena vestida de pena and "Loca la de la locura"

Résumé 0

"This paper examines the transformation of the idea of thenation through the spaces occupied by transvestites inMayra Santos-Febres´ novel Sirena Selena vestida de penaand Manuel Ramos Otero´s story “Loca la de la locura.”In contrast to previous representations, which use ideals oforigins to delineate the concept of the nation, the narrativesof these two works claim no belonging to nationalborders or legal citizenship. In contrast, they challenge theconcept of the nation, undermining the authority of thelegal system to exclude or punish, and bringing to theforefront the protagonism of global capital that takes overnations and transnational spaces. By crossing over fromone island to another, by inhabiting capital-enabled sitesof transit like airports and hotels, and by occupying thespaces of prisons, mental institutions, and cemeteries,the transvestites adopt and subvert previous migrations,as well as embody the transformation of the nation in thecontext of the hegemony of global capital."