The Andean Gothic in Las voladoras (2020) by Mónica Ojeda

One of the most interesting characteristics of the Latin American narrative of the first twenty years of the 21st century is that one of its main themes deals with horror. The books of Mariana Enriquez, Samanta Schweblin, Ariana Harwicz, Agustina Bazterrica, to name a few authors, are proof of this statement. An important representative of this group is Ecuadorian writer Mónica Ojeda (Guayaquil, 1988), who has dazzled specialized critics with her novels Nefando (2016) and Mandíbula (2018). In Las voladoras (2020), her first book of short stories, she follows the thematic line of her previous work, but also sets out to develop the Andean Gothic, an aesthetic that seeks to vindicate the Latin American ancestral imaginary. This article aims to analyze the theoretical implications of this category. Additionally, it intends to show that it is not only a matter of exploiting Andean magical mythical referents, turning them into exotic or cultural consumption products; but also to intervene in them in order to dialogue with a series of contemporary problems, such as gender-based violence. To achieve this purpose, three of the stories in this book are analyzed: «Las voladoras», «Cabeza voladora» and «Sangre coagulada».