From Lope de Vega’s Fuenteovejuna to the Narco : F(r)ictionalizing Facts in Bonilla’s 2018 Algo en Fuenteovejuna

Abstract This article examines Fernando Bonilla’s Algo en Fuenteovejuna (2018), a Mexican adaptation of Lope de Vega’s Fuenteovejuna set during the war against drug cartels and the rise of the autodefensas (2013). Bonilla blends Lope’s fiction with historical references to present a critical perspective on the conflict. This resource is analyzed through docufricción—a framework that examines how merging documentary practices with fiction creates a fricción effect, provoking audience responses that highlight contextual ambiguities and contradictions. This effect appears in two ways: through the juxtaposition of Lope’s language with Mexican vernacular, and through props that recall real-life objects. The article argues that Bonilla uses these tools to reflect on three aspects of narco culture—religion, baroque spectacle, and strategies of dehumanization—encouraging audiences to question simplistic media and government narratives.