Introduction

Abstract

This chapter presents the main concepts of the book—subterranean space, the imaginary, the megacity and the most important narrative genres in urban literature—and sketches a panorama of the cultural imaginaries of Mexico City and its underground. It provides an overview of the subterranean imagination of the Mexican capital, and it situates the book’s approach with respect to other current critical perspectives on contemporary Mexico City literature. The introduction concludes by elucidating how the book challenges other readings of the relation between the city and its subsoil, and by presenting an overview of the main thematic lines.