Tecnopaganismos latinoamericanos en La infancia del mundo de Michel Nieva

Abstract

This article proposes a reading of La infancia del mundo (2023) by Michel Nieva through the concept of technopaganism. It argues that technopaganism does not constitute a thematic content or a coherent belief system, but rather an operative principle that organizes generic multiplicity, the configuration of ritual scenes, and the modulation of the relationship between narration and belief. First, the coexistence of different generic regimes (science fiction, body horror, gauchesca, satire, and fantasy) is analyzed as a reorganization of generic functions that enables the proliferation of images. Second, technopagan scenes are examined, focusing on the articulation between technique, ritual, and image, as well as on the construction of divine figures that destabilize ontological categories. Finally, the article addresses the narrative regime, characterized by a suspension of belief that does not imply its disappearance but its displacement toward an operative plane. In this framework, images gain efficacy through their capacity to affect and reorganize the narrative, independently of their verisimilar stabilization. Technopaganism thus provides a conceptual tool to describe a regime in which technique, image, and belief are articulated beyond traditional frameworks.