중남미

The present work is intended to reveal, through literary tales of authors from Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay, a view of the smuggler's profile, explaining joints that allow the reading public have different versions of this character that, for some, is considered a hero and, for others, bandit. To achieve such proposal, will be examined the tales "Contrabandistas" by João Simões Lopes Neto; "Contos IV" and "Nossa Senhora Aparecida" by Aldyr Garcia Schlee ; “Contrabandistas”, by Julián Murguía; “Contrabando”, de Darcy Azambuja; “Cerrazón” e “Renuncia del comisario Portela y del Cabo Lapuente”, de José Monegal, that focuses on the life of the residents of the border, space where transited the illegal trade. For the analysis of the texts, was taken as references researches by Guilhermino César, Adriana Dorfman, Léa Masina e Mariana Flores da Cunha Thompson Flores, critics of  different areas that takes literature to deepen studies on smuggling at the border. This research will allow detecting the reasons that led the individuals to do smuggling, as well as the consequences of their illicit acts. This leads us to reflect on the character of these subjects. Would they be heroes or bandits?