In this dissertation I will study the underworld of La Paz, Bolivia through the writings about marginalized people by the indigent and alcoholic writer Víctor Hugo Viscarra (1958-2006). This study will focus on showing the social degradation suffered by the homeless and how they lose the title of being considered “subjects” within society and can be defined as abject beings. According to Julia Kristeva abjection is “what disturbs identity, system, order. What does not respect borders, positions, rules” (5). I analyze how Viscarra's work becomes a testimony that narrates the collectivity of the Bolivian marginal community, of these abject beings who disturb society. In this dissertation, I will consider, the dictatorship (1964 – 1982) to our times. Viscarra as a writer attempts to show the human side of the urban underworld by placing the reader in an empathetic position with marginalized people. Viscarra’s literature recognizes and values the life of the indigent people, and through the representation of their stories, he gives them the voice they deserve. For a better understanding of Viscarra’s work I will describe how the underworld is segregated. Specifically, I describe the beings that are more marginalized in the streets such as: the indigenous people who migrated to the city, the afrobolivians, the cholas that became prostitutes, the transgender people, homeless children, and street animals.Space also has a crucial role in Viscarra’s literature. I will analyze the places in the city that these human beings occupy. I describe the urban space such as the streets, alleys, bars, and other visible and clandestine places. Finally, I want to show how an "abject hero" is built with the legend of Víctor Hugo Viscarra and the influence of his work. This is one of the central tenets of this dissertation because Viscarra became popular and aroused a great deal of interest as a subject of popular culture. In this way, I intend to show how the actual death of Viscarra as "abject hero" makes him a symbol or a myth that society has used to identify a section of the population that was always ignored. His figure is a fundamental influence for the production of different artistic manifestations that show the reality of abjection within marginalized communities. Viscarra’s work inspired and continues to inspire new generations.