Is Narcos hurting years of positive work done to Medellin?
Written in early 2016 and no, still haven’t seen Narcos.
I’m going to be blunt with you guys, I’ve never seen Narcos, nor do I have the intention of doing so. It’s a blatant interpretation of what Medellin is like today and find it to be hurtful. Not to mention, it’s an unrealistic depiction of The City of Eternal Spring. So yes, this will be a biased and almost unfounded article.
Narcos, The Series
This Netflix series is currently speculated to have a higher number of viewers than HBO’s Game of Thrones. Is awaiting its second season and gives viewers “an inside look” at Pablo Escobar’s life. The characters depict the lives of the people that surrounded the kingpin. His enemies and the period between 1985-1993.
Directed by Jose Padilha and starring Wagner Moura (Brazilian-born director and actor). The series begins in Medellin in the 1980s with the early beginnings of the drug trade starting from its earliest stage.
Medellin in the Series
Medellin in the 1980s and up until the early 2000s was a big no-no for travelers. Not only was it the homicide capital of the world. But it was also a place where kidnappings and extortion were prevalent. Think Gotham City in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins.
The series portrays Medellin in a negative light. Because of this, the world still sees the city as a place of primitive people, dirt roads, and donkeys on the streets. In fact, 90% of our customers are shocked on the drive down to the airport when they look out the window and see the city in the valley and amazing scenery.
Any Publicity is Good Publicity or Bad News to Medellin Tourism
Let’s start with the title, Narcos. The word is short for “narcotraficante” which is Spanish for drug traffickers. Right there the series has managed to perpetuate an idea that we as Colombians have wanted to obliterate for almost a generation.
We live in such a superficial era that people love everything that has to do with the drug culture. This is in no small part due to the sumptuous lifestyles drug lords live.
Society loves money, lavish parties, and beautiful women, and these are things that Pablo Escobar embodied. Even though he’s been dead for almost 30 years, people remember Colombia due to Medellin. And Medellin was on the map due to cocaine and brutal assassinations. Not only is this idea reinstated through Narcos, but it’s also instilled in the minds of the series’ millions of viewers.
Pablo Escobar Tour in Medellin
The city and country are doing an amazing job with infrastructure, and social services. All to ensure the city never has to go through such vicissitudes again. So it’s sad that as things were finally starting to get better when society began to see Medellin as an innovative city, they release the series.
Conclusion
Sure, there are people that know it’s a portrait of the Colombia of the 80s and the current state of things is contradictory. But it is easier to remember the bad.
A lot of people watch the series, believe the stories, and imagine themselves caught up in some dangerous high-risk situation.
Do you think ‘Narcos’ is providing viewers with a false interpretation of Medellin?
