Pablo Escobar and Narco Nostalgia

Chapter 1 looks into discourses surrounding the Medellín cartel and the present-day value of the Escobar brand. It explores how the popular media in Colombia has reproduced one type of narco, whose flamboyance and caudillo-like attitudes reflect the behaviors associated with Escobar and his ilk, rather than the more discreet figureheads of today’s drug-trafficking. This take on Escobar’s history created a nostalgic version of the hedonistic capos and their conspicuous consumption, thereby strategically resurrecting and fetishizing Colombia’s arguably worst criminal. It also draws attention away from present-day narco alliances that still plague Colombia. The second half of the chapter focuses on narco aesthetics, which appear in every facet of popular culture, from architecture and music to media production, fashion, and the female body ideal. It explores the conflict between Escobar’s tangible legacy (properties, prison) vis-à-vis Medellín’s push toward rebranding itself as a peaceful site of incomparable physical beauty. While the state strives to erase his memory by either neglecting or destroying places of related to Escobar, the latest trends in global tourism are doing exactly the opposite; they promote the exploration of thrilling experiences, thereby reviving Escobar’s popularity worldwide through narco tourism, against the wishes of many locals.