Introduction

The introduction lays out the theoretical framework for the exploration of narcocultura in Colombia. First, it establishes how the book’s interdisciplinary nature is the result of simultaneously tackling history, crime, media, and popular entertainment. It also explains how the inclusion of non-academic and “lowbrow” materials enriches our understanding of narco culture and aligns with the premises of New Historicism, postmodernism, cultural criminology, and tabloid studies. They attest with force to the process of continuous intertextual reinscription and constant debates between narratives (interpretations), thereby exposing contemporary cultural myths and beliefs surrounding Pablo Escobar, the Medellín Cartel, and Colombian narcocultura. Next, the initial chapter traces the trajectory of cocaine production, the pioneer traffickers and cocaine producers from Latin America, and how Colombians eventually entered and monopolized the business. It looks at the impact of Pablo Escobar on Colombian cultural production, with an emphasis on the years after 2000. The introduction also explains how the marketing concept of branding and its use of Jungian personality archetypes will serve as a tool to illuminate Escobar’s versatile and dynamic cultural legacy.