Narcos and American representation: How do Colombians at NYU feel?

Netflix’s Narcos came out and I thought, “Yet another narco-drama”. For Colombians like me, Narco-soap operas are not a rare form of entertainment. We’ve seen plenty of them, detailing the rise and fall of some our sadly notorious compatriots. And to be honest, many of us are already fed-up with them.

So let me get one thing straight: Pablo Escobar was no good man. He was a vicious murderer who held the nation hostage in his war against the government. Colombians like my parents who lived in the country during the 80s and 90s can testify to that. For people like them, watching Narcos reminds them of my country’s recent turbulent past and of the reasons that many of our co-nationals abroad have been stigmatized, labeled criminals and called “colombianos narcotraficantes” wherever they travel. So if you think there is any reason to believe he did something good for my country, just don’t.

But audiences and critics throughout the United States are raving about the show.

And I can see why.

Albeit the terrible accent of some of the characters, including Pablo himself, the series is amusing with its fairly accurate plot and intense action scenes.

But as Colombians, no matter the accolades the drama receives, we believe we are better than drug trafficking and violence, and there are better and more uplifting stories to tell about the country. “People who lived during those times don’t like watching shows like Narcos,” says Alejandra Moncaliano, senior MCC major at Steinhart. “We don’t like this kind of violence associated with our country, there are other better things to portray.”

Moreover, as Sociology senior Catalina Munera points out, Narcos is “a very white-washed American version of the story”. It doesn’t capture its effects on the Colombian people, the true victims of the war on drugs.

But what truly enrages Colombians is the dual portrayal of Americans and Colombians. “I hate that Americans are represented as the heroes” says Natalia Martinez, a Metropolitan Studies sophomore at CAS, pointing to how Americans are shown as the uncorrupted good guys while our people are the criminals, dysfunctional and violent.

The show doesn’t really focus on the other side of the story, one in which American cocaine consumers fueled hatred, violence and instability in my country. After all it was US dollars that paid for the bombs, guns and ammunitions, but it was our people who paid the price for the cocaine consumed in America and elsewhere. We put up with the deaths, suffered the violence and stigmatization.

Main street of a town in the coffee region close to Medellin. These are the victims of Pablo Escobar and drug trade. 2014 thanks to Paula D. Duarte

So next time you speak to a Colombian about Narcos and Pablo Escobar, just remember we’ve grown tired. It is part of our country’s history, one that we do not deny, yet we don’t like to brag about.

You might find Pablo Escobar’s cocaine empire cool, but for us it means more than just that. It reminds us of very dark times in our country’s history, when many lost family and friends. But we are moving on, and the days of violence and the drug trade seem closer to an end. There is more to Colombian than just cocaine and drug lords and we are happy to talk about that.

As Felipe Valencia, Stern sophomore bluntly puts it, “We don’t like the media glorifying these kinds of people, giving Pablo Escobar this godfather-like persona, while he really was a brutal and evil man.”

So next time you see a Colombian friend and you want to ask him about Narcos, just don’t.