Pablo Escobar's bullet-riddled house: Colombians are turning their grim heritage into entertainment
Seventeen years after being gunned down by police as he fled over the roof of his hideout, Colombian cocaine king Pablo Escobar is back. This time he’s not public enemy number one but a tourist attraction, drawing visitors to his old stomping ground, the city of Medellin.
The man who declared war on the Colombian state, blew a commercial airliner out of the sky, assassinated a presidential candidate and murdered thousands is now an asset like the colonial architecture of Bogota or the beaches of the Caribbean coast. Medellin, an industrial city without many places of interest to tourists, now offers a variety of “Pablo tours,” which allow the curious to visit the grave of this “real-life gangster,” as well as his luxurious prison and the house where he died. One tour operator has hit the jackpot: an
JohnH
I saw Moira Buffini’s excellent “Welcome to Thebes” a few days ago. The observations here reminded me of Michela Wrong’s closing paragraph in the programme introduction: “In Monrovia, arriving visitors are often surprised to have [Charles] Taylor’s house pointed out to the by taxi drivers with what sounds suspiciously like nostalgic pride. In a contest between glamorous infamy and humdrum decency, the winner can never be taken for granted.”
And indeed, Brecht’s Galileo:”No Andrea, unhappy is the land that needs a hero.”
Arctic Store
It’s amazing what things can become historical monuments and tourist attractions. I would love to visit Medellin.
diane perkins
Is the book “Pablo Escobar Gaviria en caricaturas 1983-1991″ on display at this museum? If not, anyone interested in this book?