I met with Winslen again
last week at the Barnes and Noble and we discussed stereotypes and historical
events that impact the way people view our culture. First we discussed Pablo Escobar
and how he impacted Winslen's childhood in Cuba. Winslen seemed to be bothered
by the fact that many people associate Colombians with drug trafficking because
of their history. He said this would be similar to associating Texans with the
K.K.K and confederate history. I was actually surprised at how bothered Winslen
was with the stereotypes people give Columbians because of their history. I
always found Columbia’s history surrounding Pablo Escobar extremely interesting
because it has a certain appeal to it. I asked him if he had ever seen the
movie ‘Blow’ starring Johnny Depp about George Jung and his escapades in the
drug trafficking industry and eventual encounter with Pablo Escobar. He said he
hadn’t. I agreed with him but also stated that my interest did not stem from
associating all Columbians with drug trafficking but moreover an interest for
the history of it. In fact, Winslen told me that his father worked in the
military for several years and therefore he heard many things about Pablo
Escobar’s impact on Columbia as a child. Later, he told me how Pablo Escobar almost
single-handedly stimulated Columbia’s economy by bringing in so much money.
When he was killed, Columbia’s economy was hurt. I found this to be very
interesting that a single man could have such influence over a country even
when outlawed by the government. Winslen told me that, despite his status as a
criminal, the people loved Pablo Escobar. This is because of all the things he brought
to Columbia — money, power, opportunity, and even a world-class futbol (soccer)
team.
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