Juan Pablo Escobar, son of the famous drug lord and founder of the Medellin Cartel, has published the graphic novel 'Escobar: a Criminal Education', in which he recounts his childhood among criminals and aims to tell the story that his father's is not a success story, since he 'raises awareness' while Netflix 'glorifies'.
At a press conference held this Wednesday in Barcelona, the Colombian architect and writer stated that in response to the 'weariness' caused by the saturation of his father's name, 'which today generates more news than when he was alive killing people,' he wanted to talk about his life through this comic: 'Now the protagonist is me'.
Accompanied by Pablo MartÃn Farina on the script and Alberto Madrigal on the illustrations, Escobar recalls in the novel (published by Norma Editorial) some of the episodes he lived with his 'nannies,' his father's trusted men who cared for him on a daily basis, which is why the figure of Pablo Escobar does not appear until the end of the work.
The architect and writer Juan Pablo Escobar, son of the most powerful Colombian drug trafficker of the 20th century, poses this Wednesday in Barcelona during the presentation of his work 'Escobar: a Criminal Education,' in which he narrates in comic form his childhood surrounded by his father's hitmen who acted as his nannies.
Escobar had previously dealt with the figure of the famous drug trafficker in a documentary and a couple of non-fiction books, but he chose the graphic novel format to tell his childhood by associating comics with childhood.
He stressed that 'daring to tell so much violence is not easy' and that he had to find the courage to explain his own story because 'not all children in the world grow up surrounded by hooligans'.
Father and Mafioso The son of the Colombian criminal referred to his relationship with his father, who, although not present day-to-day, 'was a very present type'.
'His success lasted five minutes, he died at 44,' he added.
'I would rather die than repeat my father's story,' he confessed before explaining that he has met with more than 150 families of victims of his father's violence, because 'through forgiveness we can change the present and the future'.
'My father ran many red lights and I have received fines,' he added.
Finally, the son of one of the biggest drug traffickers in history analyzed the current state of the battle against drugs in which Colombia is mired. 'Prohibition does not work, neither do fumigations. We have made sterile efforts, because it is a public health problem that is being addressed militarily, so I believe that public policies must be reviewed,' advised Escobar.
'The strategies have been like watering the garden, because that is how prohibitionism works,' he concluded.
Anti-Drug Trafficking Activism 'I raise awareness, Netflix glorifies.' He also mentioned that the man responsible 'for 80% of the world's cocaine traffic' explained to his son that 'cocaine is a poison' and that he must be brave and say no to drugs.
Now, Escobar Jr., who considers drug trafficking money a curse and states that being a millionaire did not make him happy, focuses his work on 'deactivating the thinking' of young people who see his father's life as a success story.
