In Colombia, the authorities in Medellín want to change the image of the neighborhood named after the country’s most famous drug trafficker, Pablo Escobar, 27 years after his death. Instead of this “barrio” built in 1984, the town hall decided to build a reception center for children. A social and symbolic gesture, which also aims to avoid the glorification of Escobar, whose fame attracts tourists to the neighborhood.
From our correspondent in Medellín,
The entrance to the neighborhood is marked by a mural with the portrait of Pablo Escobar and the following words: “Bienvenidos al Barrio Pablo Escobar”. Impossible to miss it, it is overlooked by a terrace where there is an altar to pray to the holy child Jesus of Atocha. Several other paintings decorate it, in particular on the facade of one of the properties of Escobar, the famous Hacienda Nápoles which sheltered lions, giraffes and hippos, but also the portraits of the associates and members of the family of the drug trafficker.
Association Acción verde, born in the district, even opened a photo gallery summarizing the life of the drug lord and takes care of the maintenance of the fresco and the visit of the place. Christian Escobar, native of the district and who has no connection with the sulphurous family, explains that “ this fresco, which has gone viral with tourism, was created by residents of the neighborhood in the 1990s, after the death of Pablo Escobar. At first there was only the welcome phrase. It was resistance because a mayor wanted to change the name of the neighborhood. This district was born with the association “Medellin sin tugurios“ founded by [le narcotrafiquant]. People didn’t want history to forget about him. “
“For me, Pablo Escobar is like a pèD “
This gesture of resistance for the inhabitants has nothing to do with any glorification. For the most part, it’s just a gesture of gratitude. This is particularly the case for Josefina Londoño Lopez, who received a house in 1984. Today, at 67, she still lives there with her daughter and granddaughter. It’s been 38 years.
“ For me, Pablo Escobar is like a pèD, she explains. Who else offered me a home ? Aprafter all these years of hard work ? Pablo took us out of the open dump where we lived. At the time, President Belisario Betancur had sent the army to prevent us from settling. He said it belonged to the municipality and not to Escobar. “
In total, more than 400 houses were built and offered free of charge to the inhabitants of the former landfill in Moravia. Margarita Castro, 77, still remembers her first night in her two bedroom, living room and bathroom home: “ We arrived in a hurry. The house was not finished. We plugged the door and the windows with cardboard and we slept. Before that, I was sad because I lived under tin in the landfill. I was afraid my children would get sick. So when this man came and gave us this gift, it was like a blessing from God. Pablo made this gesture despite all the harm he did. “
A site for “rebirth”
For several months now, the sound of crushers and excavators has been echoing on the site a few meters from the fresco in the entrance. On the former land of one of the drug trafficker’s houses, a reception center for children is in the process of being completed. Everything will be ready for February or March 2022.
The center, which will accommodate 300 children aged 0 to 5, has cost more than 2.5 million euros. Called “The Great Departure to Rebirth”, it is the first public infrastructure built in this district for 37 years. For Wberney Zabala, the representative of municipal action in the Pablo Escobar district, it is the start of a new era: “ Our only referent so far was the story linked to Pablo Escobar. Now the children will have another reference. This means that the State is investing in our future, that we will no longer be discriminated against, that we are no longer abandoned to our fate. This means that we are finally part of the city of Medellín. This offers a different future for our children: that of a new generation far from the history of violence but rather linked to technology, culture, reading, the future. “
With its presence in the neighborhood, Medellín’s town hall also hopes that residents will stop seeing Pablo Escobar as “the Colombian Robin Hood”.