Consumos culturales, imaginarios y heroicidad en la representación icónica de Pablo Escobar

Abstract

The purpose of this research on the representations of Pablo Escobar is to analyze their iconic character in relation to the attraction or rejection they produce in various audiences based on their aesthetic condition and the depth of their contents. The analysis of the daily presence of the representations of Pablo Escobar is carried out using the methodology proposed by the iconic turn, which assesses their symbolic value attending to criteria such as the performance of their agents, the scenarios of significance, their promotion by the market, and their reception by different audiences. The exacerbated representation of Colombia’s most recent violent past, as stereotyped in the figure of Pablo Escobar, is collected from various platforms of audiovisual products, the internet, previous investigations, and interviews with tourists who participate in the so-called narcotours in Colombia, particularly in Medellín. One of the most important findings of the investigation is that the continuous diffusion of the representations of Pablo Escobar in multiple scenarios of meaning have led to their being understood as a synthesis of cultural elements in which the corruption and violence that have dominated the history of Colombia for decades feature prominently. In this sense, the iconic status of the representations of Pablo Escobar is conferred both by the social instances with the power to create and transmit their narratives with a heroic background, as well as by the audiences that welcome or reject them.