'Narco-Inspired' Fashion in Poor Taste? Revisiting the Son of Pablo Escobar's Controversial Clothing Line & Message
Not all fashion statements are alike -- but the idea of having the face of glorified Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, one of the world's most notorious and ruthless narco-traffickers of all time, painted across your T-shirt doesn't settle well with many -- even if there is a positive message behind it.
Recently, a few media outlets have revisited the controversial clothing line that still conjures up raw emotion and feelings of uncertainty, created by the son of Pablo Escobar Gavíria, Juan Pablo Escobar Henao, who legally changed his name to Sebastian Marroquín after his father's death.
Back in 2012, Marroquín launched in 2012 "Escobar Henao," a T-shirt line with intricate artwork depicting documents that once identified his father, who was shot down in Medellín, Colombia, in 1993.
"We are a company that designs and introduces clothing remembering facts of the past century, conformed by a group of solitary humans, pacifists, dreamers, artists, poets, philosophers, psychologists, publicists, graphic designers, ontology coaches, architects, fashion designers, ecologists... among others; who search to transmit the non-violence and cultural messages of peace to the youth of today through the fashion industry," according to the company's official website.
Several of the T-shirts' depictions include a copy of the senior Escobar's driver's license, his university card and a credit card.
In addition, each T-shirt has on it a stamped phrase that, according to Mexican news source, SinEmbargo, are intended to inspire reflection in buyers: "Your privileges; are they fruits of your deception?" and "What will you do with your future?" Fox News Latino reports.
Also, according to Fox News Latino, one T-shirt description reads, "'This shirt has the ID card of the Liceo Antioqueño, the place where Pablo Escobar studied in high school. What will you do with your future?' So reads the phrase that accompanies the T-shirt. Think before making decisions at the point of no return in your life. It's never too late to correct the course."
"We don't believe that a T-shirt will make youth more or less violent, but it ignites the conversation with messages unequivocal about peace," Marroquín reportedly told El Diario, Fox News Latino adds.
T-shirts run from $60 to $95. Would you buy one?
To this day, many Colombians, who directly benefitted from Pablo Escobar Gavíria's dirty fortune, continue to have love and loyalty for "Don Pablo." After all he established food programs, built parks and soccer fields. On the other hand, most people, including those who were caught in the crosshairs of his violence and corruption, hold disgust and hate for Escobar.
Not solely a menace to society, but a menace to humankind, Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria controlled 80 percent of the cocaine traffic to the United States. His riches were so overly in abundance that he had the audacity to offer to pay Colombia's national debt with his dirty money. At one point, he briefly held a seat in Colombia's Congress -- an alarming concept, considering the numerous judges and politicians he killed. The kingpin, who could order a hit on anyone he wished, at any moment, committed a plethora of crimes that included assassinations, car bombings, extortion, and the bombing of an Avianca commercial flight. In 1987, Escobar appeared on the inaugural Forbes magazine list of billionaires, as the seventh richest man in the world -- and he remained on that list until the day he died.
Seeking Reconciliation and Forgiveness
Back in 2012, The Huffington Post reported that Marroquín told The Associated Press that through the clothing line he hoped to turn a dark family history into an opportunity for reflection and peace.
"'We're not trying to make an apology for drug trafficking, to glamorize it in the way that the media does,' Marroquín told Reuters."
"In 1994, the drug lord's son and widow, Maria Valeria Henao, fled to Argentina's capital, where the family kept out of the public eye until 2009, when Marroquín participated in the documentary 'Sins Of My Father.' In it Marroquín describes what it was like being Escobar's son during his reign of terror as well as apologizes to the son of his father's most prominent victim, presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán, the Huffington Post adds.
Also in 2012, the Colombian TV network Canal Caracol reportedly also premiered the telenovela Pablo Escobar, el Patron del Mal (Pablo Escobar, The Boss of Evil). The show also ran in the U.S. on the Spanish-language channel Telemundo "for 63-episodes and narrated the rise and fall of the cartel drug lord from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Its popularity eventually prompted the circulation of a 16-page sticker book titled after the series in Escobar's hometown of Medellín."
"Exiled in Argentina, Sebastian has spent his adult life carving an alternative path and, in a bid to break the cycle of retribution, has begun the slow process of seeking forgiveness for the crimes of his father by contacting some of the families of his father's victims (as mentioned above). Argentinian filmmaker, Nicolas Entel, documented a number of these encounters in the aforementioned film, "Pecados de mi Padre" ("Sins of my Father").
"My father was like any other father -- the only thing he didn't do was get up early for work. When you're very young you don't know exactly what it is your father does for a living but as I got older I started noticing that he was in the news a lot, that my freedom was restricted and that I couldn't lead a normal life. All this made me curious," he told the The Forgiveness Project.
"I always received a lot of love from my father and a good education too. He was a man who instilled in me decent values even though outside the house he didn't honor them -- but he never expected me to follow in his footsteps.
"He was a man who found many excuses for using violence, whereas I have never believed in violence as a way of solving conflicts. The only thing that violence does is aggravate the problem. I have always felt that the solution should be through reconciliation, apology and frank discussion. There is a need to invest in the culture of 'forgiveness' and I have a lot of faith that the Colombian people are open to reconciliation."
What do you think? Check out the trailer for Marroquín's Sins of My Father (below).
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