I am going to keep this blog post as short as possible. That’s because there is a “serie” (mini-series) here in Colombia that I want to watch right now. It is on Caracol Television. Caracol is Colombia’s national television network.
By the way, the Spanish word “caracol” means “snail.” For example,
Los caracoles se arrastran porque no tienen patas. (Snails crawl because they do not have legs).
The “serie” (mini-series) that I want to watch is based on the life of Griselda Blanco. Also known as “La Madrina” (the Godmother) or “La Viuda Negra” (the Black Widow). If you are not familiar with the name, Griselda Blanco, she was sought of a female Pablo Escobar. Born in Cartagena, Colombia she grew up here in Medellin. She became a member of the Medellin Cartel and a pioneer in the Miami-based cocaine drug trade during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Griselda Blanco
At the age of 11, she committed a “secuestro” (kidnapping) of a “niño” (male child) from an upscale Colombian “barrio” (neighborhood). She held him for “rescate” (ransom), and eventually shot him to death.
By her preteens, she had become a “prostituta” and “”carterista” (pickpocket) — or as they say here in Colombia “raponero/a” (pickpocket).
In the mid-1970s, Griselda Blanco and her second husband, emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Queens, New York and established a cocaine business there. After authorities intercepted a shipment of 150 kilos, Griselda Blanco was indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges. She fled to Colombia before being arrested. At the time, it was the biggest cocaine case in history.
In the late 1970s she returned to Miami where she became involved in much of the drug-related violence that plagued Miami in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She killed many of her rivals including one of her husbands — which is how she earned the “apodo” (nickname) “La Viuda Negra” (the black widow).
Her distribution network, which spanned the United States, brought in over $80 million U.S. dollars per month. And she was suspected of masterminding over two hundred murders.
Griselda Blanco had four sons. The three eldest were killed in Colombia after being deported following prison sentences in the U.S. She named her youngest son “Michael Corleone” after a character from her favorite “película” (movie): “El Padrino” (The Godfather).
When Blanco and her former lover – Michael Corleone Blanco’s father — could not agree who would take custody of their son, Michael Corleone’s father took him to Colombia without Griselda’s consent. Griselda then paid to have her former lover and father of her child assassinated by “sicarios” (hired hitmen) in Colombia and her son returned to her in Miami.
In 1984, she was arrested by DEA agents and eventually convicted. She continued to run her cocaine business while in jail. In 2004, Blanco was released from prison and deported to Colombia.
After living a life of relative obscurity in Colombia since 2004, Griselda Blanco was killed in 2012 at the age of 69 by two drive-by “sicarios” (hired assassins) on “motos” (motorcycles) after she exited a “carnicería” (butcher shop) here in Medellin, Colombia.
Before I go, I want to share with you 2 words or phrases that I heard used in the “serie” (miniseries) based on Griselda Blanco. Pay close attention because you will not find these words in your typical Spanish course. However, I have heard them used over and over again in Spanish- speaking crime shows and “películas de acción” (action movies).
How To Say To Gag or To Muzzle In Spanish
Los ladrones amordazaron al cajero de la tienda con un pañuelo para que no gritara.
(The robbers gagged the store’s cashier with a handkerchief so that he didn’t scream).
How To Say To Blindfold In Spanish
El niño secuestrado está en el sótano con los ojos tapados.
(The kidnapped child is in the basement blindfolded.)
