Pablo Escobar is a figure that casts a large shadow over Colombia; those that know little about the country itself still recognize his eerily penetrative eyes, and those entrenched in the history of Colombia are still angry at the troubles caused in the past. Escobar was one of the most notorious, murderous criminals in recent history and for many this still plunges travel to Colombia into obscurity. So how to get rid of this impression?
There’s a great deal of companies, individuals and positive press around at the moment promoting Colombia and we couldn’t be happier. The troubles that happened in Colombia, however, are still only generally mentioned in two ways. One as a precursor to say ‘but now Colombia is safe’; the second is unfortunately to back up the image of Colombia as a dangerous country. We believe to truly move past the issue we need to do something else, and that’s to actually discuss Colombia’s past. That’s why we’ve decided to launch what we’re calling ‘The Pablo Escobar is History Tour’, based in Medellín. Not only do we acknowledge that people are interested in this facet of Colombian history, but also that people should learn about it in order to understand the transformation that has taken place, and to realise that Pablo Escobar (and the whole episode) is history.
With the sensitivity of the issue in mind, we discussed the option of offering a Pablo Escobar tour or leaving the thing alone. The team came to an agreement when we drew upon other historical atrocities and began to see a pattern. What we noticed is that these incidents in history are all tragedies, but they’d almost all received some kind of tourism interest. We realized that this wasn’t a problem or something to complain about, but something to encourage because seeing these things at such proximity, it helps you to learn. We see what can happen and we learn not to make those same mistakes again.
It was decided, then, that See Colombia Travel would create a Pablo Escobar Is History Tour, the title purposefully implying that the whole episode is well and truly over; part of a museum of Colombian culture that is, for the most part, rich, colorful and full of life. We think the way to move on is to acknowledge the past, not to hide from it.
By taking people on a tour, we can fight back against the image that still persists. For most people in the west, the idea that Colombia is violent can come from only one viewing of some Hollywood blockbuster, from the new film, Colombiana, for example. The tour involves a visit to Escobar’s old house; the house where he died and even a conversation with Escobar’s brother, Robert. But it also doubles as a Medellín tour, since tourists will see a great deal of this strikingly modern, progressive city. This, juxtaposed with the information given, will go to show exactly how far the country has come. Tourists will marvel at the beauty of Colombia now and see for themselves that Colombia is, for all intents and purposes, not the country it is portrayed to be.
Colombia is making giant strides forward in all senses and especially as a travel destination. We at See Colombia are part of this and we want to continue helping our beautiful country to become recognized as what it is: one of the most stunning, varied countries on earth. With our new tour we hope to show once and for all that Pablo Escobar is history.
And the future is there for the making.
Proceeds from the tour go towards helping the vulnerable communities of Medellín, as well as to charities involved in HIV research.
To see the Pablo Escobar is History Tour, go here: http://seecolombia.travel/tour/pablo-escobar-is-history/
