Victimhood, Memory, and Consumerism: Profiting from Pablo documents the story of violence inflicted on Medellín, and critically examines the status of its victims. Drawing on unique empirical material, the book addresses the impact of commercial exploitation of the city's violent past on the victims of mass drug violence and on the present nature of the city. To demonstrate the magnitude of the profits made from the legacy of Pablo Escobar, the authors cover a range of topics. First, they discuss the appropriation by commercial forces of the city's traumatic past for the purposes of entertainment; second, they describe Escobar tours, souvenirs, and other collectibles offered by Medellín's tourism industry; and, lastly, they expose the less visible gains reaped by political and social actors who participate in the global mythmaking surrounding Escobar. Through interviews with those directly affected by drug violence, the authors show that these cultural forces have immediate symbolic and material consequences.
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