Sunday, September 13, 2015

vacuna: protection racket money

Ok, my summer blogging break is over! Of course I should be preparing my courses instead, but I'm motivated to post because I have been watching the new show Narcos about Pablo Escobar. It's crazy problematic that it completely elides how the creation of the paramilitaries was tied up in the story, or Escobar's ties to former president Uribe. It also fudges all sorts of historical details (Ivan was dead by the time the M-19 attacked the court, for example). BUT if you can stand Escobar's accent (the actor is Brazilian) it sure is full of good vocabulary, including this one.  They actually render it as just racket money, which I don't think is quite as clear. A trailer for the show is below: