The son of the notorious drug lord opened up about how he avoided following in his father’s footsteps and chose to reconcile with his community instead
During the Tatler Gen.T Summit, which is taking place in Hong Kong from November 9-10 this year, our very own Lee Williamson, the regional head of Tatler Gen.T, moderated a chat with architect and author Juan Pablo Escobar about the pros and cons of legacy.
Juan, who is now known as Sebastián Marroquín, is the son of the notorious politician, criminal and cartel leader of the same name. He is also the author of best-selling books Pablo Escobar, Mi Padre (2014) and Pablo Escobar in Fraganti (2016), and produced the documentary series Escobar, A Cursed Legacy (2021) which set ratings records. Here are the highlights from his panel, Living Under a Long Shadow: Juan Pablo Escobar on the Power of Legacy.
Read more: Why Pablo Escobar’s son is choosing a life of peace and tolerance
On choosing his own path
“I feel ashamed and embarrassed because of my father’s violent actions against societies, and for many years, I struggled [facing] prejudice because when people approached me, it's like they felt that I knew criminals. I believe that my father showed me the path that we shouldn't take as human beings, so I decided to became a different type of person.”
On his relationship with his father
“Nobody expects that somebody who has such a violent past could be a good father. While he was brutally honest with me about the crimes he committed since I was seven years old, he never encouraged me to follow him. He always encouraged me to study, to do something else, to discover my own passions. [When I was a child] I asked him many times to stop, but he was one of the most powerful guys on earth. Not even the US Army, the CIA or the DEA could stop him. I was trying to do my best from the point of a son, and he never listened.”