Original subtitles

THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW THEIR HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT

PABLO ESCOBAR, THE LORD OF EVIL

I don't get it, Ade. What should I say?

Anything you want. It's a video so Grandpa knows we love him.

All right, just tell me when to start.

- Now. - Okay.

Dad, I've always wanted to tell you I love you

and that you are the best father in the world.

Thanks for being such a great role model.

Thanks for being the husband, the grandfather, the worker, the reporter,

and the man you've always been.

I love you and wish you a Merry Christmas.

I hope that when you watch this video on Christmas Eve

you know that everyone, your children, grandchildren, cousins,

love you a lot more than you love us.

Hi, Dad.

What an irony, to be in front of the camera

when the first thing you taught me is that reporters have to be behind it,

and never be the star.

But I think this is a good chance to break that rule.

To tell you I love you.

That's how simple and direct this is.

Merry Christmas, Don Guillermo.

Forget about it, guys.

You think that now that you live in this neighborhood, have money

and bodyguards you are powerful?

If you mess with Pablo Escobar, they'll all turn on you.

- But-- - No buts!

Listen to me, Chili.

So you think we're worthless pieces of shit?

You're a piece of shit and you are too.

Next to Pablo Escobar, we all are.

If you mess with him, you'll get in big trouble.

Fine, you got all of this, but who helped you?

Why are we standing here? Thanks to whom?

I'll hide out for a few days, but I'll call you when I get back.

Okay.

Thanks for everything. Thanks for looking after me and all.

It's cool.

Here, take this. Take it.

No, thanks, but no.

Come on, this isn't from the boss, it's from me.

Okay? Come on.

Take it. It's Christmas.

It's fine.

Does this mean goodbye then?

No, I want to see you again.

I'll call you when I get back, okay?

Sure.

Be safe.

Well, bye, then.

Bye, baby.

Well, guys, how's everything going?

Are we good or not?

We're good, sir. Don't worry, it's all planned out.

When he leaves his job, we'll conduct the interview.

All right.

Let's go.

Hi, honey. Thanks to you,

to what you are, to what you think and say,

thanks to how you love your children and grandchildren

you got Adelaida to shoot this video to tell you we love you.

That alone should make you proud.

I love you and thanks for this Christmas.

- Hello there. - What, sir?

Did Ana Maria give you my keys?

No, sir, she didn't.

-Bye. - Goodbye, Mr. Guille.

- Hi. - Hello, sir.

You know what, man?

We can't kill that man in that car.

No problem, we'll do it at night when he clocks out.

You're right, man. Killing that guy in broad daylight

wouldn't be easy. I mean, let's do this right.

Yeah, let's go grab a bite.

I'm terrible at videos and speeches, so I'll just say one thing.

I'm glad life gave me the chance to be your daughter,

but I would have loved to be your grandchild.

Thanks for being the best dad and granddad.

Merry Christmas.

Stop it.

Juan Pablo, Juan Francisco, Juan Manuel, Juan Felipe, Juan Carlos.

Remember what we were talking about earlier?

Yeah, I remember!

- Hi! - Hi, Dad.

- Hi, have a seat. - Thanks.

Well, bon appétit.

It's very good.

- There, the taxi is here. - Yeah.

- Okay, so-- - See you later, my love.

Big Christmas smile, huh?

- Hi. - Hello, sir.

Bye!

The first thing I'd like to tell you is that I'm a reporter thanks to you.

Which, by the way, doesn't leave enough time as to make a Christmas video

for my dad. But here I am, right?

I hope you never forget your rule of being happy in Christmas.

Enjoy this time of the year, the best according to you.

Be the happiest man on earth.

Just like your wife, children and grandchildren are.

Merry Christmas, Dad.

When it's done, fry the flakes, but don't burn them, okay?

- You know the drill. - What are we cooking?

Something delicious. Now we'll fry the flakes.

What's this green rice, Patty? Christmas rice?

We've got tamales and buñuelos, huh?

- Your favorite. - Can I have one?

No, you can't.

Don't!

I want one. What about that bread?

- No, that-- - It's also for tonight?

Come on, Pablo, I'm watching your weight and you do that?

I brought the children some presents in advance.

You want to give them their gifts now, why, are you crazy?

It's not that. I'll just give them one now

and then more on Christmas. Come, look.

What did you buy?

It's nothing. Call them down for their presents.

Emilio!

Bring the girl, Dora!

- She's asleep. - She's so nice.

Emilio!

- Keep it down, you'll wake the girl. - Cover your eyes.

Not so much. Come here.

You open them when I tell you, yes?

Ready? Don't open them.

Ready? One, two, three, now!

- A bike! - And this is--

- For my girl. - I can't believe it.

There's one for you too.

- Close your eyes. - Don't be silly.

Close your eyes.

Don't open them. One, two, three!

Go away, stop cleaning it!

God, Pablo, what's that?

God, what's that beauty?

I love it, honey.

You taste like a buñuelo. Oh my, hon!

I have to go downstairs.

Careful with that.

What's with you?

You tell us, boss.

Last chance, kid.

That goes for you too.

Ever since I can remember, I've never let my Christmas get ruined

by money or health problems, or by irreparable loss.

I've enjoyed every single one.

Maybe even with exaggerated selfishness.

I've isolated myself from the valley of tears that is the past

so that no foreign grief or miseries taint the paradise of Christmas dreams.

But I've received a letter here transcribed

that's made me cry in Christmas.

"I've talked to many people,

people I never thought had gone through things as bad as I have,

and they say everything is lost.

I've kept my experience a secret, and I see the future

of my children’s country as more fortunate than my own

I pray to God someone can give me news about my dad."

I must apologize, readers, if I have ruined your Christmas of 1986

after reading you this letter.

I pray to God that Noelia

finally has news about her father, good or bad.

Either one are definitely better than none at all,

which is like living in the limbo

Black Christmas

of the inhuman, terrible world... of the desaparecidos.

I like two players for their performance in this match.

Cabañas, of course, because he passes the ball, scores,

he's the star, the man that throws the rival off balance...

Juangui, this is for tomorrow.

- See you later. - See you later, Don Guille.

See you tomorrow, Don Guille.

See you tomorrow, Nicky.

Goodbye, Mr. Guille!

See you tomorrow, thank you.

No problem, sir, good night.

Here's the custard.

So, what goes first? The prayer to St. Joseph or to Mary?

No, to God Almighty first.

Be quiet so Ade can make her video for Grandpa.

- You'll do great, Ade. - Ready, Ade? Go.

Don Juan Guillermo.

What happened?

It's your dad.

What about him?

It seems he was shot.

Mr. Guille--

Get a taxi, please, a taxi!

Get him out.

Help him!

Hold on, Mr. Guille, don't die, please!

Dear Grandpa, since I'm a kid, I don't have any money to buy you a gift.

That's why I made this video.

We'll, we all did.

We all taped you a message.

I wanted to tell you I'm the luckiest girl on earth

because I got the best grandpa ever.

I'm the only girl at school who watches The Flintstones with her grandpa.

I love you, Merry Christmas.

Hurry up, sir.

Do you know the owner of the car?

He's my father.

What's his name?

Guillermo Cano, editor of El Espectador.

We nailed it, man! We're off to Medellin!

- Don't worry, Mom. He'll be here. - He should be here by now.

Maybe there's traffic.

- What if something happened to him? - God, Mom, really?

Relax. Let me call Juangui and ask him when Dad is coming.

I'll get it!

Hello.

- Hello? - It's me, Mom.

Hi, Juangui.

Fernando and I were just about to call you.

Did your dad already leave?

Mom...

What?

Something happened, right?

Say something, please, what happened?

Something happened to Dad?

He was shot when he left, Mom.

No.

No, please, no. Tell me it's not true.

Tell me it's not true. It can't be!

They're taking him to the hospital as we speak.

What happened to Dad, Mom?

Please, tell us!

I'm on my way there.

Mom.

What happened, Mom? What?

Breaking news!

We arrived a few minutes ago to the site of the attack

against the editor of El Espectador.

He was driving his cherry Subaru, plate AG5000.

Mr. Guillermo Cano left his newspaper, in the street known as Espectador Avenue,

he made a U-turn and headed north to return to his home

when two hitmen in a motorbike appeared

and shot him with a machine gun.

Mr. Guillermo Cano was shot four times

according to information provided to Caracol Network.

From the site of the attack, he was taken to the hospital

in a bad state.

Turn that off! We know what happened.

That's enough news for now.

Look, Camilo, they might say how Dad is doing.

No, don't. It's staying off.

How much longer, Fer?

We're close, Mom, but this traffic doesn't help.

Look at this guy now.

We're almost there, Mom, but we're stuck!

Dear Lord!

Nicky!

- Where is he? - He's in surgery.

How did it look? How was he?

Very bad.

Sorry, sir, you can't go in.

Please.

Any news, Nicky?

Is he all right?

They killed Dad.

Mr. Guillermo, given El Espectador's role

as one of the most important media in this country,

have you felt, at any point, that someone tried to pressure it

to restrict press freedom?

...was then taken to the hospital to receive medical care.

We'll keep you informed.

- Good evening. - Good evening.

How are you? Hello.

Mr. Guillermo.

I'm terribly sorry for your loss.

Thank you.

We thought we'd hit rock bottom after Rodrigo's murder,

but now this...

His only weapons were words.

And the Medellin Cartel answered with bullets.

I'm really sorry.

Thanks, thanks.

Ana María, Fernando.

- I'm really sorry. - Thank you.

- Are you coming with us? - Yeah.

- Sorry. - It's fine.

Are we going to see him?

I'm going in with your brothers.

- But I want to see Dad too. - I know, Camilo, you'll do it later.

You three stay here, please.

Why?

Why, why?

Murillo, Murillo, it's over!

America is the champion!

Listen to that.

America de Cali champion, no, sir.

America de Cali aren't champions. The Cali Cartel is,

they have the money to buy teams, referees and all.

Wait till I buy the Millonarios F.C. next year and make them win.

What did they think? That I don't have enough money for it?

Breaking news.

From the joy of victory we move on to the sadness

the country feels after the murder of journalist Guillermo Cano Isaza,

editor of El Espectador.

I can't believe it, God, this can't be.

What the hell happened?

Someone killed the editor of the most important paper.

Not someone, us. Go get me the phone.

Yes, sir.

You better believe it, Pedro.

That guy had been going after us for a long time now.

Yeah, but he wasn't just the editor, he also owned the most important paper

in this damn country!

Yeah, Pedro, but it was a paper that did nothing but attack us.

Yeah, I know that.

I know Pablo said we should do it, but he shouldn't have done it now!

I think it just wasn't the right way.

We should have made him disappear so no one could blame us.

But Pablo always does things his own way.

Why you're so surprised?

It's always the same. He does whatever he wants.

He screwed up this time. He should have asked us beforehand.

Pablo's definitely gone crazy, man.

What?

That's great news, man!

Of course, pal! One more reason to celebrate!

Cheers!

Listen, Pablo, you're definitely Super Pablo!

This is everyone's victory.

We even spoiled Cali's victory.

We sure did.

Not just for Cali,

for the entire country and the president as well.

So he sees that extradition treaty isn't happening.

Mariachi, we've just shown the political class

that if they keep this up

there's little chance any of them will die of old age.

Right where it hurts.

And this isn't over.

What, we're killing more people?

Death has to be our weapon.

It's the only way to get people to understand us,

with concrete, solid, aggressive actions.

Speaking of which, Pablo, I think you should come to my ranch.

We can analyze the situation and if things get hot,

we'll be safe here.

Sure. Sure, tell the rest, see you there later.

Thanks, Mariachi.

- Hi, honey. -What is it, darling?

Were you involved in that man's death?

Who?

The journalist.

How can you ask me that, Patico?

Swear it.

I swear.

I swear it on our kids.

How could you think that? Come here, come here.

Go get the kids ready, we're going on a trip.

- Where? - It's a surprise, go tell them.

- Really? - Yeah, go, honey.

Where's the president?

He'll be here in a minute. Right now, we have to think

of a way to solve this problem.

We know the Medellin Cartel killed our father, Mr. President,

because of everything he and El Espectador wrote against them.

Can I talk to Ana María, please?

Yes, sir, just a second. Mom.

How are you, Mr. President?

My condolences, Ana María.

I want you to know the government is accompanying you in this hard moment.

Thanks, I hope it does.

Goodbye, Mr. President.

Goodbye, Ana María.

Not long ago, General, we attended Colonel Jimenez' funeral.

And there's a new martyr now.

We have to do something.

I assure you the national police are doing everything they can, Senator,

but you know that's not the problem.

The extradition treaty?

The best weapon against them.

And we don't have it.

Where's Grandpa, Mom?

Aren't you tired, honey?

Where did Grandma and the uncles go?

They're at mass, honey.

Is Grandpa with them?

Yes, he is. Look, why don't you help me

and go get your sisters and cousins and go to bed?

Look, Cecilia,

I haven't just felt them, I've suffered that pressure,

both economic and political.

Back when the newspaper was founded, 100 years ago,

religion got in the way as well.

Give me that drink, Castaway.

There you go, sir.

To business.

Cheers, sir.

We repeat, the editor of El Espectador, Mr. Guillermo Cano Isaza,

was the victim of an attack. His condition is still unknown.

See you, man. See you, guys.

Thanks.

Thanks, darling, goodbye.

- Pacora! - Yes, sir?

I want a car escort when we leave.

You got it, boss.

- I'm driving. - God.

Don't drive like a maniac or I'm getting out!

I won't, okay?

Come on, let's go.

Okay now, girls, I want you to keep your eyes wide open!

Come on!

Long live free Colombia!

Hurrah!

No, we can't print something that isn't true.

I'd check the--

Excuse me.

Is the front page ready?

Are you sure you want to see it?

Go home, we'll take care of everything.

I want to be here, that I'm sure of.

Won't you show me the front page?

I want to add a personal note.

All of the information is already there.

Besides, we have to print it.

We can delay the printing or something, but I want to add a personal article.

There are many things about my dad I never said, that...

That I never told anybody and I'm going to speak about it.

Things won't be the same anymore.

Mr. Guille was this paper's soul.

The Medellin Cartel killed my dad.

They murdered him.

That's true, but one thing your father taught us

is to pursue the truth.

And once we have that, we'll print it.

What do you think?

That would be great.

Your dad also said that El Espectador had to be printed no matter what.

And that's what we're doing.

A DAY OF MOURNING FOR COLOMBIA

EDITOR OF EL ESPECTADOR MURDERED

This series is freely adapted from La Parábola de Pablo by Alonso Salazar.

Based on news articles and real events, the historical facts are surrounded

by fictional characters and dialogues that recreate undocumented situations.