Fiction, Essays, and Other Things

  After nearly thirty years the murder of Andrés Escobar still raises ire and defensiveness in Colombia. It is not just about Escobar’s status as a soccer legend for Atlético Nacional but also for the timing and circumstances of his death and what it meant not only for Colombia but the global perception of Colombia. Hearing that their country qualified for the 1994 Fifa World Cup was the best news Colombians had received in years. It had been less than a year since the death of Pablo Escobar (no relation)   and his brutal legacy was a stain the country was fighting hard and gallantly to erase. Escobar had tarnished the image of Colombia internationally and the fallout of this was hurting Colombians both financially and emotionally. But the national love for soccer proved to be Colombia’s saving grace. The twenty-seven-year-old Andrés Escobar, who was not only a soccer icon since 1986, but something of a national hero for his philanthropy (creating opportunities for impover...