She had access to Escobar’s jet, she met the kingpin in swanky hotels, and he financed her shopping trips. Throughout their five-year relationship, Vallejo experienced the high life. When major newspapers hailed him as “the Robin Hood of Medellín,” he celebrated with a champagne toast. This television appearance not only brought him to national attention but helped to establish his philanthropic image with the public. The interview showed the cartel leader in a favorable light as he talked about his charity work Medellín Sin Tugurios, or Medellín Without Slums. In 1983, a year after the pair had first met, Virginia Vallejo interviewed Escobar on her new program. Vallejo herself stated that the reason she fell in love with him was “he was the only rich man in Colombia who was generous with the people, in this country where the rich have never given a sandwich to the poor.” Vallejo’s reputation as a prestigious journalist was crucial in helping Escobar establish his role as a “man of the people,” which, indeed, is still how he is remembered by many of the poor in Medellín today.
When the two first met, Escobar was only a minor public figure, but over the course of their five-year relationship he transformed into “the most notorious terrorist in the world.” Many people believed he was simply using Vallejo to promote his public image, which she certainly helped him do. Despite his bloody lifestyle and fierce reputation, Escobar was known for his affability and sense of humor, and Vallejo would later write about this duality in her book Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar - which was later turned into a film starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.įor his part, Escobar seemed equally enthralled with Vallejo, although there has always been a debate about the extent of his true feelings for her. Wikimedia Commons Pablo Escobar started as the leader of a small cartel, soon no cocaine would leave Colombia without his knowledge.īy her own account, Virginia Vallejo was immediately charmed by the crime lord. Vallejo pushed ahead in the career anyway, and in January 1978, she became the anchorwoman of a 24-hour news program. She later claimed that it was uncommon for women of her socioeconomic status to work in the entertainment industry and that her family largely disapproved. Vallejo ultimately made her television debut somewhat reluctantly back in 1972 as a host and presenter for several programs. Members of her family included a finance minister, a general, and several European nobles who could trace their heritage back to Charlemagne.Īfter a short stint as an English teacher in the late 1960s, she was offered work on a television program, a position that became her gateway to a career onscreen. 26, 1949, Virginia Vallejo enjoyed a comfortable life in an otherwise tumultuous Colombia.
Virginia Vallejo’s Rise To Stardomīorn to a prestigious family with an entrepreneurial father on Aug. That is, until their affair came to a dramatic end - and so did her celebrity. She was the first journalist to get him in front of a camera and enjoyed the spoils of life in the world’s most powerful cartel. Throughout their whirlwind romance that ensued, Vallejo became one of the kingpin’s most precious confidantes.
#WHO KILLED PABLO ESCOBAR SERIES#
The 33-year old socialite, journalist, and TV personality had just scored her own TV show after starring in a series of ads for Medias Di Lido pantyhose - which captivated the nation and brought her to the attention of none other than Pablo Escobar. In 1982, Virginia Vallejo was a national sensation in her home country of Colombia. Wikimedia Commons Virginia Vallejo as photographed in 1987, the year her affair with Pablo Escobar ended.
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