A new TV mini-series named “Griselda” made its appearance on Netflix seems to have grabbed Netflix users’s attention.
“Griselda” premiered its 6-episode series on Thursday, Jan. 25. The show is a biographical crime drama and was rated 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.6/10 on IMDb.
The show is based on the real-life drug lord Griselda Blanco. She was known as the “Cocaine Godmother.”
She was a central figure in the violent drug wars in Miami in the 1970s and 1980s.
The show tells the story of how Blanco creates one of the most successful cartels in history and how she became such a dominant drug lord. While also being a mother, Blanco balances and controls the underground world and family world.
For additional background on Blanco, it was believed that she began committing crimes at an early age. According to different sources, Blanco turned to pickpocketing and kidnapping.
Blanco kidnapped one boy. When the boy’s wealthy parents didn’t pay the ransom, she killed him. She was only 11.
Blanco ended up having three children with her first boyfriend at the age of 13 and one with her husband, Alberto Bravo, later on.
Blanco and Bravo, who was a drug trafficker, moved to New York City and started bringing drugs into the United States. With drug charges surfacing, Blanco and Bravo decided to head back to Colombia in 1975.
When they returned, there were sneaking suspicions that Bravo was stealing some of the drug money. Eventually, Blanco became known as the “Black Widow.”
Later in the 1970s, Blanco made her appearance in Miami.
Blanco ended up becoming one of the world’s wealthiest drug traffickers. She was netting around $80 million per month and smuggling more than 3 tons of cocaine.
In 1984, Blanco moved to California. The following year she was arrested and transported to New York City to face the 1975 drug charges.
While receiving the 15-year prison sentence, she continued to run the drug world.
Blanco’s hitman, Jorge Ayala, agreed to testify against her. Blanco was involved in more than 200 murders but was ultimately charged with three murders.
Since Ayala’s credibility ended up being undermined, Blanco was willing to plead guilty to get the sentence reduced. Six years later, she was released and sent back to Colombia.
When Blanco returned home, there were rumors of her retiring from the life of crime. In 2012, Blanco was killed. She was outside a butcher shop when a gunman on a motorcycle drove by and shot her.
When made aware of Blanco’s death, the law enforcement personnel told newspapers that they had already thought she had been dead for years.
Blanco is played by Sofía Vergara, a well-known actress from TV shows such as “Modern Family,” “America’s Got Talent” and more. The show is now the highest-rated film or TV show that Vergara has starred in, ahead of even “Modern Family.”
According to the website Independent, a viewer wrote on X, “The person who thought Sofia Vergara would be perfect in the role of Griselda Blanco in #Griselda deserves an award.”
The show also stars Karol G, Vanessa Ferlito, Martín Rodriguez and more.
“Griselda” is now streaming on Netflix.
