'Escobar' Pub Accused Of Glorifying Colombian Drug Lord

A pub named 'Escobar' has been accused of glorifying the Colombian drug lord with whom it shares its name - Pablo Escobar.

The owners of the South American-themed bar in Nottingham, UK, have been urged to rename the venue, with critics citing the death and destruction caused by the late cocaine kingpin - who was the leader of the Medellin drugs cartel.

However, a spokesperson for the pub has claimed the name is 'just a clever play on words'.

PA

The pub opened last December but was unable to welcome customers until May, due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, it seems the bar has not been warmly welcomed by Colombians in the community.

Maria Motonya - who left her home in Medellin in 1985 and has lived in the UK for 20 years - told the BBC: "For me it's very distasteful and insensitive. Clearly the owners did not do their research.

"In Medellin we were terrified, afraid to come to the door. My father's family were beheaded because they wouldn't give him [Escobar] their farm.

"And what are we saying to young people who visit this bar. That it's OK to be a gangster? That it's OK to be associated with drugs?

"I think they [the owners] have probably been watching too many American films."

Sisters Katherine and Carolina Hannigan - who have a Colombian mother - concurred with Maria.

Carolina Hannigan

Katherine said: "Escobar murdered thousands of innocent Colombians, groomed children, raped young women and stole land from farmers, leaving them homeless and starving.

"Did they not know or did they not care? I don't know which is worse. Will their next bar be called Bin Laden Cafe?

"It feels like they are capitalising on our history yet excluding us by celebrating our most painful past."

Carolina added: "Escobar wasn't some Hollywood Netflix gangster. He was a horrible, evil man who did unspeakable things to his own community.

"Yet this bar wants you to have a drink in memory of him and feel like a gangster next to a shrine of a murderer."

The 'shrine' she mentioned is a mural inside the bar which appears to depict Escobar, although the owners claim this isn't the case.

Escobar

A spokesperson for Escobar told the BBC: "Our bar does not glamorise a known drug lord and we are not a Colombian bar.

"We are a Latin American bar and restaurant, and the mural in question is one of three which all have tried to bring a South American theme to the restaurant.

"We decided to go with the name Escobar as it is just a clever play on words, incorporating the word 'bar' into our name.

"We have tried to react very amicably and even apologised for any resemblance that may have hurt the sentiments of our community.

"We have no connections to the drug lord nor do we have any affiliations with his network.

"As a gesture of goodwill, we offered to host some charity events to support the Colombian community."

Carolina told LADbible she hadn't received any contact from the bar and the owners had previously admitted that the mural depicted Escobar.

She has also started a petition calling for the name and mural to be changed.

Topics: Bar, UK News, Pablo Escobar, Pub

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey