“Griselda,” a television show that has captivated audiences with its intense storytelling and gripping characters, has sparked curiosity about its origins. As viewers become engrossed in the dramatic narrative and complex characters, questions arise about whether the events depicted in the series are based on real-life occurrences or if they are a product of creative imagination.
Is Griselda based on a true story?
Yes, Griselda is based on a true story. It is inspired by the true story of Miami's so-called “Godmother of Cocaine”.
As a child, Griselda Blanco lived in Medellín, Colombia, a city that became famous for the crime activities of Pablo Escobar.
In a place as unfriendly as this, Blanco is said to have turned to crime at a young age, starting with theft and pickpocketing and then moving on to the lucrative drug trade.
If she came to New York City illegally when she was 21 to start a successful business, she had to leave the country about 10 years later when the police caught up with her.
Starting in the late 1970s, the most famous time of Blanco's rule, Netflix's Griselda show starts with her returning to the United States and establishing herself in Miami, Florida, on the opposite end of the East Coast.
The drama's director, Andres Baiz, told RadioTimes.com, “We do all the research we can.” Our research includes reading books, talking to people, and watching programs. After gathering all this information, you will then tell this person's story.
What are we saying as artists, though? What does our show seem to be about? Women in power and women living in a world dominated by men are the main ideas of our show. Therefore, that theme includes both the writing and the direction.
He elaborated: “So a lot of what you see in the show—a lot of characters, events, and actions—are absolutely real, but we were most interested in our theme and the inner truth of those characters.”
Were any of the other characters in Griselda based on real people?
Yes, a lot of them were. Dario Sepulveda, Marto Ochoa, and, of course, June Hawkins, a police officer in Miami. Hawkins was on a task team with the FBI and DEA that worked to stop the high number of drug-related deaths in Miami.
My co-creator of the show, Doug Miro, and I flew to Tennessee before we started filming to talk to June and her character-based husband, Al.
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After hearing her stories, we knew right away that June would be a great character to compare to Griselda because, like Griselda, June was a single mother of Latino descent living in a very male-dominated world.
When June was a young police officer, she had to deal with some crazy things. But June looked into Griselda and quickly saw what most people didn't want to see: that all of this violence was being led by a woman.
