‘I knew the narco-trafficking business’
◆ Modern Family star Sofia Vergara talks to Jessica Rawnsley about taking on notorious Colombian drug boss Griselda Blanco in a new Netflix series
Forget Pablo Escobar – have you heard of Griselda Blanco? Known variously as the Godmother, the Black Widow and Cocaine Grandmother, she was a Colombian drug lord in her own right who established one of the most profitable cartels in history.
Renowned for being ambitious, savvy and ruthless, Blanco was a central figure in the establishment of the cocaine trade between Colombia and the US and a fierce force in the underground trafficking trade in Miami from the 1970s to the early 2000s.
La Madrina, as she was known by fellow traffickers and law enforcement, ran a billion-dollar enterprise that moved thousands of pounds of cocaine a month in the US.
Blanco was many things: a loving mother and a killer, a woman and a drug lord, simultaneously charming and ruthless. She held her own in the male-dominated world of the Colombian cartels, brutally murdering anyone who crossed her, lovers and enemies alike – including three ex-husbands.
From the start her life was wild and violent. That turbulent life is chronicled in Griselda, a series directed by Narcos’ Andres Baiz, starring Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara. The 51-year-old actress tells us more about portraying the infamous Godmother.
Why did you want to be part of this project?
SV: The first thing that caught my attention about this role was that it was a Colombian woman. I grew up there – I am a Colombian woman. Usually we’re very loving, very protective, we’re all about family and sacrifice. And I also knew very well the narcotrafficking business – my brother was in that business, I grew up during that era, and I couldn’t understand how a woman could get to that point and be as good as those men. I couldn’t believe it – that there was a Colombian woman that could be like that and it was a real story.
What surprised you most about Griselda?
SV: I mean, everything. Her beginnings were hard. She was a woman without really any education. And a woman that if you looked at her in person, she didn’t look threatening at all. It was something that was inside of her that enabled her to do all of these things. Yes, they became horrible things. But this woman, I feel like she could have been the president of Colombia if she had decided to go that way. There was something in her that I see in many Colombian women, but of course, they don’t go the way she went.
What accounted for her strength and ability to survive in that maledominated world?
SV: I think it was the feeling of fear that she was not
going to be able to provide and help her children, her family, herself. I think it all started with good intentions. Also she was intelligent – she got so good at her job that she was like, ‘oh, I can do this’. I felt it as a woman, for example, to be able to say yes to a role like this – I did well in Modern Family when I had never previously really acted before and that gave me the feeling that maybe I could go and do something so crazy as doing a dramatic role. So as a woman, I think she started getting more and more empowered and like, ‘oh my god, I can do this, I can be as bad as them, I can get as much money as all of those guys’.
What did you love about the character?
SV: There were a million things that I loved about that character, because for an actress, to be able to get into someone’s soul complex is fascinating. I liked that I didn’t understand a lot of things about her. Lots I did, because I’m Colombian, I’m a woman, I’m a mother, I’m an immigrant. I’ve always been someone that wanted my own money, my own job, my own things. I don’t need a man. I mean, now I want one, but I don’t need one. But then, also as a woman, as a mother, as a friend, there were many things about her that I didn’t understand – how do you get to that point where you’re hurting people? Where you’re doing things just for yourself, for your ego?
What most helped you step into the role of Griselda?
SV: It was a combination of many things. The sets were breathtaking. Everything was antique, even my lighter was this unique thing. I think I stole it, actually. And the clothes, the plastic nose, the wig, I had fake teeth. It was a million things that helped you understand what the era was, the characters, and the amazing Latin American actors that I had the chance to work with.
We knew from the beginning that we didn’t want me to look exactly like Griselda Blanco because we were doing a TV show and we didn’t have eight hours to do make-up every day. But the most important thing for me was to disappear, Sofia to disappear, Gloria from Modern Family to disappear. I tried to change as much as I could without looking like I was in a Halloween costume. I would wear a bra that minimised me, and hold my butt so it wouldn’t move like a Latin girl. I put myself in a different body position for six months for the walk, smoked… It was hard but super fun. I had never done a job as complicated and as different to who I really am.