South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
VH1’s ‘Cartel Crew’ is back for next generation
It’s just before noon on Monday and Michael Blanco and his girlfriend Marie Ramirez De Arellano are on their 14th media interview of the day.
When you’re the only living son of Miami’s late cocaine godmother Griselda Blanco, people want to ask you questions. And when you’re one of the stars of VH1’s reality series “Cartel Crew,” folks want to know about the show’s second season, your family and what viewers can expect.
The series follows Blanco, Ramirez De Arellano and other descendants of Cartel families in Miami. It debuted in January, and Season 2 began this month.
The cast includes other sons and daughters of Cartel families including Kat “Tatu Baby” Flores, Stephanie Acevedo, Nicole Zavala, Carlos “Loz” Oliveros and Dayana Castellanos. The show centers on how each of them is looking for redemption as they seek to make a name for themselves through their respective careers as a tattoo artist, singer and model.
“In season two, you’re going to get to understand that we’re not our parents anymore,” said Blanco. As he spoke inside the Miami News Net studios next to Ramirez De Arellano, Blanco’s tattoo of his late mother, wearing her signature fedora, peeked from under his shirt. “We are these young entrepreneurs who are hard workers, people with a creative mind.”
“It’s raw. It’s our real life, this is us. This is the real us,” she added. “This is our real stories, of what we go through, how we overcome it.”
The show’s first season followed their efforts as entrepreneurs in building the Pure Blanco lifestyle and clothing brand, which pays tribute to his mother’s legacy as a cartel queen.
The new season continues that journey as they expand the brand with a licensing agreement related to the booming cannabis industry.
“Pure Blanco is metamorphosing into a mega brand,” said Blanco. “We are living in the prohibition era, like Anheuser-Busch did back in the day. Either you get with it or you will be dwarfed by the other mega brands. Within five years or 10 years, it’s going to be legal in every other state.”
Viewers can expect a bit of drama, too. As they work, the couple rear their daughter Faith who turns 3 next month.
Ramirez De Arellano will also be dealing with fallout from her attempt to reunite with her parents who distanced themselves after she began dating Blanco. At the end of the first season, Ramirez De Allerano was involved in an alleged assault with her brother and mother, according to the show. She landed in jail and faces the possibility of up to a year in prison, according to VH1.
“I learned a lot about myself through season one. I go through certain things throughout season two and you guys will see it. But it’s been a learning experience for me,” she said.
“You will learn more about my story with my family. I don’t want to spoil anything,” she said. “My family is Michael and my daughter and that’s what I focus all my energy on. They are my motivation.”
One of the key messages they hope viewers will take away from the show is the importance of starting over despite having a narcos past.
“I think people are going to understand that we are doing something different,” said Blanco.
“We are telling people that you don’t have to live that life. There’s a second chance at life and that’s being legit and moving forward and not having to follow in the same footsteps as our families,” said Ramirez De Arellano.