ABSTRACT
Although tourism is already flourishing in some regions of Colombia, the country is still struggling to achieve peace. This chapter explores how popular culture and tourism participates in the memorialization of the dissonant and violent heritage, and contributes to the commodification of violence. It is postulated that beyond public museums and memorials, popular culture and tourism represent an alternative and more organic way of memorializing violence. The exact setting of the analysis is the city of Medellin, the second largest town in Colombia. Medellin is notorious for being the capital of the cocaine business in the 1980s and 1990s, especially during the rule of the Medellin Cartel and its boss Pablo Escobar, who was killed on 2 December 1993. Violence and narcos are significantly present in Medellin's tourism sector. Popular culture and tourism significantly contribute to the commodification of violence and to the simplification of Medellin's history.
