Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar

A Memoir

By: Virginia Vallejo

Narrated by: Almarie Guerra

Length: 17 hrs

Publisher's summary

A revealing memoir of Colombian television journalist Virginia Vallejo's affair with the "King of Cocaine", notorious Medellin drug lord Pablo Escobar. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.

At 33, Virginia Vallejo was part of the media elite. A renowned anchorwoman and socialite, and a model who appeared on magazine covers worldwide, Vallejo was the darling of Colombia's most powerful politicians and billionaires. Meeting Pablo Escobar in 1983, then becoming his mistress for many years, she witnessed the rise of a drug empire that was characterized by Escobar's far-reaching political corruption, his extraordinary wealth, and a network of violent crime that lasted until his death in 1993.

In this highly personal and insightful story, Vallejo characterizes the duality of Escobar. His charm and charisma as a benefactor to many Colombians contrast with the repulsiveness of his criminal actions as a tyrannical terrorist and enemy of many world leaders. Told from the perspective of the present day, and reflecting on her cooperation with the US Department of Justice in 2006, as she testified against high-ranking Colombian ministers on trial for conspiracy and murder, Vallejo offers a compelling work of both intimate reflection and critical journalism - a unique perspective on the Colombian drug wars and the endlessly fascinating figure of Pablo Escobar.

©2017 Virginia Vallejo (P)2017 Random House Audio

Amazing life of a woman

All I can say is, God protected this woman, there is no way that anyone could’ve survived and come out alive in such circumstances. No way! She lived to tell the story. Loved the book.

A novela that was entertaining to listen to

I really felt like I was in Virginia's shoes . It was an insight into the life of the rich and famous, which was eye-opening for me. Such a different world they live in . It's easy to see how she was drawn to Pablo Escobar.

loving Pablo.hating Escobar

este es el libro más aburrido que he escuchado .no lo compre.this tve most boring book i ever listen

Terrible book

Some of the stories are just lies. The author is a self centered very materialistic woman

WASN'T TO IMPRESSED

I definitely wasn't what I expected... this book was more about VIRGINIA VALLEJO'S arrogance, she sounds very shallow, full of herself she spoke more about herself, she was very clear about her obsession with being a label whore, and her vanity as far as crossing her legs and the obsession men longed for her... very empty and boring as well as the need to translate, if me/us the reader download and or buy the book to our chosen language why translate that was incredibly boring and unnecessary... NO MORE VIRGI VALLEJO for me.

Waste of time listening to it...

While the narrator is great, the content of the book is worth nill, it is just the self-justification of a whore albeit a refined one. Drags on and on making references to philosophers and writers to sound more intellectual, but at the end of the day it is what it is. One rather insulting part for which I feel horrible for the families of the victims and the victims of Escobar is when she compares herself to innocent people tortured and killed. While a decent translation of the original Spanish text, some phrases were translated literaly without explaining the context (birds in reference to the “pajaros” and dying of starvation for “ morirse de hambre”). There is zero historical capital to be gained from this book.

Medium low

It Was hard for me to concenntrate in the story for her heavy accent. I expect more about the book but is more about Virginia. How pretty she is, how smart and how easy is to change rich men.