The show features scenes from many places in Colombia, most notable Medellín but also Bogotá and Cali, as well as brief interludes from Chile/Peru and Panama.
How much of the South American scenes from Narcos were actually shot there?
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1 Answer
Somewhere between most:
The biopic promises to be an authentic portrayal of Escobar, so it’s only natural that Brazilian director and executive producer Jose Padilha chose to film the 10-episode series in Medellin, Colombia, the murder capital of the world during the drug kingpin’s heyday in the 1980s.
Filming the series here would have been unthinkable a few years ago, with Colombians still blaming Escobar for their country’s hard-to-shake association with drug trafficking. But as memories of Escobar’s terror campaign fade, and with the homicide rate at a decade low, Colombians are starting to view their violent past more dispassionately. So much so that cinema-loving President Juan Manuel Santos agreed to pick up $2-million (U.S.) in production costs so Netflix could film in the country.
BOGOTA, Colombia - Outside of the big house, crew members pull up their hoods, trying to stay warm against the drizzle and wind coming off of the Andes mountain range in La Calera, a town 10 kilometres northeast of Bogota. ... Inside the big house, two actors glance down at a board game, getting into character as the director begins filming the scene. A third actor walks into the room - Brazilian star Wagner Moura, sporting a moustache and looking much heavier than his appearances in Elite Squad (2007) or Elysium (2013). Moura steps forward and quietly speaks Spanish to the other actors. This is a serious scene here, possibly a hostage situation, and he's showing a number of emotions on his face, looking a lot like the complicated man he's signed up to play - Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar.
And now, nearly three years later, both men are set to release the 10-episode first season from a production that brought them across Colombia - including a meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos - with film shoots also taking place in the U.S. and Panama. [Executive Producer] Newman hopes the series can become a multi-season project, as the plot traces the effects of the drug trade into present-day.
Narcos filmed on location in Bogotá, Medellín, Panama and the U.S. Not sure about Chile or Peru. And no mention of shooting in Calí.
Netflix worked in Bogota with Colombian production service company Dynamo.
Escobar himself is played by Brazilian actor Wagner Moura ... “I flew to Medellín and stayed there six months before the rest of the cast and before I even signed with Netflix. I booked myself in a university for a Spanish course for foreigners, and I think I’ve read basically everything that was written about Pablo Escobar and modern Colombian history.”
