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Netflix's Narcos: Pablo Escobar's accent has annoyed Colombians

Wagner Moura speaks Spanish with a Brazilian accent

Jack Shepherd
Thursday 17 September 2015 09:01 EDT
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Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar in Netflix original series Narcos
Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar in Netflix original series Narcos (Netflix)

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Narcos, the Netflix crime drama that details the rise of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, thought by many to be the next Breaking Bad, has not gone down well in Colombia, the country the TV series primarily takes place.

According to The Guardian, Colombian audiences have have been irritated by the portrayal of their countries recent history, grown bored of our drug-drama infatuation and - most notably - annoyed at the stars’ ‘ropey’ Spanish accents.

Many of the actors come from different parts of the world - Escobar’s actor Wagner Moura is Brazilian, while his on screen wife is played by Paulina Gaitán, a Mexican, and his partner in crime, Luís Guzman, is from Puerto Rican - meaning each accent is completely different.

For many of us this made absolutely no difference as we were furiously reading the subtitles throughout, but Colombians have been left amused by the whole ‘hodge podge’ of voices, one saying: “It’s like having someone with a strong southern American accent play Sherlock Holmes.”

Moura supposedly moved to Medellín for three months in order to perfect his accent, but apparently his strong Brazilian accent shines through. Colombian TV critic Omar Rincón said: “He tries hard but neither his role not his accent are similar to Escobar or other local narcos.”

All 10 episodes of Narcos are available to watch on Netflix now

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