Those Who Share Enemies Usually End Up Helping Each Other

Sharing a common enemy is what made Jorge join the cartel.  He hated Pablo Escobar and his cartel more than anything in the world. Pablo Escobar had murdered a dear friend of his, Rodrigo Lara Bonilla. The Cali Cartel had never hurt him in any form and didn't have the violent reputation the Medellin Cartel had.  Until a certain proposal was made, he had never considered taking sides.  He hated Pablo Escobar but was completely neutral to the Orejuela family and their Cartel.  Until the proposal, he had never considered taking down joining the Cali Cartel in order to take down Pablo Escobar and his followers.  The Cali Cartel's proposal was very simple.

""We want Pablo Escobar dead," said Miguel Orejuela." (49)

At this statement he agreed to hear more about what the Orejuela family had to say.  "Until that moment, Jorge had never given any though to avenging the murder of his friend." (49) "Maybe justice could be done after all." (50) In his mind, he would be serving God and country if he agreed to the proposal.  He would be getting rid of the most wanted man in the country!

They told him that they wanted the deed to be done with British men who had agreed to help the Colombian army fight against the FARC.  The only man who had known the secret was Mario, but the fact that he had told him hadn't bothered him.  The four leaders (Miguel Orejuela, Gilberto Orejuela, Pacho, and Chepe Santacruz) explained to him that the plan was for everything to happen in Escobar's tropical estate, Hacienda Nápoles.  Salcedo asked them about all of the necessities that would be needed in order for the murder to be successful.  Gilberto told him that "whatever" was "necessary" would "be done."(52) After considering all of the possibilities, he decided to do it. It was his fear of the 4 men and his gut feeling encouraging him that made him accept the offer.

It's hard to believe that all of this to be a person's reality. It seems like a fantasy.  The description of Escobar's and Orejuela's home seemed like Cinderella's palace.  It's hard to think that there are many people who work their butts off just to be able to put food on the table, while there are people who do illegal things and becomes millionaires.  Whatever, I guess that is just the way life works.

Money is a very difficult thing to say no to.  It's what causes men to become greedy and sometimes violent and evil.  I guess that is another contributing factor on why Jorge agreed to the proposal.  He had a great job offer in Bogota, but he would have never made as much money as he did in the Cali Cartel had he denied their proposal.  I wonder if I would have been able to decline such an offer.  It would be hard to say no with a close friend dead and the idea of creating a family.  I guess a person's morals can't really be the only contributing factor in making a decision.  So, I guess instead of judging people, we should reflect on what we would have said having been put in that situation.  Would we have also accepted the offer due to his reasons? Or would we have been brave enough to risk our lives and decline it?

The Godfather In Real Life

"If Miguel and the other Cali cartel bosses ever suspected that he had dialed the CIA, he was dead. No trial, no defense- just a few bullets to the brain… if he was lucky. There were worse ways to die." (15)

Most of the population has seen The Godfather. It is a spectacular film of a 1940's New York mafia family and their attempt to protect their empire and families from their rivals. It's hard to believe that the gruesome acts committed in this movie have actually happened in real life.  Can you imagine having to live that type of life? Anyone who is part of a mafia is constantly surrounded by violence, terror, and horrid crimes (to say the least). It's almost like the terrorist group in Colombia, the FARC.  Not precisely in their heinous awful acts, but by their people's decisions.  Most of the people who go into this type of business usually want out.  The only problem is that once a person is in, it's almost impossible to get out alive.

This is exactly the case for Jorge Salcedo.  He joined the Cali Cartel business and six years later he wanted to get out.  For those who have seen The Godfather, it's obvious why this was almost impossible.  For now, the reason he involved himself in such a business is unknown.  Those facts will be revealed later on in the novel, At the Devil's Table. All that is clear is that his friend, Mario del Basto, somehow got him into the mess.

Jorge Salcedo is the son of General Jorge Salcedo Senior, an important figure in the Colombian army.  Salcedo Senior fought against the FARC and was completely against the idea of cartels.  Salcedo makes this clear on pages 24-25.  On page 28 Mario introduces the idea of meeting with "some Cali guys".  Later on does Salcedo realize that he is speaking of the "Cali cartel guys" (29).

At first he is against the idea.  He thought of his father and of everything he fought for in order to improve the country.  However, Mario succeeded in convincing him to meet with them.  He said that they were just an ordinary family who kept "a low profile" (30).  According to Mario, they were referred to as "the Gentlemen of Cali" and were "less violent" (30).  These "gentlemen" were only concerned on hiring more security details for their family and were NOT going to involve him in "the cartel drug business" (32).

How did Mario ever convince Salcedo? Yes, the form in which he expressed the idea made it seem better, but Salcedo had always thought negatively of all cartels.  How can one simply change their mind and not consider their morals?! Of course I have never had to make such a decision, but I would never want to meet those type of people.  Their reputation scares the hell out of me! It's beyond me how a man with good morals that came from a military family every agreed to enter such a business.  At first it may have seen all butterflies and rainbows, but how could he really trust those men?

It's All About the Camera Positions… Literally

When looking at a picture, how many people focus on the camera positions? The norm is for people to not focus on that at all. Hence, ladies and gentlemen, we have been looking at pictures wrong our whole lives! The camera positions are VITAL! Each position has a different meaning and they are used in pictures, movies, tv shows, etc.  They are seen everywhere in the media.  In the next three pictures you will see the following shots:

• Over-the-Shoulder Shot
• Point-of-View Shot (I)
• Point-of-View Shot (II)

The Over-the-Shoulder shot is one of the most common shots seen in pictures and motion pictures.  It occurs when the camera is placed behind the shoulders of the character.  This allows the observer to see the character's head and shoulders.  Usually a second character is seen in the shot and it is the subject of interest.  Instead of having two different close-ups of each character, the author chooses to have both characters present in one shot.  This makes it easier for the viewer to understand what is occurring.  For example, in this picture my mother is speaking to Mercedes.  You can see that Mercedes and my mom have a close relationship by Mercedes' facial expression and both of their postures.  If there were a previous scene before this one, they would most likely be laughing or Mercedes would have called my mom.  

This second photo represent the first Point-of-View (pov) shot.  This type of shot is used so that the audience can see the subjective view of the specific character.  "The camera lens is physically placed at the eye level of the character whose point-of-view we are seeing" (10).  In this photo I am the character so we are seeing my point-of-view.  We are looking at my foot in a pointe shoe as I check if it fits or not.  

This third photo is a demonstration of the second Point-of-View shot.  It consists of the same things and ideas that the first pov shot has.  The only difference is the change in character.  For this photo, the main character is my mom.  She is looking directly at my foot to see how the pointe shoe looks.  She is making sure it fits perfectly.