TL;DR Which major characters from the new Netflix Series Alias JJ - Surviving Escobar are real? What are there real names? Can you point me to articles where I can learn more about them?
There is a new series on Netflix that follows the imprisonment of John Jairo Velásquez, one of Escobar's most notorious hitmen who was recently released from prison and who claims to be repentant of his sins.
I've tried to look up more information about some of the characters to see actual photos of the other cartel leaders, paramilitary, guerilla fighters, girlfriends, prison guards, etc. to see who was real and who was simply made up for the purposes of the show.
I've heard complaints about Narcos, such as their choice to have Pablo Escobar played by a Brazilian, who according to many Brazilians made him sound less threatening and funny because of his accent. Honestly, since I can't tell enough difference between the accents, his voice and his expressions actually made him seem scarier and more threatening than recordings I heard of the real Pablo Escobar. Alias JJ on the other hand was filmed in Colombia with the main actors all being Colombian. I thought this might play more into the accuracy of events in this incredibly long 60-episode first season of the show, but I'm having difficulty finding any information on any of the people in the show other than the J.J./Popeye himself.
Has anyone seen the show and know enough of about the characters to tell me which major characters were real? Also, would be able to link me to any more information on those people? English articles would be preferable, but I'll take Spanish articles as well if there are no English alternatives.
As for main characters of the show, if you need specifics, I'm talking about people from this list: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alias_J.J
I'm wondering if many of those characters simply had different names in real life. For example when I search up Abel Mahecha I get several Spanish articles about a paramilitary named Angel Mahecha, which I'm assuming was the basis for the character Abel Mahecha.
This show is awesome- I liked it 1000 xs better than Narcos. I actually was searching for similar answers. I assumed since it was 60 episodes that it would only be 1 season - has anyone heard that there will be another season? I think they've exhausted anymore plots in jail and he's already escaped. Really, what else is there for him to do to warrant another season? I mean, I hope they do, and it wont be the same. I recommend anyone who liked Narcos to watch this show - to me it was WAAAY mejor de Narcos! (Better than Narcos!)