Dark tourism: Latin America edition

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Forget about vacationing in beautiful hotels or paradisiacal beaches; dark tourism takes a tour of places related to death and tragedy

The attraction to the crazy and horrible is the proposal of dark tourism. Netflix's Dark Tourist series reflects this new global trend very well, where holidays are left aside, and the dark side of our society is known. Walk through spaces that were once a location for the greatest tragedies or seek to replicate them.

Pain tourism deserves to leave aside sensitivities, prejudices, and fears, to know battlefields, places of natural disasters, abandoned prisons and more. It is made for those who want to get out of the ordinary and receive an adrenaline rush.

A dark tourist must be willing to live healthy, positive and negative emotions, to enjoy this mysterious part of the world. From Fukushima in Japan to see the remains of the nuclear catastrophe, to the largest cemetery in the world, the dark tourism makes this a space of attraction for the adventurer.

The dark side of Latin America

Being a tourist movement on the rise, this sector has sought ways to innovate to attract brave people who wish to give these tours. In the case of Latin America, countries such as Colombia and Mexico are the ones that have developed the most thanatourism and each year receive a series of dark tourists willing to see the most horrible side of the continent.

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So, let's put aside taboos and prejudices. It's time to get to know some places in Latin America that are the perfect destination for any dark tourist:

Narco-tourism in Colombia: a journey through the life of Pablo Escobar

Medellín became the ideal place to get to know the movements of Pablo Escobar, the most wanted drug trafficker of the 20th century, leader of the Medellin Cartel and who monopolized the cocaine business.

Visitors have the possibility to tour the surroundings of the city, see the routes of transfer of the 'Tsar of cocaine', know their residences, their grave in the Cemetery Gardens Montesacro and, those who wish to get closer to the experience, may have a tour led by some impersonator of Pablo Escobar or, even, some of his companions.

Different options and packages are offered for the interested party and range from a few hours to 5 days to learn about Pablo Escobar's life.

Museum of Torture in Mexico

In the historical center of Mexico City, there is a permanent exhibition of instruments that were used during the Holy Inquisition and exhibits the different torture methods of the time.

From those whose goal was to inflict pain, to those who ended their victim's life immediately. The Museum of Torture and Death Penalty allows for a historical tour of a time where they were persecuting homosexuals, witches, protesters and more, to torture them or cause them a painful death.

Night walk: a tour that simulates an illegal border crossing

The border between the United States and Mexico is an area of a complicated migratory situation and each year it receives a large number of people who risk going illegally.

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In Ixmiquilpan, there is a tour in EcoAlberto Park that simulates, in the most real way possible, the illegal crossing of the US border.

Approximately 4 hours where their participants must run, receive orders of coyotes, hide, cross rivers and, also, listen to simulations of bullets, fights, shouts, and sirens. Even, being assaulted on the road by actors who seek to make the journey more real. The objective of the tour is to raise awareness and raise awareness of the difficulty of illegal crossing on the border and what illegal migrants must go through.

Dark tourism may not be very attractive to everyone. It moves away from the comforts and beautiful landscapes, but it has great appeal for those who want to get out of the routine and know another side of society. Put your curiosity to the maximum, stay away from prejudices and get ready to see the darkest side of Latin America.

LatinAmerican Post | Desiree Lugo Fuentes

Copy edited by Vanesa López Romero