“Diomedes: the Idol, the Mystery and the Tragedy” Shows Its Three Faces

Diomedes Díaz is a recognized personality in Colombia and in other parts of Latin America, known for his musical work. The "Cacique de la Junta" was a celebrity whose life was closely followed by millions of people. The difficulty of separating the human being from the celebrity is usually one of the problems associated with characters with great media impact. The documentary "Diomedes: the idol, the mystery and the tragedy" reviews his life from different angles, without leaving out the notable controversy over the murder of Doris Adriana. Through interviews with the different actors who participated in different transcendental stages of his life and his legal process, the documentary explores both sides of the celebrity. The production is available on Netflix where it was released last month.

Diomedes: the Idol

The documentary begins by showing the media impact of Diomedes Díaz, the celebrity. Images of seas of people are seen cheering him and closely following his career thanks to his music. In this first part, the documentary falls into the ordinary, in a decade in which there are similar productions about other celebrities, the one by Diomedes Díaz follows the same formula. It begins with his childhood, as he grew up in poverty as a peasant, with great aspirations that he finally fulfilled. The documentary tells us firsthand about his efforts to stand out in vallenato, trying to break through with a proposal that was a complete success.

Díaz thus became one of the most important figures in Colombia and was not indifferent to anyone, including the political class and the mafia, as well as of course his millions of followers who made him a kind of popular hero with extremes of fanaticism. not seen before in your country.  

As for his personal life, the work explores his sentimental relationships with numerous women with whom he fathered approximately 35 children, as discussed in the documentary. Although the official figure may be different due to the instability in his personal life and the problems associated with fame and fortune. One of them is drug addiction. Diomedes was addicted to cocaine, among other substances, a situation that endangered his career and his life. After this first part, the documentary advances to May 14, 1997, the date on which a woman allegedly died in her apartment. The death of Doris Adriana contains a great mystery to date due to the circumstances in which the event occurred, the investigation, and the sentence on the case.

Diomedes: the Mystery

Everything that happens around Doris Adriana's case has shades of mystery, from her death to how the entire case was carried out in Colombian justice. The impact of the case is such that even former President Ernesto Samper offered his testimony on the case, especially on the judicial process, since it reached the Supreme Court of Justice, although no longer in the Samper government. In the documentary, we see, on the one hand, what Doris Adriana's family and lawyers have to say, and on the other, what the family, collaborators, lawyer, and Díaz himself say about what happened.

This is a success since it is only the interviews that constitute the journalistic investigation of the documentary. However, it does not go beyond showing the positions of each side, which are already known and do not contribute anything substantial. It would have been more interesting to know the opinion of experts that would allow a more in-depth analysis of what happened, so in the end, the work does not take a position of denouncing the femicide, nor does it defend the celebrity, so it becomes a superficial analysis. Therefore, there is also no serious criticism of what happened in terms of justice, because despite the first sentence of 12 years, Díaz barely served 36 months, but he does not delve into the reasons, if his role as a celebrity influenced or if there was corruption. to allow him to get out of prison soon.

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Diomedes: the Tragedy

Controversial cases involving celebrities such as Diomedes Díaz, Diana of Wales, Johnny Depp and Britney Spears, among others, have a difficulty that is facing the followers or admirers of these characters who blindly believe in the celebrity in question. In the case of Diomedes Díaz, the documentary presents statements from many of his followers stating that they blindly believe in his innocence.

Documentaries of this nature contribute little without a proposal for a more in-depth analysis of the circumstances since they become monographic. They do not contain new information or information that could change the opinion of the celebrity, either for or against. Perhaps this is the reason why he manages to have interviews from so many angles: family, friends, collaborators, lawyers, the victim's family, followers, and even former President Samper.

If the documental had been riskier, it would have met with refusals to talk about the case or would have found elements that were not present in other investigations and authorized biographies. After describing the tragedy and the legal case, the documentary is limited to talking about the decline in the artist's life and his subsequent death, no more.