Gangs of Galicia on Netflix

[auburnfive]

A friend just told me about a Netflix series called Gangs of Galicia, and I started watching. Haven’t got the nuances of the plot yet, but so far there are scenes in Combarro, Arousa and Pontevedra. It’s dubbed in, nice to have even a weak Camino connection .

 

[Tincatinker]

I remember Galicia when the gangs fought over the Percebes harvest rather than Cocaine. I guess the Prestige opened other doors along with its tanks

 

[Stephan the Painter]

A friend just told me about a Netflix series called Gangs of Galicia, and I started watching. Haven’t got the nuances of the plot yet, but so far there are scenes in Combarro, Arousa and Pontevedra. It’s dubbed in, nice to have even a weak Camino.

Thanks , looks interesting, I'll take a look. I've heard that the Galician coast, because it's so treacherous and hard to patrol is the main point of entry for drugs smuggling by boat into Europe. Here's an El Pais newspaper article about smuggling:

The new cocaine lords of Galicia

After the excesses of the 1990s, the drug gangs from northwestern Spain have become adept at avoiding detection. But operating below the radar is a thriving transportation empire stretching all the way to Africa and the eastern Mediterranean

english.elpais.com

 

[Flog]

It looks interesting...

There was another Netflix series a few years ago, 'Fariña'. It chronicled the initial smuggling of tobacco and marijuana, and then in the 80's, cocaine into Galicia. I think much of it was shot around Combarro too. It was good viewing, if a little absurd and fanciful at times.

I will check out this one..

 

[davejsy]

I did start watching this a while ago but it didn't really captivate me. There are loads of really good Spanish series on netflix though and I watch a lot to try and keep up with my very limited Spanish! There actually was a true crime series set in Santiago de Compestella I watched a couple of months ago, but that wasn't the most cheery thing! Another really good true crime one was the assassination of a politician in Leon with the rather catchy title Muerte en Leon!

 

[TrevorH]

If you can find it, Auga Seca / Dry Water (set in Vigo with a bit in Lisbon) is a good, fictional crime dynasty series.

 

[Amigos caminando]

I did start watching this a while ago but it didn't really captivate me. There are loads of really good Spanish series on netflix though and I watch a lot to try and keep up with my very limited Spanish! There actually was a true crime series set in Santiago de Compestella I watched a couple of months ago, but that wasn't the most cheery thing! Another really good true crime one was the assassination of a politician in Leon with the rather catchy title Muerte en Leon!

Hi all, I enjoyed the scenery in Gangs of Galicia when I stumbled on it by accident. We had only walked the Spirituales route.
The acting wasn't so good in "The Asunta Case" true crime as mentioned above, on Netflix but I followed it as it was centered on R. De Republica Arxentina. Santiago where I stayed when I volunteered in the pilgrim's office. It's nice to see familiar places.

 

[MariaSP]

It looks interesting...

There was another Netflix series a few years ago, 'Fariña'. It chronicled the initial smuggling of tobacco and marijuana, and then in the 80's, cocaine into Galicia. I think much of it was shot around Combarro too. It was good viewing, if a little absurd and fanciful at times.

I will check out this one..

I'm curious to know what parts you found absurd and fanciful. "Fariña", though fictionalised, is based on true stories and it's quite close to the truth. It's based on a book of the same title written by a journalist after years of research.

All the main characters are well known in the area. In the 80's-90's when someone built a very fancy house in the area we would say that they were a "contractor", which really meant they were in the drug business.

There's a whole generation of young people that was wiped out by the drug "pandemic".

 

[Flog]

I'm curious to know what parts you found absurd and fanciful. "Fariña", though fictionalised, is based on true stories and it's quite close to the truth. It's based on a book of the same title written by a journalist after years of research.

Yes, I know it's a fictionalised but fact based account. We've had our share of drug wars here for several decades, too. And several movies, tv series and documentaries on them.

I was referring mostly to the speedboat chase scenes, and the protagonist's seemingly relaxed and joking demeanor, throughout. Not how you might expect someone to behave when pumped full of adrenalin trying to out maneuver the police with half a tonne of coke on board. In my own opinion, the director overplayed it a bit, but what would I know?

There's a whole generation of young people that was wiped out by the drug "pandemic".

Indeed.. we've had our share of heartache and misery, too.. whole families, whole communities affected by the scourge of hard drugs. We are into our third generation of heroin addiction now, it's all around us.