Inside El Chapo’s Movie Dreams

The drug kingpin was tired of other people telling his story and thought a movie could be the perfect solution. What happened instead was crushing.

The Untold Story of El Chapo's Movie Dreams El Chapo wanted to make a movie.   Picture this: The most wanted man in Mexico has clawed his way back to power after escaping from what was supposed to be the most secure prison in the country. He has rebuilt his empire, and is moving more coke, weed, heroin, and meth into the United States than ever before. Then, after being captured again, he escapes—again! He's back in the mountains, no prison can hold him! His name is synonymous with drug trafficking. He's the most famous capo in a generation, having risen from a crowded field of fellow smugglers to be the most recognizable brand-name drug lord since Pablo Escobar. He's outlived most of his enemies, only to see them replaced by new enemies.   As Joaquín Guzmán Loera consolidated his position in the decade following his escape and his nickname, El Chapo, became known far and wide, he was never the only kingpin in town, nor even the most powerful; he was just one powerful leader in a federation of several powerful leaders. The Beltrán Leyvas, his allies-turned-enemies, had more friends in high places, and more sway with local proxies in areas outside of Sinaloa; his longtime partner Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada had probably wielded more power at home in Sinaloa—albeit behind the scenes. But El Chapo, with his prison break and his decade-plus track record of making fools of the cops and soldiers and gringos chasing him, was the lightning rod, the face of it all.   North of the border, rappers like Gucci Mane and 2 Chainz pay homage to El Chapo, and in Mexico, folk troubadours like Los Canelos de Durango pen folk ballads known as narcocorridos in El Chapo's honor, belting out his exploits over the clamor of guitar and accordion.   But El Chapo wanted a movie. Ballads were one thing, but the narrative was out of his hands, and other people were profiting off his hard work, his well-earned fame. Books, television shows, songs, all making money for other people. Already basking in an infamy that eclipsed his real-world power and wealth, El Chapo had held multiple meetings over the years with producers and movie stars in a bid to put himself on-screen. 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Read the Full Story 'The Last American Hero is Junior Johnson. Yes!' Tom Wolfe brought NASCAR to the masses in this legendary 1965 profile of an ex-moonshiner who became racing's greatest pioneer. Read the Full Story   Follow Us     Unsubscribe | Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection   esquire.com ©2021 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019