The Medellin Cartel dominated the global trade of cocaine for a good part of the 1980s. Besides its influence in shaping the drug cartels as we know them today, the Colombian traffickers have had an enormous impact on the cultural, political and social lives of Latin America. Sure, when he hear “Medellin Cartel” we immediately think of Pablo Escobar (and even more so since Netflix released its highly acclaimed show Narcos). However, there is another figure of mythical qualities that has come out of cartel lore: Griselda Blanco, The Godmother. Equally vilified and revered, Blanco’s story has recently caught the attention of Hollywood and shows about her rapid rise in the echelons of criminality has attracted stares of the caliber of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jennifer Lopez.

This is what you need to know about Blanco:

1. Griselda Blanco Restrepo was born in Cartagena, Colombia

She was born on February 15, 1943. She and her mom moved to Medellin when Griselda was just three-years-old. Griselda survived in the streets by being a pickpocket and allegedly even by kidnapping other children when she was as young as 13. She left home when she was 16. Biographers claim that her mother’s boyfriend tried to sexually abuse her, so she left the household.

2. She is a pop culture icon

She is an icon of rap culture. The Game, Pusha, and Jacki-O have all dedicated lyrics to her. Lil Kim created the alter ego Kimmy Blanco as a tribute. Nicki Minaj sings: “Drug lord, Griselda/ I used to move weight through Delta”.

Some people carry her around everywhere they go. Literally.

Just look at this hyperrealistic tat!

And she has inspired some pretty out there nail styles!

Blanco’s fandom reaches the US: this nails were styled by Yulie G., a nail technician working in Ontario, California.

3. At her height, she was one of the richest women in the world

She was a billionaire who made her fortune during the Miami Drug War in the late 1970s. Her network of operations reached from Florida to California, and brought in $80 million dollars per month! There were various attempts on her life when she lived in Florida, so she moved to California.

4. She named her son after the Corleone family from The Godfather movie trilogy

Yes: Michael Corleone Blanco. He has a clothesline and is a social media influencer, where he openly discusses having grown up in the world of global narcotics trafficking. Griselda went to prison in 1985, but she continued to run her business with the help of her son Michael. Griselda was released in 2004 and deported to Medellin.

5. By the way: Michael Corleone Blanco is also a reality TV star

Yes, he stars in Cartel Crew, a new VH1 reality show in which he comes to terms with the thug life he has known since he was a little kid growing up in Miami, where his mom controlled a millionaire flow of cocaine to the United States.

6. Michael’s show, Cartel Crew, has been VERY controversial

But Blanco defends the show, saying: “We are not trying to glorify anything. We’re just trying to move on with our lives and make our own means in a legitimate way. … We’re not showing the past, we’re showing the present and the future.” Ver para creer, mijo! 

7. She has been played on the screen by Catherine Zeta-Jones

Catherine Zeta-Jones, who had already played a dealer in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, played Griselda Blanco in a Lifetime movie. She said about the character: “It was so liberating. I didn’t want to play a caricature of her and do like a Mrs. Doubtfire’s fat suit. I wanted to play her from the inside out. Her attitude was much more than whether I didn’t wear mascara or lipstick. She had a power and a strength of character that of all the things that I do not relate to, I do relate to that. I do admire that in her. It was, where are the cracks in her? I don’t want to make every one like her. I don’t like her”. Damn, that’s deep, eh!

8. And Mexican starlet Ana Serradilla

Serradilla is the lead actress in the Televisa-Univision coproduction La viuda negra, which is an adaptation of the book La patrona de Pablo Escobar, written by José Guarnizo. The series had two seasons that ran from 2014 until 2016.

9. And Jennifer Lopez is starring, and possibly directing, in a new movie

J-Lo told Variety: “I’ve been forever fascinated by the story of Griselda Blanco and jumped at the chance to play her on-screen. She is all things we look for in storytelling and dynamic characters — notorious, ambitious, conniving, chilling. In a genre dominated by legendary kingpins, I’m eager to shine a spotlight on this anti-hero and excited to partner with STX for the third time so we can bring this compelling, complicated story to life.”

10. Her life is the stuff of underworld legends

She was one of the most creative smugglers in the height of the Colombian trade. As El Pais recalls: “Griselda began her cocaine business at a time when Escobar was just an apprentice smuggler. In the Antioquia neighborhood they say that there was a very famous shoemaker called Toño, who the godmother once instructed: “Toño, I need you to take these shoes and this powder in the heels. And afterwards, I need you to do the same with my husband’s shoes.”

11. Griselda Blanco was also known as “The Black Widow” 

Blanco’s romantic partners suffered terrible fates. People reports: “Generally, things didn’t turn out well for Blanco’s paramours. She supposedly murdered her first lover as a teenager and had her first husband, Carlos Trujillo, killed a few years after divorcing him. She shot her second husband, Alberto Bravo – who was instrumental as a partner in her rise to power – herself, in the parking lot of a Bogota nightclub. Another husband, Dario Sepulveda, was killed in 1983”. These events led her to be called “Black Widow”, a species of spider famous for their mating habits. As LiveScience explains: ” black widows get their name because females carry out sexual cannibalism after mating. The female often kills and eats the male, which explains the males’ short lifespans”

12. Some women feel inspired by her story: they see her as a strong woman, a female Robin Hood

Some Latino women see a role model in Blanco: there is no denying that sexism permeates the lives of many Latinas. Blanco fended for herself and had it all: money, power and a family.

13. This 1997 mugshot is one of the most famous in history

Just like the Pablo Escobar and the Al Capone mugshots, this image of Griselda will go down in the annals of mob history.

14. But things are not always black and white: like Pablo Escobar, Griselda Blanco is remembered in a shade of gray 

Drug lords are vilified by the media and by governments but are sometimes loved by people. This is due to the charity work that they do in some vulnerable communities and by what they represent” rags-to-riches stories that make some people believe that anything is possible. Of course, this brings many ethical questions: does the end justify the means? Is the blood of hundreds worth it?

And some people visit her grave

It is a sort of pilgrimage for some Colombians who admire the fact that she reached the top in a tough and merciless business. As reported by the Spanish newspaper El Pais upon her dead: “Two days later her body was placed in a casket decorated in golden Arabesque designs. She was buried in the Jardines de Montesacro cemetery – the same resting place as that of Pablo Escobar. Two buses filled with neighborhood kids from Antioquia – the suburb in which Griselda worked as a prostitute and drug dealer, and won a reputation as a husband killer but also where she passed around gifts to needy children at Christmas – came to pay their respects”.

15. She was murdered aged 69 in Medellin 

Griselda met her fate on the night of September 3, 2012. She received two bullets fired from a motorcycle. She was buying meat at the butcher’s when a man walked towards her, shot her twice in the head and left.

When we mention Jennifer Lopez and Versace in the same sentence, you’re sure to get a very clear visual of THAT one particular dress. You know the one. That dress that the Latina pop diva wore to the 2000 Grammy Awards ceremony. It’s the same one that is credited with the invention of Google Image Search. The iconic dress even has its own Wikipedia page, just like the real pop culture fixture that it has proven to be.

Yes, after all this time, that dress is still as showstopping as it was when we first saw it in Grammy coverage all those 19 years ago.

Now, the recognizable dress has been converted into high-end sneakers and we can’t get enough of their awesome design.

The Versace Chain Reaction sneaker has been on the market for over a year and proves to be a fan favorite for the Italian designer. Its identifiable silhouette has stayed consistent as the famous fashion house has released several designs of their signature sneaker. The shoe has proven popular with both sneakerheads and high fashion fans alike.

In order to create this incarnation of the popular shoe, Versace Chain Reaction teamed up with beloved sneaker store Concepts. The international high-end sneaker store has a great reputation among the sneakerhead community — collectors who obsess over rare, limited edition and high-end pairs of shoes — so it was a smart move by Versace to trust the brand with a collaboration. Concepts is also already widely known for its high profile collabs with such brands as Nike, New Balance, and Mephisto — just to name a few.

To make this collaboration work, the two companies behind the design had to make sure the sneaker accurately reflected the legendary 2000 moment.

The gauzy slip of a dress gives the newest version of the Versace Chain Reaction sneaker a touch of Hollywood glamour while still being functional and versatile wear. The gleaming jungle print has been upgraded to more durable nylon as opposed to silk while emerald green laces cross the tongue — like a boa constrictor waiting among the trees.

The shoe also features a nude leather tongue — no doubt a reference to JLo’s show-stopping, plunging neckline that was as much part of the dress’ hype as the dress itself. You’ll also find Braille along with the toes of the sneakers. The small bumps spell out “Love” and we fully believe that this touch is totally JLo’s influence.

JLo fans were quick to praise the collaboration’s immortalizing of this memorable pop culture event.

This Twitter user suggested that Versace got inspiration for their new JLo shoe from a popular social media meme. We have to admit, we’d love to see how the fashion institution takes on other iconic Jennifer Lopez looks.

This tweet pointed out that — despite almost twenty years — Jennifer Lopez has still got it going on.

This JLo fan isn’t afraid to admit that the diva is still incredibly sexy. The superstar just hit the big 5-0 and still looks just as good as she did when she first broke onto the scene. With her constant tour schedule and energetic family life, we know JLo has been putting in the time and can definitely still rock that famous Versace dress if she ever wanted to.

JLo’s love might not cost a thing, but if you’re looking to pick up a pair of these sneakers, it comes with a price tag.

The sneakers are now available on Concepts website in both men and women’s sizes. A pair will run you about $1,075 before taxes. So, if you can afford the price, the sneakers can help you look just like JLo — at least from the ankles down.