What is the hand gesture that Griselda Blanco makes while smoking cigarettes? Explained

Netflix's Griselda is the real-life story of Griselda Blanco, who, in the 1970s, rose to become the "Godmother" of the Medellín Cartel. She is a fierce, cunning, and brutal lady who will stop at nothing to reclaim what has ever been taken from her, even if it means destroying herself in the process.

The limited series reimagines Miami in the late 1970s and early 1980s during the height of the cocaine mania and new wealth. To embody the essence of the queenpin of that era, Sofia Vergara, who portrayed Griselda Blanco, had to adopt particular gestures and body language like her hand gesture while holding her cigarette throughout the series.

Talking about the fictionalized characterization, Sofia, in her interview with Netflix, said:

"There are so many nuances to explore in terms of who she was as a woman, as a mother, and, of course, as a drug lord who created one of the most profitable cartels in history."

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The hand gesture of Griselda Blanco while smoking cigarettes

Griselda Blanco's hand gesture while smoking (Image via netflix@IMDb)

Blanco finds some alone time throughout the six-part series and invariably lights up a cigarette. Because the show is set in the late 1970s, there is a lot of smoking.

Griselda is smoking and thinking, and her hand is floating upward into the sky, clutching her cigarette. Then, she traces whatever is in front of her slowly. At one point, she traces the top of her massive Miami estate while lounging in the backyard smoking.

It's not proven that this was something Blanco did because neither Sofia nor the show's makers mentioned it. On the other hand, situational information can be used to understand it. Blanco, for instance, is always at a significant crossroads.

Sofia Vergara as the cocaine queen (Image via griseldanetflix@Instagram)

Griselda Blanco (Vergara) treats the cigarette like a magic wand that she can use to manipulate everything around her. Regarding her mansion, the behavior seems almost defensive, as though the cigarette smoke is a barrier to safeguard her new life and property.

In other situations, Blanco uses the cigarette as her baton and assumes more of a conductor role. One may argue that if this happened now, she is indicating her intentions.

The cigarette becomes an instrument of status quo maintenance when she's happy. She uses the cigarette as a symbolic weapon against her adversaries during more tumultuous periods. It always has a chilling impact.

Netflix's Griselda (Image via griseldanetflix@Instagram)

In an interview with CBS News, Sofia talked about her preparations for Netflix's Griselda and revealed that she had never smoked and that to make it appear realistic enough, she had to practice a lot.

"And I was like, 'Oh my god, why now suddenly, after 50 years, I'm gonna be a smoker?"

Thanks largely to Vergara's performance, the series received glowing reviews from critics and is currently number one on the platform's Top 10 list.

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Watch Griselda Blanco unleashing terror as the cocaine queen in the six episodes mini-series Griselda on Netflix.