The scene where Pedro, the Madrigal patriarch, is killed in cold blood is difficult for any viewer to watch. And while it’s a scene that is (tragically) familiar to every Colombian, other people may wonder who the attackers were.
Trying to be historically accurate (or as accurate as one can be based on a Disney movie about magic), we can place the tragedy during the Thousand Days’ War, which occurred between 1899 and 1902. In this bloody partisan war, it was not uncommon for towns to be attacked and burned because of their political affiliation.
However, the scene can also be placed during another bipartisan conflict called “The Violence,” which officially occurred from 1949 to 1958. What made this particular conflict so disturbing, is that much of the violence was carried out not by militias or armed groups, but by regular, everyday people who killed each other simply for belonging to opposing political parties.
In this context, it makes sense that Pedro would stop and try to talk to the men who were chasing them since it’s possible he would’ve known them.
And then there is the Armed Conflict, fought between armed groups, most notably the FARC, and the Colombian government from 1964 until today. (No, the 2016 Peace Treaty has not stopped the violence.) While the uniforms and weapons are different, Pedro and Alma’s story could also be an anachronic reference to the violence and displacement caused by Latin America’s longest internal conflict.
