Abhiroop Das
‘Blow‘ follows the rise and fall of George Jung, who at one point was the most successful drug trafficker in America, using his ingenuity to quickly climb the ranks and rub shoulders with the industry giants. On one such occasion, he would meet Mirtha Calderon, and their lives would change forever. While George had previously been in a relationship with a stewardess named Barbara, it had ended in tragedy. As such, his dynamic with Mirtha starts out as a second chance at making things right, and the two enter a passionate relationship, one that marks a period of unimaginable prosperity. However, their life comes crashing down as quickly as it had been built up, with the couple being forced to confront their actions. This results in two completely different trajectories, with Mirtha clawing her way out of the system. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Mirtha Jung Was a Major Part of George Jung’s Smuggling Operations
Mirtha Jung was born as Mirtha Calderon Del Val in Cuba on December 3, 1952. Her early years were shaped by the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s. It is believed that she moved to Colombia, being one of the many who migrated from Cuba’s post-revolution years. Her daughter’s 2018 book, ‘Recovery from Blow,’ mentions that she soon met Cesar, who was the heir to a coffee plantation, and the two entered into a relationship. As such, Martha is introduced as Cesar’s fiancée in ‘Blow,‘ meeting George during Derek Foreal’s wedding ceremony. Just as in the film, she called off her engagement to pursue her relationship with George, who was by then sinking deeper into the world of the drug trade. Even before meeting George, Mirtha was deeply involved in the growing market of cocaine in Colombia, establishing connections with the infamous Medellín Cartel.
George Jung and Mirtha Calderon walked down the aisle in 1977 and welcomed a daughter the following year, Kristina Sunshine Jung. Meanwhile, their shared business soared. In the movie, the duo spends a life of glamour and celebration, piling up wads of cash while strengthening their love for each other. However, reality was far more bitter. While she was a significant asset to George in smuggling drugs across borders, she had a debilitating drug addiction herself, which continued while she was pregnant, threatening the life of her unborn child. She was a first-hand victim of the very chaos and crisis she was perpetuating in the world.
However, the movie skips over a significant turning point in Mirtha’s life: sometime in the late 1970s, she was arrested for possession of a dangerous amount of drugs shortly after the birth of her daughter and was sentenced to three years in prison. During her stay away from family, she began her efforts to turn over a new leaf, and by the time she was out in 1981, she had made significant progress towards rehabilitation, promising to give up on drugs for the sake of her daughter. The movie’s dramatized narrative attributes a similar arc to George instead of her, taking various creative liberties with her screen counterpart. In 1984, Mirtha divorced Jung, ending a life marked by reckless ambition and various shortcomings. Reportedly, the decision was already made during her stint in prison, with George’s refusal to quit the business likely being the final straw.
Mirtha Jung Likely Leads a Quiet Life With Her Family Today
In the lead-up to the production of ‘Blow,‘ Mirtha would find herself rubbing shoulders with big names from Hollywood, publicly attending the movie’s first screening, and having a positive take on what she had seen prior. Director Ted Demme had reportedly told her that his rendition of her was akin to a personal time machine he had built for her. However, there are some major differences between her reality and its dramatized version in the movie. The scene where she suggests giving George custody of Kristina has no known real-life antecedents, as the real Mirtha chose to break free of her cartel ties to start her life anew, this time providing her daughter with the care she deserves. Thus, she managed to lead her life away from the humdrum world her ex-husband was embroiled in.
Following the movie’s massive success and the wave of media speculation and scrutiny it brought along with it, Mirtha was compelled to tell her side of the story, culminating in her memoir titled ‘Recovery from Blow,‘ written by her daughter Kristina Sunshine Jung. It narrativized the behind-the-scenes of the movie and fleshed out many of the details in the film while voicing Mirtha’s own lived experience throughout various key points in her life. It began with recounting Ted Demme’s demise on January 13, 2002. After the movie’s completion, he became close friends with Mirtha. His passing prompted her to think back on their ties, resulting in the fragmented narrative structure of the book, which was published on November 16, 2018.
Besides Mirtha’s dynamic with the creative forces of ‘Blow,‘ not much is known about her personal life, as she prefers to keep a low profile. As such, whether she remarried following her divorce from George remains unknown. Her relationship with her daughter, Kristina, has remained steady, as indicated by their partnership in creating the book. While Kristina has improved her relationship with her father, talking to him several times during and after his time in prison, there is no news on Mirtha reconnecting with George at any point prior to his death in 2021. At 72 years old, she has been sober for more than four decades, wading through her traumatic past to create a loving, family-oriented future.
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