Alejandro Sosa

Alejandro Sosa
Paul Shenar as Alejandro Sosa in the 1983 film
First appearance Scarface (1983)
Last appearance Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006)
Created by Oliver Stone
Portrayed by Paul Shenar
Voiced by Robert Davi
Information
Full name Alejandro Sosa
Nickname(s) Alex
Species Human
Gender Male
Occupation Drug lord
Religion Christian
Nationality Bolivian
Affiliation Bolivian Cartel
Birthplace Bolivia

Alejandro "Alex" Sosa is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1983 American crime film Scarface and the 2006 video game Scarface: The World Is Yours. He is a Bolivian drug dealer and the chief supplier of cocaine for Tony Montana. Only when Sosa was betrayed did his relationship with Tony Montana end. Sosa is portrayed by Paul Shenar in the film and voiced by Robert Davi in the game.[1] He is based on the Bolivian drug trafficker Roberto Suárez Goméz.[2]

Overview

Scarface (1983)

Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) sends Tony Montana and Omar Suarez to make a drug deal with Sosa who asks them to guarantee the buying of a certain amount of cocaine every month. After some issues, Montana promises Sosa to talk with Lopez about sharing the risk. When Sosa gets realization that Suarez was previously a police informant, Suarez is killed by Sosa's henchmen and his corpse is hung from a helicopter, which Tony witnesses. Sosa gives immediate respect to Tony due to his honesty and straight-forward demeanor, even agreeing that Omar fooling Lopez "could happen to anyone". When Lopez hears of the developments, he refuses to believe that Omar was a "stoolie" and even suspects that Tony has some ulterior motives. Lopez and Tony separate after the argument and the latter proposes marriage to Lopez's girlfriend Elvira Hancock. When Lopez becomes aware of Tony's aspirations regarding Elvira, he sends two hit-men to have him killed. The plan backfires and Tony kills the two hit-men. Tony then goes to Lopez and has his right-hand-man Manny kill Lopez after Lopez confesses to hiring the hitmen to kill Tony. Tony becomes a druglord in Miami and for a while, enjoys a period of mutual business prosperity with Sosa.

Sosa then asks Tony Montana to murder a journalist in exchange for some help with the latter's legal trouble. Montana agrees. However, when he sees that the journalist has his family with him in the car they want to blow up, he refuses to kill them. Sosa's henchman Alberto "The Shadow" ignores Montana's instructions and is therefore shot in the head fatally by him. Later, when Montana reaches his home, Sosa calls him angrily and inquires about the incident. Montana offends him and in retaliation the infuriated Sosa sends his mercenaries to Montana's home to finish him.

Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006)

In Scarface: The World is Yours, Sosa has succeeded in ending Tony's empire. However, Tony has escaped and swore revenge on him for this.

He is not seen (though his voice is heard through much of the game) until in the final mission where he held a meeting with Gaspar Gomez and George Sheffield regarding the fact that Tony has taken over all of Miami and is now after them. Montana confronts Sosa after killing Gomez and Sheffield. Sosa tells Montana he warned him not to betray him, but Montana did, referring to the incident with the journalist in the film. Sosa says that in their business, sometimes children have to be killed. Montana then kills Sosa.

Reception, influence and legacy

The Day wrote that Shenar had portrayed the character with "a kind of glorious and refined sleaze".[3] Complex has ranked Sosa as 27th in its list of 50 best villains in movie history.[4] Robert Davi voiced Sosa in the 2006 video game.[5] Rapper Pitbull said in 2014 that "I wanted to be Sosa – educated, good-looking, a good dresser".[6] The song "Criminology" by Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon, from his debut album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., begins with a dialogue between Montana and Sosa where Sosa calls the former a "fucking little monkey".[7] Rapper Chief Keef, popularly called Sosa named his fifth child "Sno" meaning "The White Sosa".[8] Montana's killing, ordered by Sosa, has been listed by Complex as the 1st one in its "Top 50 Movie Assassinations" list.[9] The character Colonel Sanders in the South Park episode "Medicinal Fried Chicken" is similar to Sosa.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Kasper, Eric; Kozma, Troy (2015). Machiavelli Goes to the Movies: Understanding The Prince through Television and Film. Lexington Books. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-7391-9595-6.
  2. ↑ "El Rey Blanco" [The White King] (in Spanish). Pagina 12. March 10, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Scarface". The Day. New London, Connecticut. December 17, 1983. p. 25. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ↑ Barone, Matt; Monroe, Justin; Scarano, Ross; Aquino, Tara (February 12, 2013). "Alejandro Sosa – The 50 Best Villains in Movie History". Complex. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ Gagliardi, Giovanni (November 12, 2006). "Scarface, Al Pacino torna Tony Montana per ricostruire il suo impero a Miami" [Scarface Al Pacino's Tony Montana back to rebuild his empire in Miami]. la Repubblica (in Italian). Rome: Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Hip Hop Artist Pitbull Confident Of Growing A Billion-Dollar Enterprise Within Two Years". Fox News. April 1, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ Blanco, Alvin (2011). The Wu-Tang Clan and RZA: A Trip Through Hip Hop's 36 Chambers. ABC-CLIO. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-313-38442-4.
  8. ↑ Schrodt, Paul (August 27, 2015). "Chief Keef May Have Invented the Worst Baby Name Ever". Esquire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  9. ↑ McKay, Hollie (April 8, 2011). "Complex Magazine Picks the Top 50 Movie Assassinations". Fox News. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  10. ↑ Wells, Jane (April 6, 2010). "KFC's New Sandwich-What Would the Colonel Say". CNBC. Retrieved September 11, 2015.

Further reading

  • Bogue, Ronald (Winter 1993). "De Palma's Postmodern" Scarface" and the Simulacrum of Class". Criticism. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. 35 (1): 115–129. JSTOR 23113595.
  • Hodgson, David S. J.; Mylonas, Eric (2006). Scarface: The World is Yours : Prima Official Game Guide. Prima Games. ISBN 978-0-7615-5050-1.
  • Labombarda, Arnaud (2010). Scarface, ou le fantasme du paradis [Scarface, or the fantasy of paradise] (in French). Editions L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-296-22424-7.
  • McAvennie, Michael (2007). Say Hello to My Little Friend!: The Quotable Scarface (TM). Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-6846-9.
  • Pape, Alexander Christian (2010). Drogen in den Filmen "Scarface" und "Maria, llena eres de gracia": Mediale Darstellung, Problemvermittlung und gesellschaftliche Hintergründe [Drugs in the films "Scarface" and "Maria, llena eres de gracia": multimedia presentation, problem mediation and social backgrounds] (in German). GRIN Verlag. ISBN 978-3-640-75514-1.
  • Stevenson, Damian (2015). Scarface: The Ultimate Guide. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-329-30523-6.
  • Tucker, Ken (2008). Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and How It Changed America. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-4299-9329-6.
  • Wilczynski, Stefan (2010). Subtexte in erfolgreichen Spielfilmen – am Beispiel des Films Scarface [Subtexts in successful feature films – using the example of the film Scarface] (in German). GRIN Verlag. ISBN 978-3-640-66386-6.
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