Mexican Telenovelas

From LoveToKnow Soap-Operas

Mexican telenovelas are a popular type of television programming in Latin America, Mexico and in the United States. A telenovela is a slang word that represents a marriage between ‘television’ and novela (‘soap opera’). Latin America and North America soap opera history share common roots in radio dramas, but the dramas in Latin America featured specific beginning, middle and end. Some telenovelas run for ten or twelve episodes and others run for as many as 150 shows.

Salma Hayek starred in the Mexican telenovela Teresa in 1989.

Stories and the Beauty of Mexican Telenovelas

In Latin America, the formula of telenovelas combines melodrama with radio tales. Unlike the open-ended American soap opera, telenovelas are novels for television. They are the long-form of the American mini-series. The main storyline and characters are introduced in the first episode and through trials and tribulations, viewers root for their hero or heroine to triumph, find love or learn their lesson.

Each country’s tastes and region impact their style of telenovela. In Brazil, for example, telenovelas feature mutants such as those seen in the NBC series Heroes. Witches and spell casters like the soap opera Passions would not be considered outlandish. Interestingly enough, in Mexico, the government loosened restrictions and allowed themes such as racism, homosexuality and urban violence to be featured more prominently in Mexican telenovelas.

In the telenovela Rubi, for example, the protagonist is a young woman named Rubi who aspires to be wealthy and successful. At university she meets Maribel, a wealthy and sweet young woman who befriends Rubi. Rubi aspires to Maribel’s wealth, but fools Maribel that she truly wants to be her friend. Maribel introduces Rubi to her friend Hector, whom Maribel met on the Internet. Hector brings a friend, Alejandro, with him. Rubi and Alejandro fall in love, but Rubi’s ambitions betray her when she learns that Alejandro is not wealthy. She breaks up with him and then sets out to break up Hector and Maribel so she can win the wealthy Hector herself.

Millions of viewers tuned in to find out what would happen with Rubi and her paramours. Rubi is available on DVD from Amazon.

Genres of Novelas Mexicanas

In Mexico, four specific sub-genres of telenovela influence programming.

Blue Collar

The blue collar melodrama focuses on the every man or every woman story. The hero or heroine is from a lower income family who is spurned by his or her wealthy paramour and family.

Historical

Historical romance is a very popular medium for Mexican telenovelas. Mexican history is populated with many strong events around which to center a drama from the colonization to the Republic to the revolution.

Teen Scene

Just as Gossip Girl and 90210 have their place appealing to the teenage demographic in U.S. soap operas, so do teen settings for telenovelas. Teenagers face coming of age issues in all walks of life and all countries.

Musical Idols

Musicians and stardom are equally appealing storylines in telenovelas. Alcanzar Una Estrella is one telenovelas that followed the life of an aspiring pop music band.

Importing and Exporting Telenovelas

Telemundo is the second largest Spanish only broadcasting network in the United States. It is also the only one producing telenovelas within the United States. Telemundo’s telenovelas are adapted from many regions. La Fea mas Bella (a Mexican telenovela and adaption of Yo Soy Betty la Fea) is one such program. Actress Salma Hayek, herself a star of one telenovelas, helped bring Ugly Betty (another adaption of Yo Soy Betty la Fea) to the ABC primetime lineup.

Mexican telenovelas remain a popular medium and are aired in multiple countries around the world. The typical format features daily episodes (30 to 60 minutes in length) airing six nights per week for 24 to 25 weeks..

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