Caray, Caray!

Alborada , Amor Real, and Pasion are my favorite novelas. They are all historical novelas and all star Fernando Colunga , mi telenovio.
 

You already listed 1993 Corazón Salvaje, which while not my top novela is definitely a classic.

Some other novelas de epoca:

Pasión, which is still in my top 3 on the strength of the main couple. I just love novelas where the couples are 100% committed. No stupid lies can get between them, the relationship never feels unbalanced. Fernando Colunga as Ricardo is just such a great galán. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for Camila. He loves her so much and I am so about that in a leading man. He's also smart, resourceful, and respectful of Camila.
The supporting cast is full of great characters as well. I love how Camila gets herself a new family with Jimena, Claudio, and Ascanio. I adore Jimena, who is a sister to Camila, basically. And Ines. And Mario always loyal to Ricardo. And this novela is steamy! So many great love scenes.
Admittedly it's not the absolute strongest plot, but everything else makes up for it. Also: dress porn. Gorgeous, gorgeous dress porn.

Alondra: it's been a long time since I watched this, but it's another beautiful novela with gorgeous dresses. Ana Colchero gets the protagonist role here and she does a great job with a heroine that has a difficult path. In a sense the romance in this is secondary, since I never really rooted for her love interest and this doesn't get the typical love story.

Ramona: Kate del Castillo yeesssss! I love Kate. I loved Eduardo Palomo. I love Elena Rojo. They're all in this novela based on an American novel. Great love story, though sad.

More modern:

Querida Enemiga: so much fun. Like most Lucero Suarez novelas, you get interactions between characters that actually feel real, versus existing solely for the plot (for example, you don't really get scenes in LQLVMR where characters just decide to hang out). The romance (the real one) is great, with lots of chemistry. Lots of humor, and just refreshing to watch.

Las Dos Caras de Ana: another Lucero Suarez novela and another Ana Layevska novela. I love Ana Layevska. She's just such a good actress, capable of transmitting so much warmth and integrity and she is masterful here. You can really feel her conflict, her pain, her fear, her anger. She's amazing. The romance here is lovely, and there is humor as well. There is real character growth, and once again, interactions that feel real and are enjoyable to watch. This novela is so good.

Alguna Vez Tendremos Alas. I adore this one. My queen Kate del Castillo once again playing a very difficult role.
Cynthia Klitbo won an award for her role here and it is easily her best. Rosaura is such a beautifully acted character. Difficult to watch, but I marvel at Cynthia's acting.
Alberto Estrella plays an absolutely horrible villain here. To this day my father refers to Alberto Estrella as Rodolfo because he was just that creepy and menacing. I mean I have trouble watching scenes with him in this novela because he does such a good job in this role. The love story here can be a bit difficult because frankly the ages of the characters are uncomfortable to say the least, but Humberto Zurita is so hot in spite of being rather awful at times, and his chemistry with Kate is amazing, not to mention the build-up for the romance was significant. This is just an excellent one, and it's too bad Florinda Mesa didn't do more novelas. Seriously, I know there are Cynthia and Alberto fans on this site, and this novela is a must for anyone who enjoys their acting.

La Jaula de Oro: Saul Lisazo and Edith Gonzalez in a very smart, very different novela full of intrigue. Rene Casados as one of the villains. I won't say much about the plot since this novela is based on the same one as Amor Bravio, though the plot is done differently. Great chemistry, and just fun to watch characters with actual brain cells.
 

Part 2:

Doña Flor Y Sus Dos Maridos:
This is a Brazilian novela based on a play. It's lovely and short, and very funny. This is not a drama. It's just enjoyable through and through and you're almost sad it ends as quickly as it does.
I thought of putting other Brazilian novelas, but I have too many issues with a lot of them even as I enjoy how they're generally smarter and more realistic than Mexican ones. For example, El Clon has probably the most unlikable leads and couple I've ever seen in a novela. Xica becomes a mess halfway through. India has too many plot holes and unsatisfying resolutions.
I did really enjoy Señora del Destino, though. And Brazilian galanes are a treat (El Clon was rich with absolutely gorgeous men, with Lucas being comparatively homely next to some of the other men).

La Mentira: Oh yeah, Kate del Castillo again! She's just such a good actress and in her prime she took on roles that weren't the typical damsel in distress. Here she's a feisty tequila-guzzling heroine. Really, the writers forgot that maybe she shouldn't have been drinking when the character was supposedly pregnant. She has great chemistry with Guy Ecker, and although this novela can be very frustrating, you end up unable to stop watching. Good drama!

La Dueña: purely because of Angelica Rivera. She carries this as the hardened Regina. Also it's got Florinda Mesa's cinematic flair. There's novela stupidity in this, but it's still really enjoyable overall.

Cañaveral de Pasiones: Daniela Castro and Juan Soler in this touching, hard-earned story. Most people saw Abismo de Pasion, but it honestly can't touch Cañaveral de Pasiones. Abismo made a mess of a great, dramatic novela. I have read that El Manantial, another version starring Adela Noriega and Mauricio Islas is very good as well, but I've never liked Adela Noriega, so I haven't watched it.

La Otra: this novela is frustrating. It is hard to watch. There is so much pain! But Yadhira Carrillo is so excellent in the double role and of course, she's one of the best criers around, so she excels at this novela. I love the styling they give her here. The cinematography is lovely in this. It also has one of the most ridiculous love scenes ever. Heh. Oh and I love the use of Chopin so much in this one.
 

Anon@1006, what an absolutely wonderful and helpful list. I really appreciated your thoughts on each one. Thank you so much! :))

Fatima
 

Amor Real, and ¡¡¡susanlynn, hands off, FC is mine, mine, mine!!!!!!
Don't even think Lo Que La Vida Me Robo, not possible for it to compare. How can there be a modern day Amor Real?

Best acting is La Reina del sur with Kate del Castillo, looking forward to her new one. Can't remember the name, anyone know?

Also, Alborada, Pasión, Amor Bravío
 

The novela that changed everything for me was El cuerpo del deseo, i just can't seem to get my head over that telenovela.

La hija del jadinero, En nombre del amor, Pasion de gavilanes,Teresa,La que no podia Amar & Lo que la vida me robo are my favorites
 

Variopinta-I think the new Kate del Castillo one is called Dueños del Paraiso.

I don't know that I have an all time fave. I like whatever I'm watching. I also haven't watched enough to know.

I guess I would have to say Amorcito Corazon which is another Lucero Suarez productions.
 

Amarte Es Mi Pecado, El Manantial and Bajo La Misma Piel.

Amarte Es Mi Pecado had the benefit of great chemistry between the leads who were lovers in La Otra (Yadhira Carillo and Sergio Sendel) and there's a scene where they kiss in front a fountain (and find each other again) that I cannot get out of my head. It's beautiful. The music, the cinematography, the acting, every sizzled.

Not to mention, Sylvia Pasquel and Tiara Scanda who stole the show (in the end a story only as good as your villains) and these were some heavy hitters.

AEMP is the most interesting novela I've seen because when the protagonist goes on her revenge strike she stops at nothing (nothing) to get revenge on those who wronged her. She destroyed so many lives in the process, and while I don't condone her actions, I found myself sympathizing with her because of how well the story was set up.

Ernesto Alonso did a great job with this one.

While I'm not an Adela fanatic, El Manantial is a great novela. So heartbreaking and dark but still hopeful and romantic. Carla Estrada (my all time favorite producer) took this novela and ran with it. Cuauhtémoc Blanco and María del Carmen Peña provided a wonderful script as always (they wrote canaveral de pasiones and cagenas de amargura and mi pecado) and it features Alejandro Tommasi as possibly the most disgusting, vile male villain ever. THere was nothing off limits for this man but Tomassi played the role so masterfully, it's possibly his best.

Adela and Mauricio Islas though had sizzling chemistry. What's great about this one is that Mauricio could go toe to toe with Adela in the crying and emotion department. Surprising twists, intense character development and great locations always help.

Lastly, while no one likes this one, I've watched it four times since it premiered. I love a fast paced story and this one has that and more. While Kate and Juan Soler aren't magical, the supporting plots are intense and very contemporary, especially Azela Robinson's.

What I love abut this one was that there was not ONE episode that didn't have an intense twist, reveal, etc. Something always happened. Watching it always make me miss the good ol' telenovela days.

Other favorites: Las Dos Caras de Ana, Amor Bravio (Camila and Daniel are too great), and Alborada.
 

Anon,

You are right, Ramona was such a treat and is special for me since it was my very first. Even though it was my first, I would have never expected for the main galan to be bumped off. You didn't mention however how deliciously evil Sergio Sendel (apparently anatomically intact unlike in Robo where he's missing his giblets) was as Sheriff Jack Green. He is always great but I thought he was at his very best worst in Ramona... even more detestable and frightening than Pedro (Robo). His horrifying end was grotesquely appropriate. Cowboys and Indians... what better introduction to TNs?

Carlos
 

I missed a lot of Ramona because of a time slot shift but the book it was based on ran that way. His death was horrible but the authors didn't mess with the book.

I also enjoyed El Cuerpo del Deseo for the intriguing story and the production. Some of the scenes were absolutely brilliant, like when Mario Cimarro stripped in front of the full-length mirror and the aged Pedro Jose saw his spirit had entered a perfect 30-year-old body.
 

Superalfie, the last novela you were talking about is Bajo La Misma Piel, yes? Azela is always great, but yes, this novela was pretty much considered a flop.

I'm glad my list was useful.
And yes, I forgot about Sendel, who was despicable in Ramona. My parents dislike Sendel tremendously saying he plays the same character every time, and I admit it's pretty true, but this was a good role for him.


 

Very interesting discussion. If this were a contest of 1-10 with #1 being the very best and 10 being the very worst, Amor Bravío would definitely top the list followed by Passión. At the bottom of my list would be Fuego en la Sangre. Other than that, I've enjoyed everything I've watched and as a bonus even learned a lot of Spanish.
 

Ooooooh oh my, let's see, I love anything with Kate Del Castillo in it, her last novela La Reina Del Sur would be my favorite, if not for the fact that La Mentira was soooo good! I loved that we got a strong female lead! Then there's also Amor Bravio,and Amores Verdaderos, both very recent productions but also very good and totally worth watching. Esmeralda was also a favorite of mine!
 

I do like the more comedic novelas. Al Diablo Con Los Guapos and Un Gancho al Corazón are two of my favorites. They both had lots of really funny bits and compelling side plots with well-developed characters.

I also really liked Camaleones. Uni showed it in the afternoon, and many of the characters were teens (it was set at a very posh private high school), so I don't think a lot of our crowd saw it. I was completely hooked. The main characters were thieves, of the sort you see in movies like Ocean's 11 and Entrapment. That was kind of a nifty twist. The settings were really beautiful; even the costumes and hair styling were super snazzy. I love detail like that. And it had some delightfully crazy plot twists, like a teacher who accidentally mixed up her diet pills with catalepsia pills the main pair were going to use to get someone out of prison, with ensuing hilarity when she was thought to be dead.

For dramatic novelas, I liked Amor Bravio for the sense and likeability of the main couple and their friends. It's nice to have protagonists who aren't idiots. I also really liked En Nombre del Amor and Mi Pecado, which were very dark, but captivating and tightly written. No wasted episodes; something was always happening.
 

Baba, Cuerpo de Deseo was the first telenovella I watched. Then the teqiiula movie was edwardo and La Gaviota, teresa, abismo de a, el nombre....but el Cuerpo started it all over for me again. In the eighties I saw one with Lucia Menez I thought it was corazon salvaje, that her beauty and chemistry was hot!!!
 

Oh! ADCLG *is* a good one. It's a sentimental fave for me because my students always love it. This year when I showed it I had a group of BOYS that got REALLY into it. I think they even started channeling CAray and coming up with nicknames. I'm enjoying watching the WHOLE thing on Galavision this summer.
 

Anthing Kate Del Castillo so Mentira, La Reina, Ramona, Alguna vez, Ruby with Barbara Mori and Eduardo Santamarina, Pasion, Amor Real to name a few.
 

ADCLG????

I really liked Yo soy Eva for comedy & also Familia con suerte, Abeja y Popeye were adorable & the pronunciation of Popeye in Spanish is really funny.
 

Al Diablo con los Guapos.
 

I started watching the teen telenovelas even though I was a bit old for them because it seemed like they were easier to understand. Also, they have less violence and milder sex so there's that too.
Rebelde with Angelique Boyer and Maite Perroni when they were sooo young is fun and the music is very good (imo) The story is kinda like The Monkees but with more drama and slightly less monkeying around and set in a private boarding school.
Lola: Erase Una Vez has Eiza Gonzales pre-plastic surgery and Aaron Diaz and the story is a mix of Cinderella and The Sound of Music. Fun plots and great music and you get used to Aaron Diaz, although my friends who caught an episode asked 'so wait she likes the grumpy guy?'

Al Diablo con los Guapos was already mentioned and is super cute but has all of the tn standards (lost orphan who all unknowing meets up with her long lost parents, rich boy poor girl family interferes, fake pregnancy, ect) And the protagonista was on the last season of Rebelde too

Zorro was good and was the first Telemundo tn I ever really watched. Adventure is good!

Mas Sabe el Diablo is good too and Jencarlos and Gaby have such good chemistry its swoon-worthy One thing though, halfway through the galan dons the worst disguise since Clark Kent and its a little funny but still watchable.


Also on TN DVDs I don't know if everywhere has this but where I live the public library has the DVDs of most popular telenovelas available for checkout so you can see what they're like without spending money you may not have to buy them

enjoy!
 

Oh gosh! How could I forget Para Volver a Amar?
 

I have a soft spot for Eiza because of Lola. She was so pretty and had a figure I would have killed for! She can also sing and I have some of her songs from that novela. Aaron looked really good in this. The romance between Marion and Pato was so wrong, though. I also liked that Derrick James was in this, since he was kind of hard not to notice on Rebelde. Odd that he just disappeared.

I would love to watch Para Volver Amar and La Verdad Oculta.

I'm going to add Imperio de Cristal as a classic novela. It killed at the awards. Great cast!

Mirada de Mujer is also great, even if I didn't like that ending. Barbara Mori played a teenager here!
 

I've got the Lola soundtrack on my ipod too. :)
 

Amor Real is my all time top favorite. Colunga was fabulous in this. Adela was very good as well and looked SO gorgeous. Mauricio Islas broke my heart with his lost love for Mathilde. The whole cast was splendid. And I really like novelas de epoca. They don't seem to make them any more, sadly.

Because I like historical ones, I also liked Alborada and Pasión very much.

One no one has mentioned that I liked a lot was Los Plateados with Mauricio Islas and Humberto Zurita as an excellent villain. It was in the early 20th Century for the era and had a real swashbuckling flavor to it. It had some Arabic characters as well and dealt with some discrimination against them.

I also thought En Nombre del Amor was very well done. Leticia Calderón was beyond scary as the villain. Terrific work.

And La Reina del Sur was just fabulous. Kate was terrific, Amaya adorable and tragic as El Güero. Iván Sanchez, yum! The plot just roared along like a freight train.
 

Of my top favorites, Corazon Salvaje (1993) ranks strongly. Eduardo Palomo and Edith Gonzalez had great chemistry, great cast and the storyline was fascinating.

I also have a soft spot for Quinceanera, one of the first complete novelas I watched, I was a 12 or 13 girl, looking forward to turning 15. At the time it dealt with topics that were relevant for our age group.Plus the heroine and I shared the same name. ;-) Along that same line, I enjoyed Alcanzar una Estrella I and II, because I enjoyed the typical story of hunk, in this case Eduardo Capetillo, who falls in love with the Ugly Duckling, played by Mariana Garza. Also remember I loved the music from both series.

I also prefer anything that is historical, like others have mentioned, Alborada, Amor Real, and Pasion.

I certainly am enjoying LQLVMR, great story and great cast, and of the past ones that stand out, I have to mention Canaveral de Pasiones, starring Daniela Castro and the fabulous villain played by Azela Robinson, La Mentira with Kate del Castillo and Angela with Angelica Rivera.
 

Yeah I was talking about bajo la misma piel, so sad it was a flop because I couldn't get enough.

I really liked camaelones as well, if anything because they were trying to do something different. I love mystery and action and these has both.

Both televisa and Univision treated this one like crap. Televisa for cutting it down suddenly leave an incoherent mess the last month and Univision for moving it to Saturdays every other week (more like when they felt like it)

la casa en la playa also got he same treatment because of unpopularity but there were so many good things about that too. Cynthia klitbo as a protagonist. Mariana levy and a young Mario cimarro (I don't like him but he was very good here) getting together. One of Yadhiras first roles. A good mystery wrapped in a tight written story that got cut short and the plot never recovered.
 

No one has mentioned La Pola which is a Colombian historical TN based on the life of a popular legendary heroine of Colombia's struggle for independence. Beautifully filmed, directed, and acted and incredibly exciting. No weak wishy-washy air-headed desperately dependent protagonista here. Every episode was breath-takingly exciting and chock-full of steamy romance. Not for the faint-hearted however.

Carlos
 

I thank everyone who posted for their delightful and helpful listing of their favorite novelas. Now I, and others, really have listing to follow. There were a great deal of novelas I hadn't thought of and ones I've never heard of.

I am so thankful to all of you.

I agree with the blogger (Anonymous I think) that posted the comment that Pasion was great because Ricardo (Fernando C.) played a character that truly loved Camila(Susana Gonzalez) through all obstacles no matter what. This was a nice change for a novela where usually the hero takes or makes some bad choices.

Once again, thank you all. I will keep this blog and work on the novelas one by one. I'm bedridden and really love watching novelas.
 

Urban Anthropologist.


Thank you so much for starting this comment. I love your recaps and comments. Thanks again; this was so helpful.
 

Carlos
That is some rooster with more cock's comb than I have ever seen. I'm sure he is some award winner.We have Muscovy ducks around & many of them have so much of the red stuff.
 

Co-signing El Manantial as a great TN to watch b/c the entire cast was great. I also totally agree with Mauricio Islas matching Adela on the crying and emotionalism department. He had good reasons to cry too with the parents he had. There's a twist at the end that had me totally shocked because it broke away from the typical scheme where the audience knows everything while the characters don't and a secret gets revealed that the audience didn't know and boy, it's a doozy. The leads had great chemistry but there were no sex scenes.
 

Oh, there are so many. Alborada, Amor Real, Amor Bravio, Mas Sabe El Diablo, Cuando Me Enamoro, and La Reina del Sur to name a few. :)
 

I saw an Argentine novela a few years ago called Hombres de Honor, which was a novela de epoca about rival Italian Mafia families. I don't think the episodes are available; I saw it on LaTele Novela Nework. The period detail was beautiful down to the china, silverware, and flatware on the tables and it had excellent gallows humor.

An excellent Brazilian miniseries, Siete Mujeres, takes place in the 1830s. Beautiful production, great acting, and a story with a lot of pathos.
 

I actually really love La Viuda de La Mafia, mostly for the Karen and Elkin romance. I really enjoyed how fun their relationship was and I actually found it refreshing to see a female character who was as interested in having sex as the male character, since usually we get the reluctant woman, particularly when the characters are teenagers.


I watched La Pola, but didn't finish it.

Argentine novelas tend to be very steamy. I like that the kisses are usually messier and more real than the more controlled, clearly fake ones in Mexican novelas.
 

Hello all! I don't post too often and I don't consider myself a TN expert but I'm a huge fan of this blog. I love that there's actually non native Spanish speakers who watch TNs. I grew up watching telenovelas since my mom is from Mexico and it's like part of our culture. From a very young age I remember watching bits and pieces of novelas like Rosa Salvaje and Quinceanera but I mostly remember the TNs of the 90s like La Picara Sonadora with Mariana Levy, Maria Mercedes and all of the Thalia novelas. I agree with those that have mentioned Corazon Salvaje as one of the greats. I really enjoyed the teen novelas since I was a preteen in the 90s. In particular, Mi Pequena Traviesa, Muchachitas with Kate del Castillo among others in a great cast. My friends and I loved pretending we were the protagonists and we'd act out scenes in my backyard lol! I was obsessed with Agujetas de Color the Rosa (before it seemed like it jumped the shark) so much so that I begged my mom to buy me some white roller skates with pink laces and yes, my friends and I would act out that one too. I lost interest in novelas as I got older but the great novelas that stand out in my mind are some that have been mentioned like La Duena, Destilando Amor and En Nombre Del Amor. Anyone remember La Usurpadora? I really liked Gaby Spanic in that one. The novelas in recent years that really stand out for me have been Pasion and Mañana es Para Siempre, Silvia Navarro's debut for Televisa I believe, I loved that TN so much I bought it on DVD. Silvia is amazing in every TN she's been in, at least the 3 I've seen so far, I'd love to watch some of her earlier work.

I've gotten back into TNs since moving back in with my parents and discovering this blog, TNs always felt like a guilty pleasure but seeing how there's so many intelligent, educated people that watch too, makes me feel better. :)
 

I'd highly recommend AMOR BRAVIO and LA REINA DEL SUR. LRDS is a narco, but it was very good and fast paced--less than 100 eps. AB had everything-- great acting (for the most part), writing, intelligent good guys who consistently got the upper hand over the villains during the TN and not just during ultimas semanas, and very few TN cliches.
 

Juan Osorio Ortiz-

Velo de Novia- This one was more than a flop; a failure if you may. However, I've heard it was good at the start which I do agree with. I loved the chemistry between Eduardo Santa Marina and Marlene Favela that trailed off into chemistry with Susana Gonzalez which was just as good. I especially loved both theme songs by Darina and El Buki.

Mi Pecado- My mother and I were into this because it had an interesting and original story. I also wanted to see another show with Maite in it.

Una Familia con Suerte- I usually love comedic novelas and this one was no exception. I didn't catch it full and first time but I caught it more often in the midnight run that recently ended.

Porque El Amor Manda- The chemistry between TBLMOE and Dichosa Iluminosa (my nickname for Blanca Soto, that woman has a glow to her I swear) was perfect! Also Venomica was a good villainess; I remember her villainy in Pobre Diabla where she claimed to have fed infants she kidnapped poisoned chocolate but it was thwarted and she was arrested and subsequently placed in a manicomio.

Mi Segunda Madre- For those who saw Por Siempre mi Amor, that was a remake of Mi Segunda Madre with Daniela Castro, Maria Sorte and Enrique Novi. It won an award for best novela along with Teresa by Lucy Orozco (so there can be ties in these award shows) It was longer than PSMA by like 44 episodes. Fun Fact- Hector Suarez Gomis who played the lovely Fernando Cordoba AKA FeVier in PSMA was also in MSM as Ramon. It's unknown to me if he is was good or bad however.

Emilio Larrosa-

Mujeres Enganadas- Laura Leon crooning about cheated women is hilarious. The story was very much alive although the plotline with Michelle Vieth's character being abused by her uncle and needing to escape could have been short.

Las Vias del Amor- I like the originality with a psychic/clairvoyant lead and Sasha Montenegro's villainess; I wish we were given more scenes with her in prison but regardless I enjoyed seeing her receive her just desserts. She won an award for her role and I would to see her make a return to acting. Also Paty Navidad in a more serious role unlike Alicia in LFMB or Zorayda in Zacatillo. And finally for those who adore Jorge Salinas, he is tied to a bed for a good portion of the novela if I'm not mistaken LOL (Also was this the show that brought him with Elizabeth Alvarez who we should thank for the hot bed'n'bod scenes?)

Hasta Que el Dinero Nos Separe- This won an award for best novela of 2010 which was well deserved. It's my dad's favorite and I've noticed it's been replayed every year for the past 4 years (2010 from Jan. to Oct; 2011-2012 from Oct or Nov to Sept; 2013-2014 from Oct. to July? on TLNovelas)

La Verdad Oculta- This is a very good mystery show which I actually wanted to get into but couldn't keep up with it. Fun Fact- I know it was a remake or modernization of his own story El Camino Secreto which actually was where Leticia Calderon's first villainess was. I saw on the TLNovelas channel commercial A Contra Luz that she was interviewed about it and she said she didn't like that role. She also said she immensely enjoyed her role in Amor Bravio in the same type bumper but for a different novela.

Dos Hogares- I wanted to get into it but I had school during the time it was on. I liked Anahi's role and Sergio Goyri as a galan.

Libre Para Amarte-I just saw some scenes with Harry Geithner's villain Napoleon and that made me really wanna watch it now LOL He does evil good!
 

Pedro Damian-

Mi Pequena Traviesa- I haven't been able to watch this one but I keep looking and hoping it will be replayed on UniMas or TLNovelas at one point. I LOVE the theme song and when I'm on the internet I pop in my earbuds and play it to kingdom come LOL I REALLY wanted to watch the remake but couldn't for the same reason I missed out on Dos Hogares.

Rebelde- I noticed the craze back then and when moved to it's new timeslot on UniMas, I plan on watching it.

Verano de Amor-Juan Ferrara and Enrique Rocha seemed to have switched roles in this one; Juan was the vicious and nasty Otho and Enrique was the benevolent and beloved Vito. I was fascinated with how well Juan did evil (I realize he was bad in LFDD but there his fate wasn't death; twas abandonment. In VDA, he was shot and fell to his doom into a body of water while no one cared to fish him out.)

Nina de Mi Corazon- This was a remake of MPT which I'm surprised wasn't high in ratings or given primetime in the US. It was shorter by 10 episodes and the one time I got to see it, she was dressed as a boy like the original but with a twist, (s)"he" was going to have to kiss a girl. The protagonists of NDMC were Paulina Goto and Erick Elias who had OK chemistry although the spotlight seemed to be thrown toward Arturo Peniche and Arleth Tehran (C-Tina for those whose who are watching DQTQTQ or Natasha for those who saw CI) It's funny though because Arleth was the villana in the original and here she is a decent person. When I heard Jade Fraser (Sabrina in Abysmal de Pasion or Illeana in PSMA) was in it, I wondered what her role was like and when I saw a part with her in it on YouTube recently she seems really playful (She was chasing Paulina who was in Boy Drag and touched "his" back then asked why "he" had a bra on. I said Illeana in a chideful tone when her name was Ximena LOL)

Luis de Llano Macedo-

Atrevete a Sonar- I loved this colorful, droll, adorable, lovable show. I was fascinated with Cynthia Klitbo as a comedic villana and Vanessa Guzman who needs to make a return as a lead. The music was catchy and overall I was disappointed that this didn't make it to Prime Time. Every time I had a week off from school or so, I watched it or came home on Fridays I'd have to see it. I was elated that I got to see the gran final on my Presidents' Week off of school in 2011.

Esperanza del Corazon- I would have to say Thelma Madrigal's role in this gives her work in La Mujer del Vendaval a run for it's money. Those two roles were her best roles character wise;
EdC- She was helpful and compassionate to her mother whose husband went missing and had a horrible mother in law. She also dreamed of becoming a ballerina.
LMDV-Yes she was a horny shopaholic and friends with the villana which brought her to stealing the family necklace but she redeemed herself entirely by joining the army/military/marines. Also she was NEVER truly maliceful; she loved her brother who was the galan played by Jose Ron and showed remorse for having taken
the necklace. (LOL Her names for the roles I listed about are Lisa -EDC and Nisa-LMDV.)

Alcanzar una Estrella-I currently try to catch this one every so often on TLNovelas so I'll formate an opinion at some point. I also saw Hector Suarez Gomis was in this; they always start so young and dorky looking. There was a sequel to this BTW.
 

I saw Las Vias del Amor back in the day and fell in love with Jorge Salinas. However, to this day I can't stand Aracely Arambula, whom I think is a little too full of herself. That was a brutal series with original side stories and a very interesting and different villain by Enrique Rocha.

Others in the past have mentioned Cuna de Lobos for its iconic performance by Maria Rubio as Catalina. I need to catch up to that one.
 

MaPat-

Ni Contigo Ni Sin Ti- I caught this one right after Zacatillo's midnight run ended and I didn't catch it every night but from what I saw it was a good and strong-hearted novela. I LOVED Laura Carmine as the lead role Nicole so full of life and love and she could have docked some brownie points with us with her taste in novelas and fashion. Eat Your Heart Out Ximena from Amor Bravio and Pesther from Tempestad LOL (@ Anon. who was the second comment, she would have loved the dress porn you mentioned LMAO referenced it while watching Amor Real in the first episode)The villainess was a surprise to me; Who'd have thought Andrea Torre (Aida from PEAM) could be so nasty? Also Ricardo Franco as the villano received a debatabely scary good anvil (he abused woman and was finally abused by one in bed himself.) Also, I loved the literally blind Ed. Santa Marina galan here LOL

Yo Amo a Juan Querendon-Ed. Santa Marina with long hair and bright yellow button up which brings out his bulging biceps need I say more? (Oh I loved the villain here and Mayrin's character) I caught it on Galavision and also found Sylvia Pasquel's character funny. (OH, BTW speaking of Galavision Eva Luna is currently being replayed at 7 AM!)

Piel de Otono-I want to get into it. It reminds me of Eat Prey Love.

La Mujer del Vendaval- I love Ariadne's character Marcela and the villainess because she made you hate her. She "accidently" killed her daughter and claimed to hate Marcela with all her might to the point where she had her dangling over a cliff and chose the futile way by failing to pull her hands off of the rock she was holding onto instead of stepping on her hands to make her lose her grip? Octavia had been so smart until the last 3 episodes. Oh and I hated Flaco Ibanez's character Timoteo (it's funny because his role was the reason this show won an award at the Premios out of the 3 nominations.)

Lucero Suarez-

Las Dos Caras de Ana- The villain pre-ordered his one way ticket to hell really early by burning Ana's house, mentally ill brother/family and everything she ever had (maybe not the last one but he did do major damage real early. Think Llena de Amor when Marianela's mom was on the helicopter and then Fedra subsequently pushed a button that made it explode right in front of Marianela)

Querida Enemiga- I was sort of scared of this one. I was watching Sara when she jacked Fortuna's car and tried to shoot Lorena in the hospital. I didn't get to see the end and eventually I asked my dad if Sara succeeded with her plot. I loved the anvils and when Lorena received her lingerie gift from Grandma Horty. I also loved Rossy played by Bibelot Mansoor.

Zacatillo-I like Ingrid Martz as the lead more than a villainess (Although between Mini and ShutUpDoris you know who the lesser of 2 evils is)and Jorge Aravena is always on the verge of death for his women in these shows. The funniest scene is at one point Laura Zapata's character Miriam is run over by an ice cream truck (it's even funnier than Arath de La Torre in a curly black wig with the name Gino Capuccino) and for Arleth Tehran fans, she is in it!

Amorcito Corazon-I'm watching it now at midnight and I've noticed it's promoted a bit but instead of Diego Olivera and Liz. Alvarez it's Daniel Arenas and Africa Zavala. Favoritism much? Oh and it's funny how people would say this is DA's worst work because it's a comedy and CI is his best because it's a drama but we see it the other way around LOL I think he is slowly replacing Fernando Colunga.

De Que Te Quiero, Te Quiero- I absolutely love this one and told my dad, "You and Carmen are alike since for every kid you have there's a different mom." (On his side there's 2 older bros. with diff moms, 1 sis with a diff. mom and my youngest brother and I with surprisingly the same mom LOL)

Viva la Pepa-I have big hopes for this one (such as it actually happening because darn Wikipedia keeping changing it's mind/page)
 

@Urban Anthropologist, I think he looked his best there. Also in Mejia Productions his bottom tends to be more prominent and full LOL.
 

Yes to Cuna de Lobos, as well. Amazing acting by everyone involved. I've never gotten the Aracely hate by most since most tn actors are pretty cocky- but then again I can't stand Fernando colunga-his eyes look soulless to me--and he has a big fanbase here, so different strokes. You have to admit UA that Aracely was great in La Patrona.

My faves (in no particular order)
Cuna de Lobos(stellar acting all-around that shows a TN can be high art)

Maria Isabel-a classic rosa that explores indigena identity and prejudice-I am still shocked by how mean the wedding guests were to the prota because she was indio- that Adela Noreiga is excellent in (this one is only on You Tube in Portuguese for some strange reason)

La Que No Podia Amar-Jorge Salinas makes you love the jerk Rogelio montero

El Manantial-great story about how the protas, played by Adela Noreiga and Mauricio islas, overcome a family feud

La Patrona-best edited TN I've seen in a long time;great consistent message about forgiveness;leads with smoking chemistry

Mariana de La Noche(Jorge Salinas, Cesar Evora, and Angelica Rivera stole the show in this one)

La Fea Mas Bella: Jaime Camil and Angelica vale are comedic gold

Honorable Mention:
La esposa Virgen: Jorge Salinas steals the show with his acting in this Mejia but Adela ends up with the wrong galan in the end
 

Oh yes, Carlos, "La Pola" was extraordinary. I'm surprised no one has mentioned "La hija del mariachi," which I could watch on a continuous loop year round.


 

I started watching telenovelas in 2003 as a way to improve my listening comprehension in Spanish. My first telenovela was "Rebecca" with Mariana Seoane and Gaby Espino. I loved it even though it was cheesy. Once that ended, I watched "Amar Otra Vez" with Irán Castillo and Rafael Amaya. I liked that one too. The epic telenovela was "Amor Real." And that's when I got really hooked on this genre. It's so fun to watch LQLVMR now to see how the writers adapted the story for modern times (and completely veered from the 2004 version). Once the telenovela is over, I would be interested to read how everyone compares the two. (And if anyone saw the original "Bodas de Odio from 1983.") P.S. I love reading all the recaps every day on LQLVMR. Thanks for all the work you do!
 

Late to the party, but still time to put in my $.02.

Whaat? No one has mentioned SORTILEGIO? It was one of my first I was able to understand since I don't use captions. It was smart, well acted, good pacing, good script, great locations, best villain ever, until it jumped the shark near the end with the twin thing. William Levy was just a pure, heart throbbing pleasure to watch.

Part I – Ones I watched in real time when they were first broadcast, or rebroadcast--

1. With Favorite Actress: Just about anything with Silvia Navarro – AMOR BRAVIO, CUANDO ME ENAMORO, CUANDO SEAS MIA are among the top.

2. Novelas de Epoca (which pretty much takes care of Favorite Actor):ALBORADA, PASION, AMOR REAL, LA POLA from Colombia (a nod to you Carlos, but I didn’t watch all of it because it conflicted with Cuando Me Enamoro at a time when I couldn’t record one channel and watch another). All four had strong women as leads.

3. Light Novelas (as in not too high a body count, but plenty of evilness): QUERIDA ENEMIGA, AMORES VERDADEROS, DAMA Y OBRERO (the original Chilean version has quite a hunk, Francisco Pérez-Bannen, as the lead, even though the character is a bit of a knucklehead).

4. Real Romance: EVA LUNA (yeah, I know, don’t throw nerfazos at me for liking Blanca Soto in anything, but paired with Guy Ecker they were a romantic duo, storyline, too.)

5. Serious Dramas: EN NOMBRE DEL AMOR, LA QUE NO PODIA AMAR (Jorge Salinas owns that role, dimples, gorgeous lips, black hat and wheelchair, but not whip), DESTINO (on Azteca right now at 9:00 pm with Mauricio Islas—he’s aged well and is playing a handsome galán).

6. Heartbreaker: UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR (we all loved Brandon Peniche; the whole cast was great, even though there was no joy in it at all.)

 

Part II - Ones watched completely on-line or rebroadcast--

With Favorite Actresses:
1. MONTECRISTO (Silvia Navarro and Diego Olivera, with long hair—what a match and sizzling love scenes--Thanks Vivi, for the recommendation)
2. MARIA ISABEL (Adela Noriega and Fernando Carrillo—loved the romance between her and Fernando Carrillo during their courtship); 3. EL PRIVILEGIO DE AMAR (Helena Rojo and Andres Garcia are absolutely superb, while Adela plays Adela)

PART III

Wished I had seen the full-length version of...because I liked the DVD--
MARIANA DE LA NOCHE (Alejandra Barros, Angelica Rivera and Jorge Salinas)
MI DESTINO ERES TU (Lucero and Jorge Salinas) – anyone note a pattern here?

If I’m forced to do a one-two-three that I’ll watch over and over again it’s:
1. Montecristo
2. Sortilegio
3. Cuando Me Enamoro


PART IV
I know this doesn't belong here this weekend, but here goes: WORST telenovelas I actually watched (each one had something, maybe something very, very small, to like)--

1. Triumfo del Amor (liked the Televisa rats and loved Max in the kayak)
2. Fuego en la Sangre (loved watching Juan make bread in his undershirt and all the horseback riding)
3. El Talisman (Aaron Diaz’ demise was classic Western, going down in a hail of bullets, but we had to wait until the end to get it.)
4. Que Bonito Amor (Danna Garcia is a lovely actress; this was a terrible vehicle for both her and Jorge Salinas and the singing couldn't hold it together for me)
5. Corazón Indomable (couldn’t finish it, even with Brandon Peniche, from Un Refugio in it at the end couldn’t make me watch it after she left the casino-boat.)

There are a whole lot in between favorites and worsts. All I can say is that watching telenovelas has improved my Spanish tremendously. This blog keeps me on my toes and my brain active and engaged as it ages gracefully.

 

If I had to choose only one favorite TN it would be hands down Un Gancho al Corazón which was the first TN that I participated in as a recapper. Even though there was pretty good chemistry between the two main characters (Danna Garcia and Sebastián Rulli) as you can see from the link, it was the incredibly strong supporting cast (including Laisha Wilkins, Verónica Jaspeado, Raul Araiza, Ana Martín, Margarita Magaña, Alex Sirvent, and Agustin Arana) with their ensemble performances and the brilliant script that made this such a memorable TN. This show had a loyal following here at Caray Caray which managed to stick with it even when Univision removed it from its prime time slot banishing it to an afternoon spot. Who could have guessed that lady boxing and Lucha Libre would be such fun?

Carlos
 

Anita,

I was disappointed that you listed El Talismán as one of your worst. Whether intentional or not, I thought it was the best parody of a TN that I've ever seen, and best of all, it went on and on and on. Of course Aarón Díaz and Lola Ponce stole the show as steamy semi-incestuous sibs, with a memorable performance by Sergio Reynoso as their misunderstood larger than life daddy, donG. The recaps were priceless. There seems to have been one casualty, however... has anyone seen or heard from Rafael Novoa since El Talismán?

Carlos
 

It's fun to look at everyone's thoughts. There are some here that I liked and few that I hated but that is what makes this site so much fun.

I always recommend Alborada to newbies. It is beautifully filmed, historically accurate for the most part and had some outstanding performances notably by Daniela Romo, Luis Roberto Guzman and Arturo Peniche (that scene when he talks about being abused is gut wrenching).

My favorite historical however is Amor Gitano with Mariana Seoane and the very hot Maurico Islas as Renzo the Gypsy and Alejandro Camacho at his oily best. It is a take on the Count of Monte Christo and is a short novela but beautifully filmed and the clothing was spectacular.

I loved La Picara Sonadora with Mariana Levy and Eduardo Palomo. Really cute and fun take with the heroine and her family living in a department store by night and working there during the day.

I saw two different versions of La Madrasta and enjoyed them both. However Victoria Ruffo and Cesar Evora had some really hot scenes in the last version and the secondary characters were both fun and freaky. And what a twist ending.

Someone mentioned Esmerelda and I like that one as well primarily because of Nora Salinas and Alejandro Ruiz in secondary roles.

Nina de me Corazon was an afternoon novela and a remake of Traviesa which I found unwatchable. Nina was light, the singing was good and Paulina Goto was adorable.

Peru's Girasoles Para Lucia was enjoyable but most of us could not figure out why the girl chose Jorge Aravana over Pablo Martin.

El Nombre del Amor i loved and there was fine acting across the board

Triumfo de Amor sticks in my mind for a lot of reasons, the hot Diego Olivera and the incredible evil performance by Daniela Roma as one of the worst sickest mothers ever - Bernarda.
 

Decie - I think Paulina Goto will be in Mi Corazón es Tuyo.
 

Carlos--
El Tal was one of my first recapping stints. I had to follow it closely every night in order to get everything straight, so I stand by my ranking.

I agree, it served as an excellent parody on the Californication of Avocadoland and was a hoot to hone my poor verbal/writing skills mocking the obvious and not so obvious. I am certain the writers thought they were writing a serious series to entice north-of-the-border inhabitants to watch a not-quite-so-Mexican telenovela. Had they advertised it as a comedy, I think I could have swallowed it whole.

Meanwhile, the like-minded community that was formed around the recaps and comments provided the comedic relief to La Que No Podia Amar, both of which began broadcasting in January 2012.

I still get belly laughs rereading our SNARKY ripostes.

BTW:
Rafael Novoa was in Alias el Mexicano as Coronel Jaime Ramirez Gomez (2013), a supporting role. Seems to be a narco-US series. According to Google, it was on MundoFox, which I don't watch.
 

I DID like Sortilegio. Sweet Wm & DZ, what's not to like? I like DZ as a villain.

The worst on a scale of 1-10, 10 being worst,
Corazón Indomable - minus 15, although I thought Ana Brenda did well with zero, what can you expect from Mejia. Beat out FELS for worst.

Fuego en la sangre, - minus 14, it was beat out by CI. Más Mejia. But even that had great acting by Diana Bracho & Guillermo Gárcia Cantú (still my favorite villain).

And did someone mention La Madrastra? enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DqnRjoI818

 

About my telenovio, Colunga, cállate, Susanlynn, he's mine. They have tried to make him look younger with TOO much botox, stop already!, it does affect his eyes. Let him age naturally. He didn't look that way in Amor Real, Alborada or Pasión.
I caught a glimpse of his papá on Cristiana, very handsome, easy to see where he got his looks. I think the botox started with Soy tu dueña, trying to make him look younger. Also, Lucero had a boob job, excellent, I would like to know her plastic surgeon.

I believe he knows that playing jovens at his age, 48, is ridiculous, that's why he is doing plays on road trips.

He has been in Miami twice & I missed both of them. I think I have found someone that would do the driving, 'cause I won't.
 

Urban, is there any way you could place this permanently on the sidebar?

There is a HUGE wealth of information here for those of us who are just starting in the TNs. I would hate to lose it. I'm wondering how I am going to see so many TN, but I cannot tell all of you how much I have appreciated this topic this weekend.

I hope you can save it, Urban. It would be an excellent reference and something that can continue to have additions.

Thank you.

Fatima
 

Urban
The recommendations have been so great please tell us how we can request that they be put in a sidebar on the home page? Wouldn't it be great if there was a rating section next to each like viewers' comments on websites like Walmart and Amazon.

Please help. I'll volunteer to list them all.
 

Urban
The success of the recommendation question so far has been over 55 comments in two days! I especially liked the listings as worst telenovelas so as not to waste my time. Also there was pretty much agreement across the board: especially Amor Real, Alborada, and Pasion.

Thus my suggestion for a sidebar.

What has happened to Carla Estrada?
 

Victoria, Fatima and Urban--
I also like the idea of a listing of favorites, categorized as some of us did in our comments. The SIDEBAR already has a great place to put them, if we could persuade Blogmom to change the title.

Instead of just Las Proximas, we could add ...And Other Novela Information...or something like that.

We already feature some of the producers filmographies and the TV y Novela Premios from years past in that thread.

 

Victoria--Carla seems to have semi-retired. The last we heard of her she was planning to do a biography of a feminist protagonist, but she didn't want to deviate from her real life, which was going to make it difficult and expensive.

We certainly do wish her back as the best producer of telenovelas for home consumption and for export.
 

Anita, that's great that you think the SIDEBAR would be a good place for this most important list of TN! Thank you! I hope Urban agrees and I hope Blogmom agrees as well. Thank you, Anita!

Fatima
 

I heard that Carla had some problem with the inept Mejia, seems he is powerful with Uni. But what do I know?
She does have sth going though for 2015, AND with my telenovio, FC. Looks like a good match with Ana Serradilla, from La viuda negra. Good cast

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_la_luz_del_Angel
 

Variopinta
What does FC stand for?

I read that Carla Estrada spoke at some time in the past about the chauvinistic attitude she had to deal with at Televisa/Univision. Seems like she is still having the same problems, even though she produced top three novelas (Alborada, Pasion, and Amor Real). Mejia hasn’t produced much lately that has been seeing.

I saw on Wikipedia that “A la Luz del Angel” is slated for 2015 with Ana Isabel Serradilla and Fernando Colunga as the protagonists! Let’s hope this is produced and show in primetime.

 

Victoria, "FC" is Fernando Colunga, Variopinta's Telenovio! :))

Fatima
 

That's a lot more Carla updates than we've had in a while. I heard that she got into a huge fight with Mejia because of the sortilegio twin storyline which Mejia had a problem with since coraxon salvaje also had twins and he forced Carla yp change the story which angered Maria zaranttini (the writer) who had done a great job building the story up to that point.

For me, that when sortilegio lost its steam and jumped the shark. Maria and Carla parted ways after that and Carla disappeared to produce hoy.

she's been greatly missed because whole not all her novelas may be hits or must see they're always short l, fast paced and engaging. I've always enjoyed them at least.

That's more than can be wait about Mejia and his wife who didn't have mercy on the audience and produced la tempestad and CI in the same year.
 

Variopinta

Should have known that FC stands for Fernando Colunga, one of my favorite actors. But I agree with your previous comment about too many Botox treatments for FC; let him age naturally. He looked so bad in Porque el Amor Manda; even though I love Blanca Soto and liked the novela. Is he really dating BS?

 

Superalfie:

Don't know what you mean about the twin storyline for Sortilegio (one of my favorities). Where WL and DZ suppose to be twins instead of half brothers, or whatever?

I too like that Carla keeps her novelas short (about 100 episodes) and engaging. Any novela over about 150 episodes is too long; although I've started watching "Guadalupe" with some 250 episodes. Thus I really appreciate all the recommendations the bloggers have given.
 

Victoria--
The twins Superalfie was refering to had to do with Alex's (WL) wife, Maria Jose (Jaqueline Bracamontes) and in the last third of the series her twin shows up, although they never meet.
 

Victoria, I meant Maria Jose and Sandra. How quietly the storyline started and how deliciously suspenseful it was build up only to have it end so badly (they say because Mejia didn't want a twin storyline to conflict with his own novels).

Some have speculated that sortilegio was going to go the way of la tempestad and have the twins come together as sisters and interact with the other characters and help each other out.

We'll never know how it would've gone though.

there's some novels that can maintain a good pace despite the length. El privilegio de Amar is carlas longest novels at 150 episodes but its so good and never feels liken its dragging its feet. Cynthia klitbos best villain for sure.
 

What a great conversation this weekend. I agree with most of the suggested favorites. In the 5 or so years since I joined this community I have enjoyed most of the tns I have watched in primetime, banished to midnight/midday, and the re-run older tns. There are almost too many faves to name. The main thing the tns I like have in common are protagonists that I really like and don't think are/act stupid. Off the top of my head:
Cuando Me Enamoro
Amor Bravio
Manana es Para Siempre
Montecristo
Querida Enemiga
Sortilegio
Pasion
Alborada
Mi Pecado
Refugio Para el Amor
La Verdad Oculta
Hasta Que el Dinero nos Separe (a funny heroine!)
Un Gancho al Corazon (hilarious supporting cast)
Alguien te Mira

Since no one else has mentioned them, there are some Brazilian tns I've really enjoyed:
Avenida Brazil
India
Lado a Lado
 

Also I'd like to add to the list he Ernesto Alonso trilogy: la otra, amarte es mi pecado and Barrera de amor (the longest and weakest but still watch able). All starring Yadhira Carrillo.
 

Oh, and Para Volver a Amar.
 

Anita:
thanks for the clarification about the twins; forgot all about Maria Jose and her twin, part of the main storyline. How stupid of me. I loved Sortilegio!!
 

Yes, to Carla Estrada producing again. She's produced great short, to the point, tns. 'El Manantial' and 'Maria Isabel' are really meaty, well written but short tns. EM is 90 eps and MI just 60.

I only saw the last two eps of La hija de la Mariachi but I loved it...so that a good one IMHO.
 

J Desde NYC:

The "La Hija de la Mariachi" with Mark Tacher is on YouTube and is definitely worth watching. Tacher is great and the singing is wonderful. I couldn't bring myself to watch D Garcia and J Salinas' remake because the older version couldn't be matched in my opinion. Particularly since J. Salinas seemed to old for the part.
 

I love Jorge Salinas as actor-he can overwhelm, in a good way, the female prota to make a TN about him- but I haven't dared to even watch QBA b/c of how badly it was panned here.
 

Carla might consider moving to Telemundo. Writers and actors seem to have more creative freedom, the novels are shorter and there doesn't seem to be a reliance on aging over botoxed galans and beauty queen protagonistas.




 

I think Carla Estrada likes to keep her team with her so I don't know how much she'd consider going to Telemundo and work with an entirely new crew. She also likes to work with the same actors if she clicks with them:

Adela Noriega (5 novelas - all leads):
Quinceañera
María Isabel
El Privilegio de Amar
El Manantial
Amor Real

Lucero (5 novelas - all leads):
Cuando Llega el Amor
Los Parientes Pobres
Lazos de Amor
Mi Destino Eres Tú
Alborada

Fernando Colunga (5 novelas- 3 leads):
Mas Allá del Puente
Alondra
Amor Real*
Alborada*
Pasión*

Ernesto Laguardia (7 novelas - 3 leads):
Pobre Juventud
Quinceañera*
Los Parientes Pobres*
Alondra*
Lazos de Amor
Amor Real
Alborada

María Sorté (5 novelas-2 leads):
De Frente Al Sol*
Mas Allá del Puente*
El Privilegio de Amar
Mi Destino Eres Tú
Amor Real

Omar Fierro (5 novelas - 2 leads):
Pobre Señorita Limantur
Quinceañera
Cuando Llega el Amor *
Amor en Silencio *
Mas Allá del Puente

Luis José Santander (3 novelas - 2 leads)
Lazos de Amor *
Te Sigo Amando *
Pasión

Alfredo Adame (3 novelas - 2 leads)
De Frente al Sol *
Mas Allá del Puente *
Sortilegio

After 1990, when she had proved herself as a producer with several hits in a row, the only actresses she didn't cast twice as leads were Ana Colchero, Claudia Ramírez, Susana González and Jaqueline Bracamontes. The last two were her last two leads. With Colchero and Ramírez it was because they changed networks after their novelas with Estrada so they became unavailable (I think Estrada would have given Ramírez a string of leads if she had stayed, she fitted her leading actress type to a t)

Jarocha



 

Just sent in the request for the sidebar.

My personal dream would be for Carla Estrada to produce the next version of Dark Shadows. We discussed that here.
 

Angelli Nesma-

Maria la del Barrio- I was surprised when I found out she wrote this novela. I loved seeing FC with a moustache and Itati as a villana. (Itati was also Annie in a theater production of Misery in 2011-2012. Is there no evil she does right?)

Nina Amada Mia-It's funny that Eric del Castillo was the villain here and Sergio was the galan then come Soy Tu Duena, Goyri put him in peril and was the death of him when the roles were reversed.

Apuesta por un Amor- I'm currently watching it on TLNovelas and have come to notice that she really does give out awesome anvils that fit the bill for our dirty dozens (I remember a discussion about Alvaro's anvil) and Juan Soler had some hot love scenes in the very beginning of the show. I also like Patricia Manterola's lead character.

Amar sin Limites- I remember reading about how it was bad here and the special thank you to the brave recappers who faced it. I caught it back in 2010 after Torrente ended at midnight (I love Torrente; a Venevision production) and loved the theme song/intro. It's funny how seeing how horny Karyme Lozano was in it with Valentino Lanus to the point where you can see the side of her bare breast and butt. (I told my mom and she said well who wouldn't wanna skinny dip with Valentino Lanus?) I also loved the homosexual male couple here; they were the masculine style homosexual and not the stereotypical femme kind.

Al Diablo con Los Guapos- I caught this in 2010 on Telefutura and loved the theme song (Personally when Alejandro kisses Mili who expressively responds with, "You call that a kiss?" and gives one back with more gusto.) I caught it again in 2012-2013 and am now re-watching it again on Galavision. When watching this and En Nombre del Amor, I wonder what they would have been like if Alisson's characters switched personalities since ADCLG came before ENDA and she was a feisty little chick than became reduced to a weeping willow (Kind of like Jacqueline Bracamontes when Tontas (feisty single mother) came before Sortilegio (abused wife of David Zepeda in villano mode) I'm sure Candy wouldn't be tolerate of Bruno's BS much like Mili wouldn't be tolerate of Carlota's.

Un Gancho al Corazon-This novela was all sorts of interesting and beautiful however when I saw the intertwining previews of this and ENDA, ENDA had a majority of my attention since I like dark novelas (and to think I was only in 5th grade LOL) But I caught this one from time to time and loved the chemistry between Laisha Wilkins and Raul Araiza (they stole the show from Danna and Sebas.) and Veronica Jaspeado's character Ximena (Whenever I see Fina in Robo, I wonder what Ximena would say about the eyebrow.) Also I like Alex Sirvent more as a good guy instead of Rolando Klunder. I didn't get to see the gran final since I had school but I was sick the week before it was over and caught a majority of the action before the end.

Llena de Amor- This one had my attention since I had heard of Mi Gorda Bella and didn't have internet at the moment so I watched this remake. I loved the chemistry between Ariadne and Valentino and Azela Robinson as the Grade-A Mother from Hell. Was this the first ever novela to experience a chop job? And of course the anvils were marvelous. Also you can tell Fedra seriously deserved her Joan of Arc fate as she locked Gretel in the wine cellar for two years and killed Mari's mom right in front of Mari! This one had also the tragic scene where Ilitia was raped just a good hour or so away from her wedding and she just kept on as if nothing happened.

Abismo de Pasion-I didn't really care for this one but caught the end for the anvils.

Lo Que La Vida Me Robo-Same as Abismo.

Lazos de Amor- I read on Wikipedia she was planning on remaking this one and I'm assuming she'd use Angelique again but nothing is set in stone. (I'd rather see her do a comedy again.)

 

Rosy Ocampo-
El Diario de Daniela- Interesting to see that Daniela (Daniela Lujan) grew up to be Karina in DQTQTQ, Marcelo Buquet (Ruben from QBA) was the galan here, Cristina from Amores Verdaderos was the villana and Piedad from Amor Bravio was the lead LOL.

Alegrijes y Rebujos- Sebastian Rulli as a villano is interesting and I caught it in 2009. I also liked Jacqueline Bracamonte's character and that she won an award for it.

La Fea Mas Bella-I didn't think much of it back in it's 2010 replaying (I wanted to get to Atrevete a Sonar ASAP) but the skinny dipping to Aqui Estare in the credits caught my attention and I rewatched it's replaying on Galavision last year. I fell in love with it much like you guys did LOL

Las Tontas No Van Al Cielo- I didn't think much of this at first either (I was more into Cuidado) but I loved the theme song and watched it's 2010-211 midnight replaying and found it on Telefutura at one point and lastly Galavision. I fell in love with it in 2010 and my favorites were Candy, Rocio, Lucia, Charly and Tio Meno.

Camaleones- I'm disappointed in the way Looney-vision treated this show. I loved how they got Edith Gonzalez in it and Belinda and Alfonso Herrera's chemistry.

La Fuerza del Destino-I didn't think much of this one but loved the Caray Caray recap title, "Honey Buns Busted in the Buff."

Por Ella Soy Eva- Al fin, I was caught by this one by the very promociones and plotline. The problem was I couldn't keep up with it but I was into it from the start. I'm glad this one was Best Novela of 2013 (and I can see why Mentir Para Vivir didn't win it since this won the year before.)

Mentir Para Vivir-This novela kept the action going and I liked it but just didn't keep up with it. I loved David Zepeda's gallantry and Diego Olivera's villainy.

Que Pobres Tan Ricos-I've never been a fan of the whole "Rich come to live with the Poor" type plot(s) but this one is gold.
 

Jarocha, I'm so glad Claudia Ramirez came back to telelvisa. She's killing it in el color de la pasion (while the novels itself is very good and meaty I can't help bur imagine what Carla would've done with it).

It'll be interesting to see if she casts Susana and Jacqueline again if and when she starts producing regularly again. But telemundo, while having more creative freedom, their novelas are just as long, unless they're "cancelled" like dama y obrero.
 

Carla Estrada-

Cuando Llega el Amor-I saw it on TLnovelas and though it was stellar. Lucero really is a contemporary actress.

Lazos de Amor- As well as contemporary, Lucero is versatile. She played triplets here (2 good, 1 bad and the bad one killed 1 of the 2!)

Te Sigo Amando- Was LQNPA similar to this? I enjoyed Sergio Goyri's character here.

El Privilegio de Amar-I absolutely adore this one and caught it on UniMas from last fall to January 2014. The theme song was great (I loved when Adela Noriega was walking on tables in a chartreuse dress)and the villains perfectly bad (I caught the scene where Tamara shaves her head and one day I mentioned Cynthia Klitbo bald in a position where she's about to stab someone to my mom and she cracked up.) This is certainly her longest show though. I'm glad that it tipped the canoe at the Premios TVyNovelas 1999 and won 12/13 awards (Rene Strickler will never win an award of the sort while fART- I mean Guy Ecker- took his that year LOL)

Mi Destino eres Tu- While everyone adored Abrazame Muy Fuerte and saw MDET as the red-headed stepchild, I see things opposite. I love the theme song and plan on watching it at some point. (Lucero at least took the best lead actress award from Aracely Arambula. They nominate her just to troll.)

El Manantial- The theme song is inviting and makes me feel like I'm on a game show LOL I am watching this currently on YouTube and love it. I recognized Agustina from AB here (and with Cesar Evora LOL) I know this one is better than the nasty Entre El Amor y El Odio (The Leper and The Scalded Napoleon; I remember it in flashes since I was like 3 or 4 in El Salvador visiting and then I recall a woman on TV throwing a lit torch into a tub of gasoline with a man in it. I'll just stick with Estrada if and when she returns and excommunicate Mejia)

Amor Real-Ay Amor Real, the Mexican Gone with the Wind. My mom wanted to watch this on TLNovelas last fall and so she did. I got into the theme song (I love music) and am kicking myself for not watching it much. It is a beautiful one though and will watch it back to back with El Manantial. This really did receive a lot of acclaim and it deserved it.

Alborada-Never seen it but it's mentioned with so much love here and I once again am into the theme song (Placido Domingo has a beautiful voice) I hope it's replayed some time soon.

Pasion- This is marvelous and debatably her darkest show due to Bouffy's decapitation. I caught it at the beginning of the year and squealed with glee at the intro and Colunga with long hair. I'm currently binge playing the intro LOL

Sortilegio-We got to see William Levy's bodacious behind and David Zepeda at his best in a villano.

Even if I didn't say much about her shows, I adore all of Carla's work! They're beautiful and marvelous and empowering. I'd take her over Mejia any day.
 

What stellar lists.

Another interesting topic UA.

My favorites were Pasion, La Verdad Occulta, El Nombre del Amor, Amores Verdaderos and Corazon Salvaje (with EY).

Next were Querida Enemiga and Un Gancho al Corazón simply because QE was the first TN I started commenting on and because the recappers and bloggers were simply outstanding.

I thought Colunga was marvelous in Pasion. I feel he shone in this period piece and Susana Gozales is one of my favorites. I miss Allison Lozz and Adela Noreiga and hope Adela does make something else (I think Allison retired at 17, correct?)

It was fun reading everyone's lists. It makes me realize how many I have not seen but hope to do so some day.

Diana
 

So far im loving Lo Que La Vida Me Robo,it describes the consequences of wrong choices in life,the untamable greed,lust for power,the endless obsessions of Jose Luis and Maria.The scenes are over the top with meangful dialogue,you are just dying what will happen next.The plot also has a lot of twists,the writer is very creative.I also like the performances of all the characters ,especially Maria who turned from just a badly influenced girl to an endlessly obsessed creature with revenge, Graciela who is the epitome of hypocricity,the very living meaning of a lie and is obsessed with money,riches and she is so convincing with her lies that she manages to confuse the viewers too,Daniela Castro plays the role to perfection i want her to get the nomination for Best Female Villian Role. The same applies to Sergio Sendel who potrays the role of an abuser,a murderer,a narcotrafficant ,a wicked manipulator who wont stop at nothing to see his enemies destroyed,to see them having no will to live.His character utterly insane and i think this is the actors best performance yet definetly Best Male Villian Role though i wonder who is more worthy ,Hector Suarez Gomiz who also played a very despicable character or Sergio Sendel.

And Robo is so much better then La Tempestad,that novela was a total flop,some characters were so annoying ( ugh Lazaro and his tonta Lucia and his shitty mother ughh,lets not get started with Featriz porfavor,or Fullys wife ,she was so ridiculus), i pretty much wanted Hernan to kill all the characters off,i liked Fully but he was redeemed in the end,the plot was such nonsense with Madre Eusebia having "super powers" ,i mean i liked her but this super power thing was just nonsense going to the extremes.

I never seen Pasion or Amor Real but i might if i will have the time:) I also liked Amor Bravio because the characters were smart and i loved Cesar Evoras performance!,Amores Verdadores was also cool i liked Francisco Gattornos performance and Kendra.
 

Salvador Mejia Alejandre-

Esmeralda-This is his best and possibly only good novela (I'm in the minority but I like La Esposa Virgen through and through.) Colunga was cute at best in this one and Lety with long hair works.

La Usurpadora- Didn't care much for this one. Gaby Spanic is as tacky now as the day is young.

Rosalinda-My sister said it was boring but I say the anvils were awesome.

Abrazame Muy Fuerte-Red-Headed Step-Child. Federico Rivera was the saving grace and he got sucked into hell.

Entre El Amor y El Odio-I was only three or four when it was on and I recall this monstrosity. I'm currently watching Marcial's final anvil and after he got holy water spilled on him he sounded like he was melting. I also saw it recently last fall and thought it was hilarious how horny Carmen Salinas was for a priest.

Mariana de la Noche- I only like Alma Muriel, the theme song and Alejandra Barros as the lead and Jorge Salinas' posterior here. Cesar's villain ruined all his evil with his last minute repenting. Tell me why the first scene of this show is him lighting children on fire.

La Esposa Virgen-I'm in the minority but I like this one and am ok with the fact that Adela ended up with Sergio. Frankly, Sergio is just as good as a galan as he is a villain. Who could forget Amarte es mi Pecado? Sure it was only these 2 times but if I ever write a show, se comportara como un galan y no un patan. (My dad said Sergio is a drug addict in real life, can someone confirm for me?)

La Madrastra- I liked Michelle Vieth's character but she sounded like she was putting on a bad Italian accent at times. I liked Cesar, Ana Layevska, Margarita Isabel, Miguel Biaggio and even OneTrickPony herself Viccy Ruffo. I dislike Guillermo Garcia Cantu; he has a very punchable face. I caught it often on TLNovelas recently.

El Amor No Tiene Precio-Susana Gonzalez and Victor Noriega have good chemistry (Eat Your Heart Out fART!) but this was a stinker of a show. It was very dark how the villainess played by Eugenia Caudora had given birth in her very house and bed with her ner'do'well boyfriend/husband next to her doing nothing but egging her on and abducting her baby then leaving it in the trash in the rain. She was just left there to crawl after giving birth in pursuit of mentioned ner'do'well and ultimately get killed by him.

Mundo de Fieras- One Word- Joselyn.

Fuego en La Sangre-What begins with promise is usually broken in the process. I saw it's run that just ended and I had to take a breath at Feo's fate (the blood was too much; I'd have preferred caras impactadas all around and him falling to the floor. Spare us the gore!) Crabby Gabby's fate was perfect but too drawn out. In real life, you'd only last a good 3 minutes and then you're through. 2 days is ridiculous as well as Feo becoming her Pupils.

Corazon Salvaje- This got put at midnight right? Anyways, I like the title hence my name and the wardrobe/scenery but I'm guessing Televisa blew all it's cash on this dud of a remake.

Triunfo del Amor-The fashion show and all couture was gorgeous but other than that this show was a flop. I'll stick with the original.

Que Bonito Amor-My second/third favorite in between/around Esme. and Esposa. I loved the chemistry between Jorge and Danna; I have to say I dislike Mark Tacher even when he is good. Not even the Justin Bieber hair he sported in La Hija del Mariachi appealed to me.

La Tempestad- William Levy as a pirate didn't work as well as I hoped it would have. However he still appealed as DamGoodFather and I loved Mariana Seoane's character Ursula and Daniela Romo as Mercedes. This one wasn't that bad in the end.

 

Carlos Moreno Laguillo-

Nunca Te Olvidare- I've never seen it but it starred Colunga and Edith Gonzalez. I think Juan Osorio took over at one point. I wanna get into it.

Bajo La Misma Piel-I've never seen it either but I've heard it's bad.

Suenos y Caramelos-This is a kiddy themed one with Liz. Alvarez and Paty Navidad as the villanas.

En Nombre del Amor-I was drawn to this one by the previews. I knew I made a good choice and I heard Viccy Ruffo and Lety Calderon were supposed to have opposite roles (Viccy as Carlota and Lety as Macarena) I've processed that in my mind and just wanna say that ENDA would be the biggest joke ever if they went in that direction and I realize that it sounds mean but it's honest. Yes Lety can pull off sweet and loving but can Viccy pull off nasty and vindictive? I realize she was bitchy in Triunfo but that was just a façade and due to abuse. I thank God Lety was the villainess here. I also loved Sebastian Zurita's role here and Luis Hacha's. I saw the original run and the TLNovelas run from April 2013 to December/November.

Cuando Me Enamoro-This one is gorgeous and my favorite part was the crushing of the grapes for wine. I also loved the villainess.

Amor Bravio- This show really was one of the best I've ever seen. Silvia did her role as Camila perfect and Lety as Isadora stole the show. She made Carlota look saintly and I wonder who would win in a fight to death between the 2 (I don't include her villain in El Camino Secreto since I haven't seen her in action.) Jose Elias Moreno as Leoncio showed no boundaries as raped his niece, escaped jail, disfigured a woman in two ways (well she had it coming) and went back to jail. Dionisio I don't care for since CE has been nastier as a villain but he was OK here I guess. He certainly was a perverse and smart villain.

Quiero Amarte- I don't wanna say too much about it. All I'll say is I liked it.
 

Many of you would know my favs list... no secret my fav novela overall stays as Corazon Salvaje '93, followed very close by Yo soy Betty la Fea, La Pola and La hija del Mariachi(like NM, i would watch it [and listen to the great music] continuously forever)..
As far as novelas de epoca, La Pola and CS are tied... one is more focused on history with the romance framed around it (La Pola) and the other one is purely set in another era but it is strictly about the romance challenged by the customs of the era(CS). These two are hands off head and shoulders above the rest in the novela de epoca genre.
Other novelas de epoca I would strongly endorse are Amor Real (possibly even better is its predecessor on the same story, Bodas de Odio), Amor Gitano, Ramona, Luz Maria (beautiful romance in historical Peru) and Zorro la espada y la Rosa.
Other great novelas, not necessarily historical, would include Canaveral de Pasiones (El manantial and Abismo de Pasiones are remakes), La Mentira, Alguna vez tendremos alas and Cuando me enamoro.
 

La Reine del Sur is definitely thebest TN I've ever seen.
Other favorites -
Alborada
Avenida Brazil
que Pobres Tan Rico
La Fea Mas Bella
Amorcito Corazon
La Mujer del Vendaval
cuando Me Enamoro - I now want to grow grapes in Mexico in my next life
Las Tontas no van al Cielo
Hasta Que El Dinero nos Separe

I'm going to have to watch Pasion. I agree with the list of worse ones. That would be my list as well.

It sounds like I missed a good one, LQLVMR. I didn't watch it because I really don't like Angelique Boyer. Although I love Sebastian Ruli.

Sue in Miam
 

What a great topic. My favs which have already been listed are: Amor Real, Pasion, Alborada and Amor Bravio.

My very first one was "Yo compro esa Mujer" which I watched with my Abuelita. Feel in love with Eduardo Yanez (I was just 12 at the time). Stopped watching for awhile then came cross EY's lovely face in "Destilando Amor" and my addiction came back. Then I found this lovely site which I enjoy so much. Happy Monday everyone!
 

Oh, and liked the novela "India". The locations where beautiful and it was just so different then anything I had seen before.
 

Cuando seas mia, with Sylvia Navarro and Sergio is a remake of Cafe con Aroma de Mujer from Colombia with Guy Ecker, which is another one in my top 10 favs list. Another good period, or rather country culture specific novela... with beautiful setting.

 

Destilando amor is also a remake of Cafe and of Cuando seas mia... same storyline... at least until the end, even though they changed the ending slightly each time.
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

a lot of my favorites revolve around two authors:
Caridad Bravo Adams:
Corazon Salvaje
La Mentira
Bodas de Odio/Amor Real/robo et al
Canaveral de Pasiones / Abismo / el manantial et al

Fernando Gaitan:
Yo soy Betty la Fea /La fea mas bella
Cafe con Aroma de Mujer / Destilando/ cuando seas mia
 

So I'm watching Eva Luna right now and guess who I just saw? Alonso from DQTQTQ. He looks cute with facial hair.
 

OMG No! He's hurting a woman! Well I guess he has experience as a villain so he's versatile.
 

Urban
Thank you so much for putting in a request for a sidebar to BlogMom.

I'm overwhelmed by the number of bloggers that have responded to my question and the great number of novelas suggested. What a list!!!
 

CorazonSalvaje

You can watch Amor Real, Alborada, and Pasion on Daily Motion. The uploader keeps improving the quality of the video by re-uploading videos. It's harder to watch on Daily Motion than YouTube, but if you want to re-watch or haven't seen them in their entirety, it's worth the watch.
 

Sue in Miami, I consider LQLVMR a terrible, terrible novela. The writing is so lazy and poor. I will watch it because it's on after DQTQTQ sometimes, but it's so dull. Heh, my dad says it's the worst piece of crap ever, which is unfair since most novelas are terrible and there are far worse, but this one is just recent.
But we do not like novelas that fall into stupid telenovela tropes, or at least keep them up forever. For example I consider El Privilegio de Amar a bad novela because it's incredibly slow, relies on incredibly cheap conventions like a character falling into a coma and then not remembering, has no chemistry between the leads, and just goes on forever.
Entre El Amor Y El Odio has a woman who has never been with another man not question how her son doesn't pass multiple DNA tests and just goes about her life raising him. Novelas that pull this kind of thing are just unforgivable for us. The great ones don't do this. And if they pull one or two stupid novela tricks, they manage to make it at least plausible.
 

Please watch Amor Real, Pasion, and Alborada. THEY ARE WORTH THE WATCH!
 

Anon 12:07- Stupidity, especially in the protagonists, is also one of my pet peeves with tns. It can make what is a beautiful, well shot, well acted tn like Robo fall to the bottom of my list, so I get what you're saying. But Robo is a very high quality production, and while not one of my favorites, it's entertaining.
 

I forgot to mention that En Nombre del Amor is also high on my list, although I found it hard to watch in parts in the beginning because of how dark it was. I hope Alison Lozz comes back to acting some day.

Jackie Bracamontes has also retired from tn acting since she started having babies. Perhaps we'll see her again in a few years.

The only problem I had with La Fuerza del Destino was the dull acting of the heroine, Sandra Echevarria. If the actress were another, it would have been at the top of my list. But I thought it was a great story, a short tn (101 epis), moved well, and David Z. was great as a dad.
 

Mas Sabe el Diablo - Remix (YouTube)

Great watching chemistry between Gaby Espino and JenCarlos Canela. Real tongue kisses.
 

I could never get into it myself but i have heard/read great reviews of 'La Antorcha Encendida' and the cast is amazing. Just never got to see enough to make any judgement myself.
 

RCN in Colombia showed 'En los tacones de Eva' which was what 'Por ella soy Eva' was loosely based on.
 

How did I forget about Llena de Amor? I loved that one! It started out a bit rough with all the fat jokes, but once we established who were the bitchy meanies, it turned into a great show that was really funny. Valentino Lanus was a real treat in that one. He turned out to have a real talent for comedy! I also loved Ricardo Margaleff's character and the young maid Delicia...can't think of the actress's name at the moment. And Fedra was an electrifying villainess, plus Kristel's fresa talk was always entertaining. Super fun show. I was really peeved when Uni started butchering it.
 

OMG, what a great topic for the weekend, and I'm just loving reading everyone's responses! It sure does bear truth to the old adage that it truly takes all kinds to make a world, even the world of telenovelas!

What a great topic for the weekend, and I'm just loving reading everybody's thoughts, offerings, and contributions... thank you to all!

I've touted my absolute favorite telenovela before, but it seems to fly under so many people's radars (perhaps because it's a Telemundo novela?), and I just had so much damn fun with it that I simply can't resist the opportunity to bring it up again...

The novela is 'Pecados Ajenos' (Telemundo, late 2007). My God, what a great, big, over-the-top (gleefully, GLORIOUSLY over-the-top), entertaining, engaging, delightful, wicked, thrilling, action-packed CIRCUS that novela was. It had EVERYTHING in it- there was NO topic too 'out there' or 'controversial' that it couldn't be addressed (the Wikipedia page for 'Pecados Ajenos' says that it addressed such topics as "homosexuality and homophobia in Hispanic culture, date rape, marital rape, drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, prostitution, abortion, incest, the dangers of religious fanaticism, illegal immigration, mental disorders like schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder, animal cruelty,and the corruption and abuse in women's prisons." THIS, of course, in addition to our usual standards of love, lust, obsession, infidelity, greed, murder, etc., etc.... Talk about your guilty pleasures!!
 

Mind you (re: Pecados Ajenos), it is true that our typical tear-jerky, 'boo-hoo', mushy and sentimental type of love-lost, lovelorn telenovela romance is comparatively absent in this novela- this is a venal and amoral world we're in here- but I loved it all the more for that! The writing (by Eric Vonn) was so razor sharp, with so much constant action and plot evolution, and the actors were given such great, meaty material to sink their teeth into that I found it- once you accept it for what it is- just great fun to watch, which is something I can't find myself often saying about telenovelas- I can enjoy them, I can love them and be enthralled with them... but not often do I have 'fun' watching them. With 'Pecados Ajenos' I did, and then some!

And the actors in PA, without exception, all of the main leads rose to the occasion and absolutely ATE UP the scenery throughout the story, immersing themselves in all of the extremes the story presented them with. On the very rare, very delightful, occasion, we as TV viewers will be watching a couple of actors in a scene together... and you can just TELL that the actors are enjoying themselves together! Have any of all occasions that you remember when you experienced this?? It's simply delightful (as the viewer) when it happens because we can feel and sense their enjoyment as they play their scene together and that enjoyment projects onto us. Well, I can't tell you how many times I experienced this throughout the course of watching 'Pecados Ajenos'- all of the actors really seemed to ENJOY the craziness they're creating and making real for us, and for our viewing enjoyment.

And what a fun cast it was, dominated by an absolute unholy trinity of women who were such great villains- Sonya Smith's deranged, obsessed, paranoid schizophrenic Elena, Catherine Siachoque's venal, sadistic, thoroughly amoral Ines, and right at the top- Lupita Ferrer, GLEEFULLY embracing her role here as absolutely, 100% evil Super-villain, as the murderous, despotic, tyrannical 'Abuela Asesina'- Agata Mercenario. Lorena Rojas was our soul, heart, spirit, and voice-of-reason as our tortured lead, and Mauricio Islas her handsome galan, and a young and supporting cast that featured Jencarlos Canela, Sofia Stamatiades, a REALLY young Ximena Duque, and even Maritza Rodriguez in a role as a NORMAL person! The dialogue was razor sharp, the music consistently a perfect accompaniment to whatever the situation was... I had, like I said before, just SO much fun with this telenovela- it just seemed to so unabashedly, unashamedly, whole-heartedly EMBRACE just what it was, and what it was was entertaining... that I find myself wishing that the likes of it or another like it would come along again.

Anyway... that's MY number 1. And thanks, everybody, again, for sharing!
 

Actually, there's another favourite of mine that bears mentioning, and that I was happy to see has already been mentioned here- 'Amarte Es Mi Pecado' (Televisa, 2004). This novela just worked, in so many ways, but I think what sets it apart from all of the rest for me is in terms of the characters... their personalities- their complexity, their depth, their development and, above all else, their PORTRAYAL by the actors in their roles- for me, here with this novela reached a level I haven't found in other novelas. They were all so flawed, and so obviously filled with both good and bad (as we all are), and this was written into the script and was demonstrated by their actions in so many ways that I found them all so very HUMAN- warts and all- and as such I found myself caring more for them, their actions, and the subsequent consequences.

Yadhira Carrillo as the lead is almost impossibly gorgeous, and Sergio Sendel is great here too, amazingly NOT as a villain but as our galan! There's also spectacular supporting work from some actors who are undoubted stars in the telenovela industry- including a very dashing Alexis Ayala (currently EZ Basurto in LQLVMR), a young Ingrid Martz (whose career really seems to have- justifiably- taken off of late), the luxury casting of Manuel Ojeda as Leonora's father, and even Erika Buenfil as a minor villainess. But there are three performances by three incredible actors bear special mention for their sheer acting-awesomeness...

 

The first is Margarita Isabel in her role of Alejandra. How awesome to watch a classic comedic actress at work! The woman is the epitome of what a "character actor" is and should be, and her Alejandra in many ways could be said to be something of a master class in acting, how to build a character, and character portrayal... Her ease with herself, her character, and whatever scene that she is in, the way she points and delivers her words and lines, her timing, her reactions to whatever other actors are around her, and the myriad of little idiosyncrasies she infuses into her characters that give them so much depth, are just so complete that you can't help but enjoy whatever scene that she's in, watching as you are a classic comedic actress in action (not to mention that she has a laugh to die for!)

The second is Tiare Scanda's Casilda. Ay, Casilda. But what a terrific character, TOTALLY unlike any that you will ever find in a telenovela. Her character is SO multi-dimensional, SO multi-faceted, and so deeply HUMAN in her flaws, her wants, her struggles, and her actions.. and Tiare Scanda is magnificent in bringing Casilda to life. I loved watching the evolution of Casilda as a person.., in fact, from Yadhira Corrillo's Leonora, to Alessandra Rossalldo's Paulina, to Margarita Isabel's Alejandra (I'm including 'post-mortem' Alejandra stuff here), the evolution of so many of the characters in this telenovela was so engaging, so involving, and so both well-written AND delivered by the actors that I can't help but draw a parallel here to Shakespeare's masterpiece 'King Lear'. Like in 'Lear', many of the characters in AEMP are victims as much of their own actions as they are the malice of others. And, like in 'Lear', the characters in AEMP are subjected to and have to go through SO MUCH pain and betrayal and such ordeals along their way... but, also like in 'Lear', though each person's ultimate fate may not be the happiest of ones, we are aware that when each of these characters reaches the end of his/her respective road... that they have come out of it as much better a person then they were when they started so that (like Lear), we somewhat feel that all the pain, suffering, even death... might have been all somewhat worth it because of who these characters became- how they felt, loved, thought, and who they WERE- as a result of such.

 

Annnnnnd.... finally (as I mentioned above about the 'malice of others') we have a totally unique, totally idiosyncratic, totally different, and totally engaging villain from Sylvia Pascuel and, let me tell you, her Isaura is a masterpiece. From her vulgar little whistles to her colloquial slang, and from her omnipresent fanny-pac to her permanently lipstick-stained teeth... there will never be another villain like Isaura, and more is the shame because of it. Much of the credit, really, must go to Sra. Pascuel herself... every bit the classic character actress as is Margarita Isabel, and the scenes of the two of them together (even better with the inclusion of Sra. Scanda's Casilda, who proves herself more than a match acting-wise) are a sheer delight to watch.
And Isaura herself is just so gleefully despicable! Unlike your typical telenovela villains, Isaura is not out to steal someone's love or avenge any one or thing... her Isaura does what she does simply because of the person who she is- she is a base, grasping, vulgar, cynical, cunning, and wholly and thoroughly amoral human being, and- being that that is just who she is- is quite happy and quite at home being such. There is something so Mephistophelian about Isaura- this wholly and gleefully destructive force- and Ms. Pascuel is so terrific in bringing this to life... I just absolutely loved her, and loved watching the havoc that she gleefully wraught on the poor souls in this novela (in her fanny-pac, and with her lipstick-stained teeth, snoring, slovenly manners, and constant whistling...).

Anyways, in short- a great novela!! Thanks everyone! :-)
 

La fuerza del destino
Abismo de pasion
Mentir para vivir
 

I am late to the party but wanted to put up my favorites too : )

Part I

Corazon Salvaje 2009- It was first ever novella and that's when I saw my first Telenovio Eduardo Yanez. Sigh! It was campy it's true, but I loved the storyline and the costumes. The romance between Juan and Regina I especially loved.

Destilando Amor- I really liked this one too, EY again, but it was a different type of storyline and I learned so much about tequila, lol. The romance in this one was fab too. Rodrigo and Gaviota!

La Madrastra: This really was a unique telenovela a cross between Hitchock and Cristie. That Joel McHale, from the Soup, video that makes the rounds IS NOT EVEN CLOSE to what this TN is. I know it has Vicky Ruffo, but she really didn't cry all the way through. And Cesear Evora, sigh! Rene Casados and Sabine Moussier were a hoot too.

Amores Verdaderos:

Another EY one and it was fab. I loved the romance in this one, and the way it was shot. But the best thing Balzac the dog, so funny.

La Verdad Oculta:

Another EY one, such a good mystery and it kept you going till the end. It was very well written and done.


 

Part II

Zorro, la Espada y la Rosa:

I never watched it on Telemundo when it was on because I didn't have the channel then, but found it on Youtube and watched it. This was great and loved Christian Meier in this. Loved the costumes and the storyline and the scenery. The music was very good in this one.

Hasta Que El Dinero No Separe:

Wonderfully funny novella and loved the combo of Pedro Fernandez and Itati Cantoral. Also the overtop performance of Luz Elena Gonzalez, Vicky, Vicky, Vicky!

Por Ella Soy Eva:

Also very funny and Jaime Camil can rock some dresses I must say. Marcelo Cordoba as the over the top villain too.

Una Familia Con Suerte:

Huge cast and very funny also. Here I was introduced to tons of slang. It was a bit long, but funny all the same.

Que Pobres Tan Ricos:

I know this one isn't over yet, cause I recap it, but it is the funniest comedy TN I have ever seen. The cast is awesome, who wouldn't love Jaime Camil and Zuria Vega! It is touching and heartwarming.

El Talisman:

It had it's moments truly. But it wasn't so very bad. The writing wasn't all that, it could have done with better writers, check out the recaps, they were the bomb! But I must say Aaron Diaz was very good.

La Tempestad:

It was not as bad as the press said. I know they chopped it to bits when they aired it, but really the storyline was really good, especially the mystery part, Sergio Reynoso was great in this one, along with William Levy and Ximena Navarette, who the critics panned. She did a fabulous job despite this being her first TN. I hope she does another sometime. Ivan Sanchez played a great villan as did Cesar Evora and Daniela Romo was wonderful.

Par Volver A Amar:

I really liked this novella. It showed the growth of four different women from all walks of life and the emotional baggage each of them carried. This one really should have been shown in primetime. It would have had wonderful ratings!

Lo Que La Vida Me Robo:

This one is unique I must say. It is really based on Bodas de Odio and not on Amor Real. Amor Real was a remake of Bodas de Odio. The storyline has been dragging a bit, due to the extention, but now is picking up again. It's a nice romance and these writers I must say are very clever with the nuances and the mystery and the doling out bit by bit of information on each of the characters. It is very, very well done. Sebastian Rulli, Angelique Boyer, and Luis Roberto Guzman are really bringing their A game as is Osvaldo Benavides, Alejandra Garcia, Grettel Valdez, Daniela Castro and of course our main villan Sergio Sendel. The whole cast is just awesome.

Avenida Brasil:

This one was the first Brasilan novella I had ever seen, and this one too should have been shown in primetime. The characters were all very, very well done, and the information on the characters were done little by little in this one. We were guessing in this one to the very, very end. It smacked you up side the head almost every day. It was constant edge of your seat action. If you haven't seen it, try to find it. It would be worth watching.

La Reina Del Sur:

This was the first narco novella I watched. I got to see it when Telemundo repeated it. It was really very well written and had you pulling for the bad guys, even when you knew you shouldn't. It was very fast moving and very short. Kate del Castillo was awesome.
 

"The storyline has been dragging a bit, due to the extention, but now is picking up again."

I had very high expectations with this novela and I wanted it to be better than "Abismo", but the ridiculous extension really ruined "Robó" and it's all thanks to this genius Nacandro Diaz. Too damn worried that his gold mine novela would flop due to the FIFA matches. Nonsense excuse!! Robó has obtained excellent ratings in MX despite the extension and this proved Nacandro wrong. SMH
 

I realize that the party is just about over, but I only just saw this great thread and wanted to add my dos centavos.

La Reina del Sur is far and away the best telenovela I've ever seen. The story was compelling and the acting was first-rate across the board.

After that, here are some favorites that come to mind. Since all of them have been mentioned before, often several times, I'll just list them in alphabetical order:

Alborada
Amor Bravio
En Nombre del Amor
Eva Luna (mostly for Guy Ecker)
La Que No Podía Amar
 

Can anyone else comment on Reina del Corazones? Please. I'm finishing Guadalupe on YouTube (too long) and need to start something on TV and RDC starts Monday on Telemundo and doesn't conflict with anything else.
 

You can watch the first 20 minutes of it at the Telemundo site. It looks very good to me with good production values and a good cast.

I plan to watch it and I'm looking forward to it.
 

I still can't believe we're talking about 50 million dollars!!
 

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a lot of my favorites revolve around three authors:
Caridad Bravo Adams:
Corazon Salvaje
La Mentira
Bodas de Odio/Amor Real/robo et al
Canaveral de Pasiones / Abismo / el manantial et al

Fernando Gaitan:
Yo soy Betty la Fea /La fea mas bella
Cafe con Aroma de Mujer / Destilando/ cuando seas mia
I have to add a third author to the list... and that is on my 'romantic' side...
Delia Fiallo:
Esmeralda (Topacio was a remake in Venezuela), Lucecita (Luz Maria is a remake), La Zulianita (Refugio para el amor is latest remake), Privilegio de Amar (Triunfo del amor is another remake), Maria Teresa / Rosalinda (Thalia's),Senorita Elena / Vivo por Elena, Monte Calvario / la que no podia amar ( etc etc.
the list for this woman is amazing in the 'marias/Cinderella' genre.


 

For anyone interested in viewing Silvia Navarro in the Mexican production of "Montecristo" here is a link for DailyMotion where one may watch the novela. I could not find this novela on YouTube and currently the website "DramaFever" is playing the version from Argentina.

Montecristo with Silvia Navarro was highly recommended by Caray, Caray bloggers:

http://www.dailymotion.com/user/scarlett035/11

 

Amor Real

For anybody interested, Amor Real started today, September 15, 2014, on Galavision.
 

I would have to say querida enemiga en nombre del amore cuando me enamoro amor real lazos De amor