Caray, Caray!

Cool! I'll have to think of a few more to add to this.
 

Thanks!!
 

Victoria, amiga, what a FANTASTIC list! This is greatly appreciated!!

Fatima, ever the Crackpot Theorist. :))
 

Thanks so much Vicki. And thanks again for sending me an early version of it.

Side note: Fatima--miss your comments. Wish you were watching MCET.
 

Victoria..thanks. Ah..my top two..Alborada and Amor Real. Fatima..I miss you, too.
 

Thanks so much for this fine list, Vikki!! I plan to send a copy to my friend, who has been attending Spanish classes with me forever and who was the one who recommended watching TNs to improve my comprehension. I know she'll love the list. I'd put Amor Real ahead of Alborada, but maybe all the 5.0's are just arranged alphabetically.

You're a trouper to do this.
 

Vikki
Super! tks so much. That was time consuming!
2 of my favorites are the top 2. I'm missing Fernando Colunga.
 

I believe Vikki is willing to add to her list, and the link will stay current.
 

Thank you for this list! I actually picked up two of the videos on the list at Wal Mart: En Nombre del Amor and Por Ella Soy Eva. I look forward to watching them (even though I probably won't get to it until next summer) and reading the recaps by the 'crack team of bloggers and experts!'
 

Thanks so much, Vikki. What a great list!
 

The list would not have been possible without all the comments and recommendations of the faithful Caray, Caray bloggers who took the time to make these wonderful recommendations back in the summer.

I welcome any and all comments and will try my best to keep it up to date.

Thanks for your generosity and thanks to the words of encouragement I received from Urban, Eli, Fatima, and Santana while putting the list together and to Blog mom Jane for making it possible.
 

Novelera:

Yes, for ease, the titles are just arranged alphabetically under each rating.

I do agree that Amor Real is my favorite Novela of all time. In fact I'm watching it again now on television for the hundredth time.

I think that everybody who recommended Amor Real tended to recommend all three Carla Estrada novelas de época at once: Amor Real, Alborada, and Pasión.
 

So it looks like we at caray have a taste for novelas de epocha.

When did blogmom start recapping on her Pratie Place blog? Was it for our #1 Alborada, or around that time?

They say you never forget your first time.

Do you think novelas are actually getting better, or are there just too few folks who have been faithfully watching for more than five or ten years to give the older novelas a fair shot?

Does anyone remenber Kasey Kasem's countdown show? Most of the time if he said this record had the longest stay in the top ten or this artist had the most top twenty hits without a number one or whatever, he would qualify it with "of the rock era."

Perhaps we should style the rankings as the "Best Novelas of the Caray Caray Era." This would acknowledge the difficulty in comparing shows that a critical mass of this community saw (and discussed and commented on together) with those from decades ago.

Notable older novelas could maybe be considered for a separate list?

Otherwise I'll have to protest the "low" ranking of CS '93. :)


 

Yes, I blogged the whole of Alborada myself on my Pratie Place blog. After that, I was done (that was exhausting) but the people who'd found me insisted that it not be over. So with some of my most loyal commentors I started this blog. And the rest is history! Almost 12 million hits!
 

Anon8:59 I don't think novelas are getting better, but maybe they are getting more airtime? Or more mainstream? There seems to be more of an awareness of them anyway.

I am currently watching Cuna de Lobos on TLnovelas and it is fantastic (perfect music, excellent acting, lots of pychological drama) so I was surprised to see the low rating here. I suspect it has more to do with its age than anything else.
 

Anon @8:59 am:

I too was very surprised that CS '93 was not more highly recommended or mentioned more oftenthan it was.

That is why I believe the list should be ever evolving. However, unfortunately my computer skills don't allow me the ability to make up a nifty little star☆☆☆rating like Amazon, Walmart, etc. have on their sites. However, if one wants to lead a hand, I'm open.

I did not see CS '93 (it is on my soon to watch list); however I saw the AA and EY recent version and, unlike others, I loved it.

I'm a sucker for "novelas de época" or the "far and few between" mystery novela.
 

Jane:
I don't know how but I found you first on your Alborada blog, the second time I watch it.

I was hooked from day one!

I also know that you picked the name "Caray, Caray" from Isabel Manrique's (lovely Mariana Karr) frequent use of the saying !

Hard to believe so many years have passed, but I DO believe in the number of loyal, faithful, and addicted followers you have gained.

I love the snark, beenie moments, Crackpot Theorists Table (Fatima), earworms, screen shots, wisdom from the Gods, and all things uniquely "Caray, Caray".
 

Oops, brain freeze. I posted as anon 8:59 and forgot to sign it as Chris in FL.

Further, For some reason, initially I couldn't see any but the first page, and spoke of the last 5 to 10 years when I now recognize that there were a goodly number of shows going back around 20 years before the drop off.

That also makes CS's front page placement relatively higher than I was recognizing.

My point, such as it was about whether there is an undue emphasis on more recent shows is rather undermined by the full list. There are indeed quite a number of titles nominated and supported that show our community includes many folks who were following novelas long before Alborada.

Upon further consideration, I am amazed at the extent to which pre-Alborada shows are included, going back to the early 90s.

The collective memory does seem to peter out just over 20 years ago, but the line is not drawn at the onset of Blogmom Jane's recapping of Alborada. So as much as I liked the term, perhaps "Caray Era" isn't quite what I was looking for to describe the period covered by our living memeory.

The presence of Cuna de Lobos just cement's that landmark's place in novela history and confirms that I need to see it some day, but I have trouble believing it was the only pretty dang good novel before 1990. To that extent my original point still makes a little sense, but since few, if any, other novelas that old are available it doesn't really matter much in practice.

On a separate point, I notice Quiero Amarte in the list of honorable mentions, while this list was compiled before it aired. At least before it aired in the US.

That leads me to wonder just how many folks we have here at Caray who have access to Mexica broadcast or who often follow shows online before they get to the US?

Thanks to UA for orchestrating the survey and to Victoria for the hard work of sifting through the responses, gathering the supplemental cast and producer information, and presenting the results.

 

Chris in FL:

I have found the recommendations from the summer blog of the Caray community invaluable in selecting novelas to watch on YouTube.

As YouTube was created in ~2005/2006, and due to the ~median age of today's telenovela audience and Caray bloggers, it's hard to imagine anyone remembering the names of that many novelas produced before, say, ~1995/2000.

To me it seems as if the telenovela of today has veered from the original, especially in terms of length, PSAs, commercial sponsorships, cultural/gender/socioeconomic class, etc. differences, among other things.

Also, I am amazed that more novelas de época aren't being produced as that genre seems to be the favorite among a majority of the audience; and the seldom seen mystery novela ("La Madrastra"). Instead today we are hit over the head by nacro-novelas, a few "comedies", and the never-ending remake.

With all the many recommendations from the Caray community, I will be in paradise for the near future.
 

Victoria
This is a fantastic list that took a great deal of hard work. I'm more of a lurker on Caray because I just started watching novelas about 2 years ago.

Your list will be a godsend to me to help me select which novelas to buy or watch.

The Caray bloggers were so instrumental in getting me to refresh my Spanish and watch novelas.

Thank you for your recommendations. I look forward to watching the novelas on your list.

 

Variopinta

I came across this video clip about an upcoming telenovela with Fernando Colunga and Edith Gonzalez. I don't know if it is happening or not. If you know something, let me know please.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuv9LC-CNjU
 

So Sorry,
Seems as if it may be a virtual novela, something I've never seen before.
 

What a treat! This list is so encompassing. It's great to have all the best telenovelas listed so one can work their way through their favorite producer and/or actor(s).

As a telenovela newbie I am looking forward to watching many of the novelas listed.

Thanks for making our viewing journey easier.

Diana
 

Dona Barbara?
 

aplausos fuertes, and muchos gracias!

i too love the epoca stories, and am curious if anyone else is watching lado a lado. it started today, set in 1903 rio. the fact that it's dubbed bugs me a little, and the fact that there aren't captions on Mundo Fox. i saw it was low ranked on the overall list.
should i just quit now?

-mai tai
 

I haven't seen "Lado a Lado" so I am unable to comment about whether it is a novela worth watching; although dubbing a movie, show, or telenovela has always bothered me because of the time lapse between the lips and words.

I would suggest reading about the plot and storyline on Wikipedia.