Friday, August 31, 2012
Weekend Discussion: The Great and God-Awful Telenovela Clichés – Part II
Campaigning for Meaningful Change in
Telenovelas
As we have discussed previously, we're
all annoyed with the medical and legal inaccuracies made by all the
producing networks. Those are the first things that should go in
favor of the truth. I also want to see consistent accuracy of
costuming in novelas de epoca and clothing that's logical for
contemporary characters (e.g., no ramerawear on a chick with a
seriously controlling prude for a parent or ramerawear or on a woman who
has a professional degree). But about the characters...
In a contemporary story, I want a
heroine who isn't hot to get married as soon as she's 18 years
old. I want one who knows her mind in most things and who isn't
eager to get embarazada as soon as she meets Mr Right. She can meet
him in the opening episode, but I want her to have some hot times
with him before pregnancy ends that. I also want her to be a decent
human being, not a ramera like Teresa. I want her career to have
meaning and not just be a gateway to finding a man with a fat bank
balance. She doesn't have to be a virgin, either.
Take it from here, amigos.
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Friday, August 24, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Telenovela Villains; Peerless Evil, Part 2
Dirty
Dozen #4: Sexual Predators
This
particular class of male vermin primarily preys – or attempts to
prey – upon innocent and/or wealthy females. His modus operandi
can be seduction but often is rape or kidnapping. Usually perverse,
and always achieving his most intense orgasmic experiences by
inflicting pain, his usual motive is greed. Usually a smooth talker,
often capable of moving in the upper echelons of society, he can get
away with quite a lot before anyone finds out what he is really
about. He may or may not be married, but he is always on the prowl
because his appetite for others' pain is bottomless.
Who is the most evil of them all?
Read more »Labels: barrera, bravio, Cuando, eva, Fuego, Fuerza, Karmageddon, salvaje, stud, telenovelas, triunfo, weekend
Friday, August 10, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Fabulous Novela Weddings, continued
The
Wedding Album, Volume II
Oh,
how I sometimes wish we could go back to some true golden oldies, but
it seems that in recent television seasons each wedding planner at Televisa or Telemundo (i.e., wardrobe consultant and production designer) tries to outdo
the last production. I'd love to know whether novela weddings set
the style for the brides of the following year. We start with three
family affair weddings:
Read more »Labels: Fuego, no-podia, telenovelas, triunfo, weekend
Friday, August 03, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Telenovela Villains; Peer(less) Evil
Dirty Dozen #3: Femmes Fatales
Now we get to a particularly lethal
species of female viper, the femmes fatales, the
women who think they're the gods' gift to the men from whom they demand gifts. Not always clad in plunging necklines, stiletto heels, and red lipstick, they demand everything and get it... until Karmageddon gets them. Always involved in one-upwomanship competitions with the
female characters in their peer groups – and sometimes beyond that
– for the attention of any or all of the males, they will use
seduction as the primary weapon and deception as a close second.
Frequently as sadistic as seductive, they are motivated either by
pride, revenge, or greed. Whether toxic relative or false friend,
the femme fatale is a typical narcissist and often a vile
sociopath. Most are succubi and emotional vampires in other ways and –
fortunately – few ever live to become the toxic mothers of future
protagonists.
Who is the most evil of them all?
Read more »Labels: abismo, barbara, Fuego, Fuerza, Karmageddon, manana, mundo, no-podia, pecado, telenovelas, Teresa, weekend
Friday, July 27, 2012
Weekend Discussion: The Wedding Album, Volume 1
The
Wedding Album, Volume I
Since
I don't come from a large family I've attended more telenovela
weddings than real ones. Most of my married friends had modest
celebrations (including a lunchtime City Hall ceremony and the couple
went back to work) so live weddings have not been a regular
experience for me. Is that why I enjoy the wedding scenes beyond the
“felices para siempre” element of the story?
No
matter; when one is addicted to telenovelas as we are, we get to see
lots of weddings. What baffles me is that finding stills of ones
that are not in the finale is not easy for earlier productions.
Having said that, here are some excellent wedding photos from
Televisa's dream factory:
Read more »Labels: abismo, Alborada, familia, Pasion, salvaje, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, July 20, 2012
Weekend Discussion: The Great and the God-Awful Telenovela Clichés – Part I
We
mention them extensively on this blog and most of us know the most popular ones by heart. I thought it would be a good idea to
discuss them on their own so as not to distract from the more
specific discussion of each series, as we only have a day to discuss
each episode.
Based
on my nearly two decades of viewing novelas, I have to say that some
clichés
will probably be with us forever, such as the concept of the One True
Love, which is reinforced by romance novels and love songs. Most
people can love again after loss, but One True Love always makes for
a good story.
As
the daughter of a narcissist, I also endorse the Toxic Parent Villain
clichés,
which not only make for good drama but actually run true to form.
Every good dramatist from the ancients to the modern age has at least
a few of them and great dramatists win awards for theirs.
So
which clichés
irritate the most? I'd like to start with the medical ones, which I
would completely dispense with. It can't inspire confidence in the
medical profession to see situations where the first operation
doesn't work, when an obstetrician says “You must choose between
your wife and your baby,” or a medical situation handled out of
specialty. Not to mention the idea that any man knows a virgin when
he gets one.
Sound
off, amigos.
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Friday, July 13, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Telenovela Villains -- More Parental Toxicity
Dirty
Dozen #2: Toxic and Controlling Fathers
The
other side of toxic parenting is the Controlling Father. While his
female counterpart typically controls through guilt or other forms of
emotional blackmail, he typically controls through the purse strings, sometimes also with keys and locks; insults and emotional blackmail are often
his last resort. Most are wealthy and powerful, some are insecure
and merely selfish, and some still are perverse. Not as common as the Controlling Mother and usually less deadly, but perversion can compensate for that. Some of these are candidates for redemption, although most usually pay the ultimate price.
It is rather surprising also, that this is the province of specialists and there are fewer actors cast in these series-length roles than for controlling mothers. Why do you think this is? I think it must be the deep voices.
Who
is the most evil of them all?
Read more »Labels: abismo, Alborada, duelo, Fuerza, Karmageddon, pecado, salvaje, Talisman, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, June 29, 2012
Weekend Discussion: A Study of Novela Villains, Part One
Villains. Where would melodramatic telenovelas
be without them? As in grand opera, they are colorful and over-the-top
evil, with grand gestures and outrageous fashions on the women and
basso-profundo voices on the men. They come in distinct
(stereo)types and for our purposes we will discuss them by
classification. Therefore we will examine a series of Dirty Dozens
to determine who is the most evil within each. Controlling parent
villains will also include their usual surrogates (steps, uncles, aunts, grands), peers
will include same-sex siblings, and there is a third category yet to
be named. This week's Dirty Dozen – in this author's mind – is
perhaps the most lethal of them all:
Read more »Labels: abismo, amor, barrera, Cuando, Fuego, Karmageddon, no-podia, pecado, telenovelas, triunfo, weekend
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Weekend Discussion: The Healers
Despite all the medical misinformation we get in novelas, we do get some good doctors who fight for their patients' well-being. Herewith are examples:
Read more »Labels: abismo, Alborada, amor, duelo, Fuego, no-podia, pecado, stud, telemundo, telenovelas, Teresa, triunfo, weekend, Zorro
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Men In Uniform
I'm going to ask for some help here as there aren't a lot of novelas whose heroes (or villains) are military officers, cops, or other men who wear uniforms. If anyone can think of any beyond this list, please assist with a link! This entry will be considerably shorter than last week's, so there will be multiple photos of those gentleman who wear uniforms well. Starting with.....
Read more »Labels: duelo, Pasion, stars, telenovelas, weekend, Zorro
Friday, March 09, 2012
NY Times Article on Telenovela filming in Miami
I thought folks might be interested in this:
Spanish-Language TV Dramas Heat Up Miami
MIAMI — Blanca Soto moved to Los Angeles from Mexico to make a better life. After a decade of struggling there, she relocated to Miami where she works 10-hour days, six days a week.
Her job? Being a star.
Hollywood may be losing movie sets to cheaper locations overseas and New York soap opera mainstays like “All My Children” and “One Life To Live” are gone, but Miami is enjoying a boom in the production of telenovelas, daily soap operas that are wildly popular among Spanish-speaking audiences.
Five telenovelas are being shot in Miami up from only a couple a few years ago. Last year producers spent a combined $40 million in the area, up from $11.5 million in 2009, according to the Miami-Dade County Office of Film & Entertainment.
Although telenovelas were long churned out in Mexico, the two dominant Spanish-language networks in the United States, Univision and Telemundo, are increasing production in South Florida, attracted by American marketing opportunities, tax breaks and the growing Hispanic audience in the United States.
Telenovelas imported from Mexico can still bring big ratings on American networks, but increasingly Hispanics in the United States want to watch stories that resonate with their lives here, network executives said.
Actors, producers and writers from Latin America have descended on the city, turning Miami into a telenovela Tinseltown. The design district and its luxury stores and restaurants like Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink have become a hub for paparazzi from Spanish-language publications on the lookout for stars like Ms. Soto, who plays Camila on Univision’s telenovela “El Talismán.”
“We joke that the best thing about Miami is that it’s so close to the United States,” said Luis Balaguer, founder and chief executive of Latin World Entertainment, a talent management and production company.
For many stars, the change is welcome for another reason: the escalating crime rate in Mexico. “Actors have told me ‘I don’t want my kids being kidnapped in my country,’ ” said Roberto Stopello, vice president for novela development at Telemundo.
Considered a mainstay of Spanish-language entertainment, telenovelas run five nights a week and require a breakneck production pace. A 120-episode season costs around $3 million to make, about the same as one episode of a prime-time network drama. Each telenovela employs roughly 95 crew members and 25 actors who often work six days a week.
The shift in production to Miami is a result in part of generous incentives offered by the state, but the housing crisis in Florida has become an additional selling point for local producers looking for cheap sets. Telemundo’s “La Casa de al Lado” (“The House Next Door”), was partly shot in a high-end vacant home in the city’s Palmetto Bay suburb.
While making television in Miami is still more expensive than in Mexico, Univision and Telemundo said Miami productions give the networks the ability to integrate products from a telenovela’s inception, which means they can charge advertisers more.
A character in “Eva Luna,” for instance, worked at an advertising agency creating a campaign for Buick. The ad created in the series became a Spanish-language commercial that ran on Univision. The networks can also make money on international syndication and through DVD sales or reruns.
Mr. Balaguer, the talent agent, said that five years ago he never would have advised actors to move to Miami. Now, he tells them to build a following among Hispanics and then cross over to English-language networks. His most famous client, Colombia-born Sofia Vergara, the ubiquitous actress on “Modern Family,” got her big break on Univision.
“I tell network executives, if you love an actress, but your nanny doesn’t know who she is, that’s a problem,” Mr. Balaguer said.
On a recent afternoon, at a palm-tree lined studio near Hialeah, Fla., Ms. Soto’s wholesome but cunning Camila pointed a finger at Lucrecia, the conniving seductress in “El Talismán.” Wearing a red negligee, Lucrecia tapped a stiletto and swore she did not plot to murder Camila and her powerful boyfriend, Pedro.
“Corte!” the director yelled and the actresses took a break on the set, made to look like a sprawling ranch in Fresno, Calif.
Ms. Soto, a former Miss Mexico World, tried for 10 years to start a film career in Hollywood before she moved to Miami and took the title role in “Eva Luna,” a Univision novela that averaged more than 4.4 million viewers.
“Suddenly, I’d walk into a restaurant and the waiters and staff would all know me and want a picture,” Ms. Soto said.
Running into telenovela stars at the supermarket or on the sidewalk is still new for Miami residents. “I told Aaron you’ve got to be careful walking on the street because old ladies will hit you with their bags,” said Gonzalo Bernal, production manager on “El Talismán,” referring to Aarón Diaz who plays the show’s handsome evildoer, Antonio. Mr. Diaz confirmed that fellow Miamians “are already starting to hate me.”
Telenovelas have always shrouded social messages in old-fashioned melodrama: agrarian reform in Brazil, drug-related crime in Mexico and civil liberties in Venezuela. “Think of them like postmodern Cinderella stories,” said Thomas Tufte, author of “Living With the Rubbish Queen: Telenovelas, Culture, and Modernity in Brazil.”
American-made telenovelas feature social messages about issues that disproportionately affect Hispanics like diabetes, the importance of a college education and generational gaps between assimilated Hispanics and their more traditional Spanish-speaking parents and grandparents.
In Telemundo’s hit novela from 2010, “Más Sabe el Diablo” (“The Devil Knows Best”) a character applied to be a census worker, a subtle message to viewers to get counted. “We want people in the United States to know you’re writing for them,” said Joshua Mintz, executive vice president of Telemundo Entertainment.
Univision, the No. 1 Spanish-language network, also incorporates social themes, but to a lesser degree.
“I’m not going to lie, the three-way love triangle is still the main story,” said Cesar Conde, president of Univision Networks.
Miami is still a long way from Hollywood when it comes to working conditions. In some ways, the industry here mirrors the early days of Hollywood. Spanish-language studios still largely have exclusive contracts with actors, and unions are virtually nonexistent. Actors often work 10-hour days and writers must churn out a 45-page script every day.
Low-budget novelas mean networks cannot spend lavishly on big-name stars. Instead, they pluck them from Latin America or do nationwide talent searches for Spanish-speaking aspirants.
“We’re still Spanish-language television,” Mr. Conde joked. “You win and then we make you put in 100-hour weeks.”
Labels: eva, Talisman, telemundo, telenovelas
Thursday, December 08, 2011
The Pear Robe Project
The sexy, interesting, and sometimes just bizarre wardrobe of our TN characters, particularly our heroines, provides an endless source of conversation on this blog. As does the re-use of props and clothing in multiple TNs. But never has a recycled TN clothing item been more used, debated, and immortalized than
THE PEAR ROBE.
You know the robe I’m talking about. It’s legendary! Kind of like Fafy Cuenca! White terry cloth. LARGE black and green pears all over. It has been donned by an assortment of TN ladies—heroines and villainesses alike. I decided to hunt down this often sighted, but never photographed (at least not on this blog) clothing item, and capture its image. Here is the result.
Perfect Wedding Day Attire- En Nombre del AmorBefore the ill-fated nuptials between bad girl Romina and her best friend Paloma’s one-true-love Emiliano, Romina donned The Pear Robe, and her bridal tiara. She was positively glowing from her victory in fooling Emiliano into believing that the baby she was carrying was his, and not that hunky bad boy German’s. Not even the shock of finding out she was bleeding, and likely miscarrying, was going to keep her from walking down that isle.
Romina gets her tiara on just right, but then gets a nasty surprise when she sits on the porcelain throne.
The Look of Innocence- Llena de Amor
Kristel has just been rolling around in bed with her lout of a boyfriend Mauricio (aka Rapey Snake). Unfortunately, the maid tattled on her to Mama Fedra who has called on henchman Bernardo to kick the locked door down. Kristel may be a fresa, but she’s no dummy. She’s thrown Mauricio off her second floor balcony, hopped quickly into the shower to get that wet look, and emerged from her bathroom in her beloved Pear Robe to find out what all the fuss is about. She was just taking a shower, by herself, after all.
Kristel perfects her look of innocent confusion in front of an incredulous Fedra and Bernardo
Anguish and Despair Wear- Hasta Que el Dinero Nos SepareAfter hating him, then fighting her feelings, then falling madly in love with him, Alejandra must give up her Rafael. This leads to endless nights of sorrow and tears like this one.
What could be better to wear when one is in the depths of despair than a comfy robe of pears?
Phantoms, Panic, and Pears- Soy tu DueñaOscar the Not-So-Friendly Ghost has come to visit evil Ivana once again. Maybe he’s mad that she killed him? Or he just might be trying to tell her that that Pear Robe is a major fashion faux pas.
This is the most clothing we ever saw Ivana wear
Random Pear Sightings- Ni Contigo Ni Sin TiI’m not even watching this TN, but I was going along, minding my own business, working from home with the tv on in the background, and of course checking in on CarayCaray and gossiping about The Pear Robe, when what should appear, but THE PEAR ROBE?! This pretty young lady was carrying it nonchalantly, as she blew off this nice young man who seems to really like her. Obviously her taste in bathrobes does not bother him.
Did I conjure up the Pear Robe just thinking about it?
Honorable Mentions
There are rumors that The Pear Robe made an ap-pear-ance in
Un Gancho al Corazon and
Mañana es Para Siempre (MEPS), two TNs I have seen. I seem to remember it appearing in those too, but can’t remember the exact scene, nor who the un-lucky wearer was. I have also been told it appeared in
Juan Querendon, a TN I did not see, on a character named Marley.
I for sure remember this similar robe from MEPS, worn by our heroine Fernanda on her wedding day. Instead of pears, the robe is covered with flowers. Perfect for a sweet heroine filled with doubts about marrying her hot fiancé (Sergio Sendel), when her hot one-true-love (Fernando Colugna) is still out there somewhere. Why is THE PEAR ROBE so popular, while this one has disappeared into the back of Televisa’s wardrobe closet?
Flowers vs. Pears, which do you prefer?
Have you spotted The Pear Robe?
Labels: amor, dinero, gancho, humor, Juan, llena, manana, stud, telenovelas, weekend
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
TELENOVELA CONVENTIONS
Novelera found this list somewhere 'on the internet' so we don't know to whom to credit it. It was posted on TW in 2010 by Enoch, see, here. It's quite amusing but I'm sure our experienced novela watchers could add some more and since I'm posting, I'll add mine in blue.
TELENOVELA CONVENTIONS
· Impossible magic is an acceptable part of the plot (e.g., there are magic mirrors; a person dies and his spirit steals somebody else's body to live in; a magic broach attracts a bullet shot at someone, so the bullet is blocked from entering the body); people with terrible burns or disfigurement are completely cured sometimes by magic.
Another common type of impossible magic is when the main protagonists sense that the other one is in danger or in trouble. This sense never works all the time. It depends on the plot.
· A man drinks himself silly over unrequited love.
· The hospitals have no security. A person who was recently shot in an attempted murder has no protection against the villain going into the hospital to finish the job.
· The hospital beds have no call button, so a villain can go to the person's bed and abuse them, but the patient has no way to call the nurse.
· The story ends with a wedding.
· Prostitutes in a whorehouse are sympathetic figures.
· The pregnant protagonists have fainting spells.
Put another way, fainting of a protagonist usually means pregnancy or sometimes a serious or fatal disease.
· The hero is shot or seriously stabbed or run over and/or beaten until nearly dead.
· No matter what degree of physical intimacy is involved, the doors are not locked, permitting intrusion.
· Major developments in the story depend upon persons overhearing conversations.
Conversations disclosing secrets are frequently held in large open areas where it is easy for a concealed person to listen.
· Sympathetic characters are unjustly put in prison, likely because of the machinations of a villain or because the imprisoned hero wants to protect someone else from prison.
· A villain, as part of his or her villainy, gets someone committed to the nuthouse (manicomio) who is not crazy. Possibly some nurse at the manicomio will be bribed to inject harmful drugs into the victim.
· An unmarried woman gets pregnant and seems excessively happy about it.
· A child is kidnapped.
· At birth a child will be kidnapped or swapped, leading to the mother having the wrong baby or no baby at all.
· At least one of the protagonists is rich and has servants.
· There is an evil old woman; e.g., a suegra.
· Incest or threatened incest is a major theme. (A couple who love each other find out they’re really brother and sister.) Or a couple who love each other think they are brother and sister but really aren't.
· A protagonist marries someone and then fails to consummate the marriage. The (non-)pareja may live together for years and sleep in the same bed, but "nothing will happen" between them.
· A villain woman gets a protagonist man into bed with her by drugging him. The morning after she claims that he had relations with her; thus he must marry her.
· A woman gets pregnant and tells some man that the child is his, although it is not, specially in conjunction with the preceding situation.
· Automatic knee-jerk reaction to some negative event with "Swear that you won't tell … my novio … that I have cancer."
· A favorite variation on the above: a woman insists on keeping her pregnancy, and the resulting child, a secret from the man responsible (because she is in a snit about something).
· No characters have any qualms about telling lies.
· Tiresome repeating of stock words and phrases: Júrame – tranquilo - déjame en paz – suéltame - que haces aquí.
· Unknown/mistaken parentage
Also, persons who are related but don't know it often feel something for the other person but don't know why - blood talks.
Similar is when a person finds out that someone they thought was a parent or sibling is not in fact a blood relation, they question whether they could love that person as if years of shared experience and affection meant nothing.
· Person believed dead, isn’t
· Two brothers pursue the same woman
· Two sisters pursue the same man
· Both of the above two at once
· There’s no middle class, only rich people and downtrodden servants.
Many of the rich people have incredibly outmoded ideas about class and try to stop the protagonist from getting involved with a poor person.
· Deux ex machina solutions to problems (or end of novela) Corazon Salvaje has earthquake; Mujer en Espejo has dead aunt appear and tells protagonist where her man is.
· Cinderella gets rich man, despite rich novia and old female relative.
· There’s a significant event to the plot that is followed by a dozen scenes where secondary characters discover that event and comment on it ad nauseum.
· Wasting time by showing the hero or heroine remembering what happened (We already saw it!) and showing the event again, possibly in black and white.
· The good guys never call the police or 911 when a simple phone call would solve the problem.
· The hero is shot or seriously injured and the heroine does not call an ambulance but whines and cries and shakes his body.
· Females act extravagantly like aggressive nymphomaniacs
· The "cachetada": It is OK for females to slap males in the face (out of style since the 1930's in American movies) A favorite variation on this is that a guy grabs a girl and kisses her; she kisses back with enjoyment. Then, at the end of this prolonged kiss, the girl slaps the guy in the face.
· The "almost spill the beans" routine: instead of just coming out with it, the character says that he/she has something very important to tell another character. "OK, I'm all ears." “But first I must warn you that it is shocking.” “OK, I can take it.” “I wanted to tell you this for years, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.” “Yes, so now you will; I'm glad you got the courage.” This goes on and on, and we know it will not come out, at least not in today's episode. Then someone walks in and interrupts, or the person loses nerve, or the phone rings telling them they have to leave to save their brother’s life. In the old cowboy movies an arm could appear through a window with a gun and the teller gets shot just before he spills the beans.
· The idea that with "genuine love" one cannot love someone as the product of a logical decision, but only as the result of uncontrollable magic.
· Excess talk without enough action
· Sex is always a major theme, as if no story could be interesting without this.
from Novela Maven: the protagonists are so incredibly attractive that most of the men characters fall for the woman protagonist and most of the women characters fall for the male protagonist.
· Physical intimacy nearly always leads to pregnancy. This is possibly a more realistic variation on Hollywood’s idea of fornication not leading either to pregnancy or STD's.
A woman has unprotected sex and is always astonished to find out that she is pregnant.
Labels: telenovelas
Sunday, September 05, 2010
A comment on the genesis of a novela, by Yiddish author Sholem Aleichem
Hello friends, I'm in Berkeley where I can't watch Univision, que colmo, but I'm working on a translation of "Khasrileke Progress." In the passage below, the author, ostensibly visiting the town of Kasrilevke, notices how they draw in their readers with a crazy novela that sounds like the ones we watch!
During the time I was in Khasrilevke, both local newspapers, "The Yarmulke" and "The Cap," published a highly interesting and thrilling novel. One called it "The Forbidden Kiss from the Stolen Bride" and the second called it "The Stolen Kiss from the Forbidden Bride."
As the above-mentioned Khasrilevke highbrow led me to understand - confidentially, as usual - the said novela was taken from an old Russian book through the efforts of two literati, who endeavored to stretch its plots out as thinly as possible in all directions to make it longer, and - in order to keep the public in suspense - they were constantly thinking up new sensations, suddenly coming up with a fresh, healthy hero, lively right off the bat, who was not slow to bring a couple of women down from the Other World if it suited them.
And if you like, they'll start right over again from the beginning...
The truth must be told, however: in Kasrilevke the said novela was being read with great eagerness. People lick their fingers over it, looked forward to it. Morning barely passes, they throw themselves at the "Forbidden Bride."
In the normal course of things, there'd have been an end to it long ago. The authors themselves were hard-pressed to continue drawing out the suspense. They'd killed off the novela's protagonists long before: some had been hung, some poisoned, some shot. But in the course of their dismal competition, the editors demanded the story be drawn out still more: neither wanted his story to end before the other's.
During that time I was in Kasrilevke, it happened that some of the story's heroes were being shot for the THIRD time, and the Forbidden Bride had been stolen twice - kidnapped and tortured, thereafter sought and found, then stolen again, and again murderously tortured. There was just no end to these authors' atrocities - I have no idea what they were thinking!
Labels: humor, telenovelas
Monday, February 08, 2010
Hombre de Misterio's guide to the lure of telenovelas
Judy wanted me to share this with y'all! Hombre wrote:Delayed gratification. That could be the secret to all telenovelas. They make us think something is going to happen, in this very episode. Then we wait, we watch, we lean towards the television set. Our pulses race, our breath quickens, we can just TASTE the revelation to come. Except when it doesn’t. Sometimes it’s a moment of love, sometimes revenge. Usually, we’re just waiting for one character to finally tell another something we, the faithful audience, have known for weeks! Ah, but those writers, have they no shame? Do they think it’s FUNNY when they tease us, only to make us wait until the next episode? And that means waiting through a long weekend? With lots of snow? (at least for me). I guess they do.
Labels: telenovelas
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
You had so many great ideas I made a second "lens" on squidoo!
Oh wonderful readers,
You poured out so much great stuff it was too much for one lens, so I made another one, and if there's more, I can make yet another! Here's the second:
Telenovela Fun
The first one:
Telenovelas: a fun, painless way to learn Spanish
(On each lens, the link to the other one is just above the guestbook.)
If you want attribution on something I forgot, let me know. I also may have mis-translated some dichos.
Also, I vaguely remember there was some great discussion on "what is a naco" but I don't remember where. Anybody?
I think squidoo may turn out to be a wonderful place to store peoples lists of interesting stuff that gets lost here at the blog now that it is so huge.
Labels: announcements, telenovelas
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Friends, readers, colleagues, I need your help!
Hi all, I have become a Squidoo addict and just put together the beginning of a "lens" on telenovelas. I've been at this so long I've lost most of my notes so I'm asking if you'd mind helping, I'm looking for more of the following:
- MOST needed as I've lost all my lists: The great Spanish proverbs and catch phrases we've learned through the novelas (like the ones decorating this page);
- Phrases commonly heard in novelas, like No puede ser! and Qué haces aqui?;
- Delicious deaths of telenovela villains (I have a good stock thanks to the last time I asked this question, but there are more of you now!)
- Things which always happen (as Carlos just pointed out, COMA and AMNESIA for instance - and there's baby-switching of course). I have a goodly number of those, but there's always room for more...
Could you have a look over there and see what springs to mind? You can leave your ideas here in the comments on THIS post so everybody can enjoy them. Thank you so much! Here's the link:
Telenovelas: a fun, painless way to learn Spanish
.
Labels: announcements, telenovelas
Sunday, May 04, 2008
OT: Comment thread for Premios TV y Novela
Don't know if this is is kosher on the blog (Melinama, I understand if you delete it) but since people have been mentioning it all week I thought I would provide a place to comment on it, in case people wanted to, like with the Cristina shows and so that it didn't muck up the comment threads for recaps.
My thoughts:
- Pasion wuz robbed! I only watched a few episode of Destillando and although I would admit that it was good as the typical novela goes, Pasion was was on a whole other level. I can see Angelica Rivera over Susana Gonzalez but Yanez over Colunga? Sergio Sendel over Jose Elias Moreno (LaFont)?? And the guion for Destillando? Wasn't it just adapted from Cafe con Aroma de Mujer? How is that even remotely fair when Pasion was a fully tricked out original romance novel? Que the hell?
- At least my girl Jimena (Marisol del Olmo) got a best supporting actress and German Robles, the guy that played Cami's first husband, who was in the novela for all of about 5 minutes got awards.
- Lots of nods to Fuego en la Sangre. Yanez, Montero and Salinas did a really nice mariachi number. Montero is supposed to be the singer but Salinas has a gorgeous voice and Yanez did a good job too with his booming voice. Joaquin Cordero who plays the crazy old granpa got some kind of lifetime achievement award and pretended to be his Fuego caracter which was amusing. I wonder if this means that Fuego is going to sweep next year's awards.
- Allisson Lozz is a younger, less stacked version of Maribel Guardia.
Labels: entertainment-news, telenovelas
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Check this out that I stumbled upon today....
PS...I added the student presentation powerpoint slide that features our own Melinama for ease of reference.
Labels: announcements, telenovelas
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
A Cultural Holiday Turns Into A Novela Excursion
El Angel Soler
I was in Mexico City last week to see a great exhibit on Frida Kahlo. We also took a side trip to visit her home-turned-museum in Coyoacan. You can imagine the flash of nostalgia that hit me when, on the way there, I saw this from the tour guide's van window!
It's a billboard ad for the national lottery; it reads "You too can be an angel."
More than anything, I was happy to see Juan/Aldo's hair had been cut back to a pleasant and managable length.
More Angels
From our hotel we also had the best view of the
Angel de la Independencia, which was just a block away. The brace-face is my daughter, the giggling one is my niece. The golden Angel is in the background.
In addtion to appreciating it for its cultural and historic significance, I was excited to recognize the angel from the novelas, which usually show it to indicate that the story is taking place in
el D.F.
Money doesn't grow on trees, but sometimes creepy dolls do.
On another side trip, we visited Xochimilco, where we got a close up view of the
Isla de las Muñecas Perdidas (Island of Lost Dolls). Die-hard novela fans will of course remember this from
Heridas de Amor, where one of the villians was taken to meet her end.
While resting between outings at the hotel one day, I caught a very nice TV talk show interview of Angelica Maria, along with a cool montage of her in her many novelas through the years. She was in them way back when they were still in back-and-white, and she looked gorgeous.
Another interesting surprise came when we went out to dinner. The restaurant was classy, despite the TV on near the bar. The program playing? None other that that day's episode of
Destilando Amor. I tried to look away, as they are several months ahead of us here in the U.S., but I couldn't help it; I just had to watch! I tried to be discrete for the sake of my fellow travelers, who hopefully did not notice that I was not paying attention to them at all. While I couldn't hear what was going on, I did get to watch almost the whole episode, which was filled with many scenes of characters in varying degrees of
impacto.
As you can see, I got double my money's worth on this trip... and I thought of you all at
Caray, Caray! often!
Labels: announcements, Destilando, fea, heridas, telenovelas
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