Open Thoughts: Telenovelas

In the past few weeks I learned have more about telenovelas than I have any any other style of media. I used to think the acting on these shows was too exaggerated and overdone, but I've come to realize that it is simply a different style of acting and an art. I chose Pasion de Gavilanes to study for this course and would say that I enjoy the show but that would be an understatement. I cannot write this without mentioning how attractive then entire cast is. I have never been so transfixed on the faces of a cast on any show I have watched in the past. This show has so much going on at once that it requires effort to keep up and because I do not speak Spanish I have to read the subtitles intently. Watching this telenovela, I've see many of the patterns we spoke on in class. Pasion de Gavilanes is a Telenovela "Rosa." The protagonist Libia lives in poor neighborhood with her three brothers and is in a relationship with a very wealthy man, who has a family of his own. It also embodies the notion of colorism as we discussed. There are no dark-skinned characters on the cast which stems from a deeply rooted idea that "lighter is better." However, that doesn't take away from the fact that this well constructed show. It was written by the columbian writer, Julio Jiminez, who wrote an adapation of this same show ten years layer called, Tierra de Reyes. Pasion de Gavilanes premiered in 2003 and after some research on the stars, I am happy to report that they all still look amazing even after fifteen years. I am excited to see what happens next and how things are going to work out for the now pregnant Libia.