A regular meeting of the Primakov Centre’s IberAClub was held. This time we learnt the secret of the worldwide success of Latin American TV series.
It turned out that exotic landscapes and Latin American passions are not the only thing that attracts viewers in other parts of the world. Thanks to an excursion into the history of Latin American telenovelas, we were able to identify some of the peculiarities of this genre.
Using the examples of such cult series of the late 90s as 🇦🇷 Argentinean ‘Wild Angel’ (‘Muñeca Brava’) and 🇧🇷 Brazilian ‘O clone’ (‘Clone’), we found that Latin American telenovelas address a wide range of social issues relevant to the region and the world: inequality and poverty, family conflicts, clash of cultures, corruption, drugs. They illustrate how these phenomena affect the lives of ordinary people and disrupt social ties.
We also found that the issue of traditional gender roles and women’s struggle for their rights plays an important role in Latin American telenovelas. It is for this reason that series from sunny Latin America often focus on the story of the heroine rather than the hero.
And finally, we got to know another 🇨🇴 Colombian novel, this time a musical one, ‘La Reina del Flow’. We have seen that Latin American serials are evolving, adapting to changing audience tastes and current trends. Today it is not only exciting plots, interesting characters and sharp social issues, but also current trends, sophisticated dramaturgy, intercultural context, and a well-developed industry with high quality standards.
Thank you to everyone who joined us!
We look forward to the next meeting!
¡Hasta pronto!
