Telenovelas A telenovela is a limited run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin America Unlike Soap Operas, telenovela’s have an ending The first telenovela’s were produced in Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico Telenovelas combine drama and comedy and sometimes just one or the other

Six (6) Novela Categories Working Class Melodrama:typically features a poor woman who falls in love with a rich man Historical Romance: Set in colonial times Teen Drama:portrays the lives of high school teenagers and their issues with sex, drugs, and other coming of age topics Mystery/Thriller: portrays a mysterious death or disappearance Romantic Comedy: portrays love stories with some or lots of comedy Pop Band Story: portrays the lives of aspiring musicians

The actress and singer Thalia (1971-) starred in many novelas in her early career which included these three from the 1990s. These novelas fall in the Working Class Melodrama category

An example of a Historical Romance was this novela produced in the early 1990s

Muchachitas ( ) Three examples of Teen Drama novelas: Quinceñera (1987), Muchachitas (1990), and Clase 406 (2002)

Mystery/Thriller novelas Los Ricos Tambien Lloran (The Rich Also Cry) was the first novela to be exported to other non-Latin American countries such as Russia, China, and the United States. It made the lead actress Veronica Castro a household name in Mexico and abroad

Rebelde ( ) Many of the actors in the novela genre of “pop band story” are skilled musicians and dancers as was the case of these two successful novelas

In recent years, both these novelas aired in Mexico’s television network Televisa and in the U.S. by Univision. Both were successful throughout Latin America. The actress of Destilando Amor (literally translates to Distilling Love) is the wife of current Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto

Telenovelas in Mexico Traditionally, telenovelas were often thought to be used as a government tool to distract citizens from national issues The commercial development of the Mexican novela is credited to Jewish Chilean emigrant named Valentin Pimstein By the late 1990s, the company claimed telenovelas were Mexico’s leading export product The racist tendency to use fair skinned actors in all of its lead roles is common in novelas

The famed Televisa logo comes from the original 1973 design by architect Patricio Ramirez Vazquez The log represents a human eye looking at the world through a television screen

Televisa It is a Mexican mass media company Considered the largest in Latin America and in the Spanish speaking world It is owned by the Azcarraga family a wealthy Mexican media dynasty Considered “Mexico’s monopolist”, with control over a majority of Mexico’s cable and satellite television The leader for distributing & producing Mexican novelas

The rival of Televisa, TV Azteca has been in second place when it comes to telenovela and other programming

TV Azteca Founded in 1993 Owned by “Radiotelevisora del Centro” that is owned by Ricardo Salinas Pliego In Mexico, TV Azteca operates two networks: Azteca 7 and Azteca Trece also operates Azteca 13 Internacional, reaching 13 countries in Central and South America TV Azteca novelas & programming

El Chavo del Ocho (The Kid From number Eight)

El Chavo del Ocho Is a Mexican television sitcom that gained popularity in Brazil, Spain, and the United States It has been considered the show most watched in Mexico, estimated viewers worldwide = 350 million It centers around the adventures and tribulations of the title character, El Chavo – a poor orphan Explores the problem of homeless children Mysteries surrounding “El Chavo” “El Chavo’s” Legacy

Chapulin Colorado ( The Red Grasshopper)

El Chapulin Colorado The show embodied many aspects of Latin and Mexican culture, while making a critique on the unrealistic image of superheroes He was the opposite of an American superhero Equipment and Weapons Famous Phrases Popularity

Censorship Censorship in Mexican news media Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist The case of Carmen Aristegui – reporter for MVS networks