VENEZUELAN TELENOVELAS-LA VERDAD

This week Venezuelan daily La Verdad dedicated its anniversary issue to telenovelas. The 50+ pages issue includes interviews with actors and writers. A plus in this publication is the inclusion of the timeline of Venezuelan telenovelas. This issue is a great contribution to the study of this TV genre that has marked my country, and that is going today through its worst crisis.

Following is a list of links to some of the interviews and stories (in Spanish, unfortunately):

Cuando la TV lo era todo por José Gregorio Meza

El espectáculo del sentimiento o la mentira de la realidad por José Gregorio Meza

TIMELINES-VENEZUELAN TELENOVELAS: 1, 2

ACTORS:

Gustavo Rodríguez

Jean Carlo Simancas

Marialejandra Martín

Viviana Gibelli

WRITERS:

Martín Hahn

Mónica Montañés

Iris Dubs

Pilar Romero

Leonardo Padrón

MY INTERVIEW: 1, 2

Other actors interviewed: Raúl Amundaray, Daniel Alvarado, Jonathan Montenegro, Ruddy Rodríguez, Carmen Julia Alvarez y Daniela Alvarado.

Her's the full issue: Edición Aniversario Diario La Verdad

Hope you enjoy it!

TELENOVELAS AND THE SPANISH LANGUAGE

In the recent 5th Congress of the Spanish Language, Jorge Ignacio Covarrubias, secretary of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language, presented a paper about telenovelas and the diffusion of the Spanish language. You can read here an article in Spanish about this. You can also read Mr. Covarrubias' presentation. For this research, Mr. Covarrubias interviewed telenovela writers, actors and producers. He also interviewed me and some of my students in my "Telenovelas, culture and society" class.

UNIVISION'S MISTREATMENT OF VENEZUELAN TELENOVELAS

It's almost impossible to watch Venezuelan telenovelas in Univisión. Programming is designed to attract the U.S. Latino population, which is dominated by people of Mexican descent/origin.

The days in which Univision broadcast El País de las Mujeres (1999) at 2 p.m. are long gone. The Venezuelan "quota" is now the 1 p.m. slot, which is now destined to telenovelas produced by Venevisión-Miami (Venevisión Productions). Never by Venevisión-Venezuela. And telenovelas produced by RCTV are not even in the mix. Hence, we rarely find Venezuelan telenovelas in Univisión. And when we do, it's in some terrible time slot like 1 a.m.

For these reasons, I was happy to hear that my most recent object or study, La Vida Entera, is being broadcast by Univisión at 6 p.m. The time slot is somewhat problematic since it coincides with local newscasts in some cities. For instance, in Miami and San Diego the telenovela won't be seen. But, there are plenty of cities and urban centers in which the affiliated Univisión station doesn't have a newscast. For example, Atlanta. Notwithstanding this issue, the 6 p.m. slot is a big improvement compared with the wee hours of the morning, as was the case with telenovela Torrente.

But, the abuses that Univision commits regarding Venezuelan telenovelas aren't limited to scheduling:

1. The synopsis of La Vida Entera on Univision's webpage is a faint image of the one written by the telenovela's author. The telenovela's essence is all but lost.
2. For most of the day today my TV was on Univision. I didn't see a single promotional of the telenovela. La Vida Entera promotionals don't seem to exist. Hence, the telenovela doesn't seem to exist either.
3. Every one hour episode is being edited so that it's duration is only 30 minutes. Therefore, edition is rough and brutal, and lacks respect for the story. My impression was that the editor only cares for the main love story of Kotufa, Salvador and Cristóbal (this is also reflected in Univision's published synopsis). The rest of the characters only show up in scenes in which they're related to the main triangle. By editing in this way the first two episodes, in which the writer and cast first draw characters and present plots, the telenovela loses coherence, meaning, dramatic structure and strength. In other words, a 120-hour telenovela is being dismembered into 60 meaningless hours.

Given all these factors, should we be surprised if La Vida Entera fails in the ratings? Of course not. When that happens, then it will be said that Venezuelan telenovelas don't work out well in Univision. And, it will be several years before another Venezuelan telenovela is given "a chance," always under adverse conditions that are close to impossible.

This is a sorry state of affairs that disrespects all who work in the Venezuelan telenovela industry and the public. It's also another factor in the current precarious situation of Venezuelan TV, which is caused by government measures intended to stifle dissent and by positions assumed by network administrators and owners.

WATCHING "LA DUEÑA"-AGAIN

Every time I'm asked which is my favorite telenovela of all times, I answer La Dueña (Venezuela, 1984). This novela was written by José Ignacio Cabrujas and Julio César Mármol. The protagonists were Amanda Gutiérrez and Daniel Alvarado.

The telenovela is written as a homage to The Count of Montecristo by Alexandre Dumás. Moreover, La Dueña is The Count of Montecristo, but told in the Venezuela historical period known as gomecista and post-gomecista, and with a female protagonist, who's thrown into a horrid psychiatric ward. She escapes ten years later and deploys her vengeance.

Recently I watched La Dueña again. It was a fascinating exercise since in 1984 I had no plans to study a Ph.D. in mass communication, nor did I imagine that one day telenovelas would be my object of study.

Following my academic discipline, I started watching the telenovela with a series of questions in mind:

• After a decade studying telenovelas, would I like La Dueña as much as I did in 1984?
• What weaknesses and strengths would I notice in the telenovela?
• How different is La Dueña from today's telenovelas?

La Dueña hooked me again. And, in doing so, it reaffirmed what elements are present in the telenovelas I like:

• Careful character construction
• Intelligent dialogue
• Acting talent
• Coherence in the storyline

La Dueña is a telenovela with a high level of writing and low levels of production, even for 1984. There are very few exterior locations and a limited number of sets. The quality of the wardrobe is exceptional, though. It reflects the historical period depicted in the telenovela and effectively contributes to each character's individuality.

Even though drama is paramount in La Dueña, humor is present throughout in small doses that make the story lighter and easier to digest. Dialogue in La Dueña uses correctly the historical references of the time period. They are typical dialogue written by Cabrujas: rhythmic, poetic and profound. But, most of all, the words are coherent with the character that pronounces them. These dialogues are long and are set in long scenes; way too long if we compare them to current telenovela standards. When you watch La Dueña, you are at a different pace. Things are happening all the time, but the length of the scenes is double or triple the ones we watch today.

The cast of La Dueña merits special mention. It's quite a luxury to watch this cast. With one or two exceptions, everyone did an extraordinary job with their characters.

-Amanda Guiérrez is magnificent as she develops the double character of Adriana/Ximena, using two tones of voice, two gaits, two attitudes towards life. And, she adds to Ximena the detail of the useless hand, the only mark she has from her days in the horrible ward.

-Daniel Alvarado wasn't the typical telenovela protagonist, but that didn't matter at all. We detest his Mauricio Lofiego when he is arrogant and blindly machista. And we love him when we see him in love and humbled by his mistakes.

Here is episode 19. Go to 46:30 for a scene with the protagonists:

It would be too long to write about every actor in the cast. They are too many and too talented. (By the way, it's quite interesting to see how many characters and storylines La Dueña has, when there are those who currently criticize some Venezuelan telenovelas for having "too many characters" and simultaneously declare themselves admirers of Cabrujas and Mármol).

I will mention only four of those outstanding actors:

-María Cristina Lozada is Purificación Burgos, the great villain of the story. Purificación is a character with no fissures, in the acting or the script. Cabrujas and Mármol served her to María Cristina Lozada who made her grow in front of our eyes, until Purificación became unforgettable for Venezuelans. From an acting perspective, it was a detailed job.

Here is episode 45. Find minute 15 for a scene between Purificación Burgos and her second son, Abelardo:

-Eduardo Gadea Pérez is Manuel Antonio Lofiego. This character is a catalog of some of the most enchanting and troublesome characteristics of the average Venezuelan. Manuel Antonio is charismatic, verbose, a drinker and improvised. His scenes have the right amount of humor amidst the drama that is La Dueña.

Here is episode 78 with a pair of scenes of Manuel Antonio Lofiego. Go first to minute 17 and then to minute 31:

-Carlota Sosa is María Consuelo Tellez, a woman whose intelligence and personality don't fit well with the rigidness of the time period in which she lived. There is a lot of truth in Carlota Sosa's performance. Back in 1984, it was the first time I saw this talented actress on TV.

Here's again episode 78. Go to minute 8 for the final scene of María Consuelo and Adriana Then go to minute 32 for her final scene with Mauricio:

-Fina Rojas is Elvira, the woman who raised the protagonist, Adriana. Until I saw her in La Dueña, Fina Rojas was a comic actress who worked weekly in the humorous show Radio Rochela. Elvira is a character that is 100% drama, and Fina Rojas executed it brilliantly.

Here's again episode 45. Go to minute 36 for a long scence between Elvira and the male protagonist, Mauricio:

La Dueña is a great example that the key elements in a good telenovela are the writing and the acting. This telenovela is also a reminder that betrayal and vengeance are classic elements in these melodramas, and gives us clues as to why the principle of crime and punishment is one of the genre's most enduring codes.