Colors 59: Telenovelas

Warning! Don’t even think about buying COLORS 59 if you suffer from an addictive personality. COLORS 59 plunges into the highly seductive and alluring worlds of the Mexican soap opera, television phenomena called: the telenovela. Enter moments of endless glamour, sexual conquest, and bitter betrayal all chronicled daily on millions of television sets worldwide. With stars who will steal your heart, and stories that will snatch your soul, the telenovela will suck you in and never let you go. But don’t worry. You won’t be alone.

Telenovelas are viewed and followed feverishly in over 130 countries worldwide. Their attraction is so powerful that prayer times at mosques during Ramadan are re-scheduled, hundreds of millions mourn a series finale, and struggling stars subject themselves to plastic surgery in order to get lead roles. COLORS 59: Telenovelas pays a visit to Televisa, known as “The Factory of Dreams,” where telenovelas are created and produced for the US200-million-dollar telenovela market. Televisa has all the actors, producers, and technical facilities required to churn out as many telenovelas as possible: some 50 thousand hours annually.

Mexico, a land of passion, religious icons, and a violent colonial legacy is the perfect breeding ground for the telenovela. Economic instability and uncertainty have made people here depend on the one thing they can rely on: daily telenovela drama. Addicts watch 2 at the same time. Young actors apply by the thousands to the Televisa acting academy. Tabloids follow the latest telenovela stars as they compete and cheat to become famous. And fantasy quickly overcomes reality in a massive emotional landscape of hype and melodrama: telenovela heaven.

The COLORS team went to Televisa’s studios in Mexico City to bring you a comprehensive study of this beloved art form. In COLORS 59: Telenovelas, you can follow the footsteps of “Señor Telenovela,” Ernesto Alonso, the mega-producer of countless telenovelas. Meet the ultimate fan, Marco Antonio Linea, who quit his job to dedicate his life to photographing himself with telenovela stars. Visit with Rogelio Guerra, the telenovela star, who in 1992 was invited to give Russia its televised New Year’s wishes instead of Boris Yeltsin. Get the inside story on how Don Victor ReyĂ©s, a portrait photographer, drove nuns so crazy that they turned their backs on their faith to be with their true love. Wrestle with Sagrado a 26 year-old wrestler whose fighter’s identity is based on a telenovela character. And meet sociologist Alvaro Cueva, who believes that telenovelas will be one of the great heritages which Mexico will leave to popular culture.

The Telenovela and its surrounding hysteria have become one of the world’s most popular means of entertainment and escape. So, look out for COLORS 59: Telenovelas, available November 29th, 2003. If you get hooked, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

 

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