Not All Soap Operas Are Created Equal

When I hear the words "soap opera," the closest synonym that comes to mind is "crap." Just thinking about "As the World Turns," "Days of Our Lives," "All My Children," "General Hospital" and the rest of them is enough to make me cringe. My distaste for soap operas stems from many places, such as the painful performances, brain dead script, plot lines that make no sense and continue on for 50 years...dare I go on?

It used to be when I heard the word "novela" (short for "telenovela"), I got the same kind of jitters. After all, the translation for novela in English is "soap opera." However, even though American soap operas all share an equally bad playing field, Latin American novelas do not. First of all, the story lines don't continue on into eternity and beyond--novelas reach a distinct conclusion. Second, novelas are not just for housewives, as is the stereotype with American soap operas--novelas are made for everyone, young and old, male and female. Third, I have yet to see a humorous soap opera. A good novela always has humor worked into each episode, even if there is plenty of intrigue, suspense, romance and action to balance it out. That being said, it must be reiterated that not all novelas are created equal.

In Ecuador, opinions about different novelas vary, as one would expect since people will always have different tastes in entertainment. For example, there were a few Ecuadorian novelas that I saw clips of that I thought reeked, but some of my husband's relatives were glued to the screens when those particular shows aired, so who am I to judge? The consensus among most young people I talked to in Quito was that the Ecuadorian novelas were not the greatest of all time. On the flip side, they also weren't the worst. Now, I've never done a poll of the population in Mexico, but at least in South America, Mexican novelas have the worst reputation. The Ecuadorian public also doesn't concern itself with Argentine novelas, and those particular shows don't even seem to be broadcast in Ecuador or in its neighboring countries. The consensus was always that the best novelas come out of Brazil and Colombia. Apparently the novela/filming industry is strong in those countries, and there's enough money plus quality actors and writers to make novelas a successful enterprise. For those not in the know, "Ugly Betty" was a originally a very successful Colombian novela, "Betty La Fea."

I have to admit, even though it took awhile for my husband to break down my fairly rock solid aversion to soap operas, I finally took a chance on a Brazilian novela from back in the day called "La Esclava Isaura" and actually enjoyed what I saw of it. Only a few days ago I was talked into taking a chance on a fairly recent Colombian novela, "Las Munecas de la Mafia." Despite the utterly trashy-sounding title, it has not been the tortuous experience I once would have expected. On the contrary, I find myself coming back for more. It's not necessarily addictive the way LOST is, but it doesn't have to be. I'm still watching, ain't I?