The Duality of Telenovelas

Art by Aleks Carney

I will never forget the first time I watched a telenovela. I was four years old and at my grandparents' house, while my parents attended a Law convention. During this stay, I closely watched my grandmother’s afternoon routine which consisted of watching Caso Cerrado, a very famous and dramatic Latin American show that reenacted court cases, from 4:00 p.m, to 5:00 p.m., followed by a news segment from El Nuevo Dia, which ended at 7:00 p.m., and then finally, new episodes of different telenovelas until 10:00 p.m. 

I was utterly mesmerized by the plot even if I didn't initially understand the context of the new episodes. These episodes' suspense, thrill, and drama hypnotized me for hours. Telenovelas undoubtedly helped bring us together and as a result, we made it a tradition. Later on, I learned that my best friends also shared this tradition with their grandmothers and confessed to loving these telenovelas too.

After I moved from Puerto Rico to Boston for college, my new Latin American friends also shared this tradition. It was something that brought us together. However, when rewatching telenovelas, with the hopes of reliving childhood memories, I became distracted with the stereotypes they portrayed. 

Here is where my conflicting feelings started. I realized that most of the relationships shown in these episodes were manipulative, disloyal, toxic, and disrespectful. One of the main recurring themes was the man having to choose between two women. Some episodes even showed the ideal woman having to endure infidelity as the “love of their life” left them to be with their mistress, making the woman look both weak and worthless. Like me, many women felt inspired by these telenovelas. However, it was not until I grew up that I became aware of the stereotypes that my own community was pushing. 

When you ask someone to re-enact a telenovela, a person will most likely start yelling, throwing things, and making expressions like “Estupida! He’s mine!” It doesn’t matter whether you are Hispanic, Latino, or white, that is usually the first response everyone has. Although it could be funny due to how overly exaggerated the drama is, it continues to push certain stereotypes that affect Latina women specifically. When I say I am from Puerto Rico here in the United States, the responses are usually “Oh wow you are so exotic,” or “That makes sooo much sense you look sooo Latina.” People have also said “Ohhh okay okay so you’re ghetto but also exotic”… but what does that mean? The U.S. has a long history of racism itself, but telenovelas have certainly contributed to the “double burden” of being both a woman and Latina. 

I interviewed a series of Latina women who shared their experiences regarding how the stereotypes shown by these soap operas have affected them as Latinas in their daily lives.

“My mom wouldn’t let me watch them because of all the oversexualized scenes she claimed telenovelas had. But what captivated me the most were the relationships and cliffhangers. It kept me on the edge of my seat, but when I grew up I realized that the couples were very toxic,” Greta Costa ‘24 from Argentina said. “I would normalize certain things that now I find appalling. It is upsetting because not a lot of people in the U.S. are familiar with our culture, and so they think that what they see is a reflection of our entire culture when it's not like that.”

Micaela Simon ‘25, an Emerson student from Peru, grew up watching telenovelas from Argentina and Mexico because they were the most popular ones at the time. Her favorite telenovela was Floricienta, and what captivated her the most was the music and romance. 

“I really enjoyed the thrill of the chase in these relationships, and I really thought that’s how relationships worked, but it wasn’t until I experienced a relationship that I found out that this wasn’t true,” Simon said. 

Without a doubt, telenovelas promoted stereotypes of women as weak and in need of male protection or rescue, along with perpetuating over-sexualization, deceit and manipulation, wealth disparity, exaggerated mannerisms, and ideal beauty standards. They also often portrayed LGBTQ+ characters in exaggerated stereotypical ways that did not represent the community's diverse spectrum of identities. However, over time there has been a shift from these themes.

“All I saw in telenovelas were heterosexual couples, the mean girls, the popular group, the girls screaming or fighting over the guy, [and] them being portrayed as jealous or melodramatic,” Simon said. “Conscious of that, when I came to the U.S. I decided to dial it down and be less competitive because I knew that these stereotypes existed.”

Pamela Matos ‘25, Puerto Rico, who grew up watching telenovelas with her mom, highlighted the positives of these soap operas. 

“I like telenovelas where the protagonist is a badass who doesn’t let men get in the way, it reminds me of my mother,” Matos said. “That's why I like Teresa so much because it shows the female rage as a product of stereotypes in relationships specifically. It is definitely a different image and one that I resonate with more.”

Ana Videla ‘25, Argentina/Colombia discussed Betty La Fea, one of the first telenovelas to have a protagonist that doesn’t follow societal beauty standards.

“Betty La Fea, is a series that was ahead of its time and I enjoyed it because the protagonist wasn’t the stereotypical ‘it girl’ that we would always see,” Videla said. “However, even the good ones sent stereotypical messages.” 

Videla expressed some of the positive sides of telenovelas by sharing how she was able to learn more about her Colombian heritage through telenovelas, since she had spent the majority of her life in Argentina. They also allowed her to reflect on her family's hardships and the importance of unity, which is a common theme present in telenovelas. 

For Latinas, telenovelas are important because they serve as quality time with our families and play a crucial part in our childhood. It wasn’t until we left our countries that we realized how our image as Latina women was distorted by the amount of stereotypes that the media had pushed through telenovelas. 

Our complex relationship with telenovelas will continue to evolve. While we cherish the memories and bonding they provided us in our youth, we also acknowledge the need for critical examination and awareness of the impact these shows have on our society, especially on young and impressionable minds. As we advocate for more responsible and diverse storytelling, we strive for media that not only entertains, but also educates and fosters understanding among communities. Through open dialogue and constructive criticism, we can work towards a more equitable portrayal of all individuals, both on and off the screen.