THE FINAL EPISODE

The semester is over and so is my Telenovelas class. And the last class was a nice final episode about final episodes. That day we moved our class from afternoon to evening, and from the classroom to my living room.



My students had already watched the final episodes of the telenovelas they had analyzed throughout the semester: Rubí, Amor Real, Corazón Salvaje, Amarte es mi Pecado, Pasión de Gavilanes, La Mentira, Piel de Otoño, La Usurpadora, Los Ricos También Lloran and Dame Chocolate. That evening at my house we discussed different types of telenovela endings. From the most traditional with weddings and terrible punishments for the villains, to the less typical (and more contemporary) ends in which the protagonists are together, without a classic wedding, and impunity is present as not all crimes receive punishment.

We watched several interesting final episodes. Among them, Juana La Virgen's, which like this whole telenovela, was mostly "rosa" but with an interesting twist. In its final episode: the use of memories and recollections by the protagonists who are now elderly.



We watched the terrible and lesson-laden end to the important Colombian series Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso, which has many of the elements of a telenovela--melodrama, love triangles and secrets--but it's too short, in my opinion, to be considered one.



We also had a chance to watch on the screen (and read the script) of the last episode of Cosita Rica, which blurred the line between reality and fiction until the very end, by having the character Nixon presenting on the stage of a filled theater the end of each character/subplot.



(Pictures courtesy of Dani, foro Cosita Rica)

We were able to compare the script and mise-en-scene of Ciudad Bendita's last episode, which occurred in the tragic context of the murder of actor Yanis Chimaras, only hours before the last key scenes were taped. This time reality bit fiction. Throughout these examples, we talked about the distance between the script and what we saw on the screen, and the way these episodes were received and read by the public and the entertainment press.

And to honor that this class was an approximation to Latin American culture through its telenovelas, I cooked for my students a typical Venezuelan meal consisting of pabellón criollo and arepas. For dessert, we had what is now my best-known recipe--a Tres Leches cake, which we accompanied with the reading of a letter that actress Marisa Román wrote especially for my students.

It was a great final episode for a semester that enriched us all. Teaching and learning always go hand in hand. As a professor, I'm immensely satisfied and grateful for this experience.

A Telenovela's Soundtrack-Part II: Characters' Musical Themes

It's become increasingly common to associate a musical theme to each of the most important characters in a telenovela. In this case, music contributes to the construction of the character by emphasizing its defining traits, and adding one more identifier to that character.

In this video, we see actor Carlos Montilla recording El Darwin. This song was composed by brothers Victor and Pablo Escalona specifically for womanizer Darwin, Montilla's character in the telenovela Ciudad Bendita.

I should note that in Ciudad Bendita there were two actors who both composed and sang themselves their characters' musical themes:



- Yanis Chimaras' El Chaca Chaca for character Puro Mercado
(Note: Since blogging is new for me, please forgive the clumsiness of my links to music. They will open in a new window and may take a bit to load. With some browsers, the link might not work the first time you click on it. Try again, please)



- Henry Soto's Otra Mentira Más for character Kike Palacios

In honor of Yanis Chimaras

At daybreak on April 24, actor Yanis Chimaras died, victim of Venezuela's worst problem: crime. Yanis was one of Venezuela's most versatile actors and a staple in the telenovelas written by Leonardo Padrón. Only hours before his death, he had taped the farewell scene of his character, Puro Mercado. However, on April 24, the cast of Ciudad Bendita had to overcome their immense grief to tape without him two sequences in which he was to appear.

Throughout the years I interviewed Yanis many times, and shared with him meals and the inevitable long waits that occur daily in the set of telenovelas. Our conversations were always pleasant, interesting and enlightening. He was well-read, insightful and generous as he shared his life experiences and wisdom. He was also a true champion of social justice.

In his long and prolific career, his character in Ciudad Bendita, Puro Mercado, stands out as one of the most well-known and successful. Yanis enjoyed playing Puro, and his pleasure showed on the television screen every night. He wrote a song, "El Chaca Chaca" for Puro, and the production team was wise enough to choose it as the character's theme song.

Yanis, thanks for everything you taught me about telenovelas and the actor's craft. Thanks for always being kind and funny. I will treasure the memory of our conversations.

More about Yanis Chimaras' death