It seems that Latin soap operas and their stars are finally being recognized outside their country of origin with news and notoriety even occurring in the United States at last.
On December 5, Mexican actress Thalia will have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. With this recognition, the Mexican actress will be rewarded for her more than three decades of work in acting. Soap operas like “María Mercedes” and “Marimar” have made Thalia worthy of a star — number 2,514 — located right opposite the W Hollywood Hotel, just steps away from Vine Street, as confirmed by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
“I adore you so much! Thank you for accompanying me in every project, in every one of my dreams! Los amo!” the actress wrote on her social networks upon hearing the news.
But this recognition is not the only thing that is happening in the world of Latin telenovelas. The 11th World Summit of the Telenovela and Fiction Series Industry was held from November 13th through the 15th in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was attended by a multitude of personalities including director and writer Betty Kaplan of “Doña Bárbara,” “Casi Una Mujer Enamorada” and “De Amor y De Sombras”; Mexican writer Bethel Flores of “Pequeños Cómplices,” “Amarte Así,” “El Frijolito” and “Eternamente Tuya”; Sonia Valentin, a television hostess and singer and the winner of two Grammy Elvis Crespo awards.
Over the three days of the summit, creative and executive leaders of main channels and companies from 18 countries discussed the challenges and opportunities of business in telenovelas and fiction series. This meeting, which aims to boost the business of television fiction around the world, has already become a reference in this sector, marking a guideline without parallel in the history of this industry.
10 Most famous Latin telenovelas in history
- Los ricos también lloran (1979) – México. Verónica Castro and Rogelio Guerra
- María la del Barrio (1996) – México. Thalía and Fernando Colunga
- Yo soy Betty La Fea (1999) – Colombia. Ana María Oroz and Jorge Enrique Abello
- El Clon (2001) – Brasil. Giovanna Antonelli and Murilo Benicio
- Pasión de Gavilanes (2003)- Colombia. Danna García, Mario Cimarro and Michel Brown
- Quinceañera (1987) – México. Adela Noriega, Thalía and Ernesto Laguardia
- Café con aroma de mujer (1994)- Colombia. Guy Ecker and Margarita Rosa de Francisco
- Muñeca Brava (1998)- Argentina. Natalia Oreiro and Facundo Arana
- Topacio (1984) – RCTV. Protagonistas: Grecia Colmenares and Víctor Cámara
- Los caballeros las prefieren brutas (2010) – Colombia/ USA (Sony Pictures)
Telenovelas are an inherent part of Latino culture and it is in this community where they flourish, develop and arouse passions and fanaticism to the height that only the best and most famous celebrities of Hollywood get. Telenovelas have historically been considered one minor genre, made for women and stay-at-home moms with nothing to do but wash dishes during commercial breaks.
However, countries like Brazil are able to postpone the schedule of a football match for the benefit of a popular telenovela at that time because they know the public would not want to miss the chapter of the day. Telenovelas are passionate, dramatic, tangled and eternal… just as we are and we love it.
Originally published on VOXXI as Thalia’s star on Walk of Fame and 10 most famous Latin telenovelas