Telenovelas

Tyler Cowen takes notice of Spanish language television:

For young adults at least, often it is Univision, the Spanish-language broadcaster. And yes I mean in the United States. On nineteen different nights (since September), Univision has ranked number one among 18 to 34 year olds. Two-thirds of the time Univision has made it into the 'big four' (the three networks plus Fox) with this age group.

My previous post on television forgot to mention Spanish-language shows, which are a superior form of bad TV. I've long been a fan of Primer Impacto, despite the departure of Maria Celeste Arras.

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I, for one, don't think much of Ms. Arrarás. She has a Katie Couric quality about her—and I really dislike Katie Couric. Maybe it's the "acento Univisión," the pan-American accent that all (female) anchors on the network are forced to emulate. The most egregious case of it is Carmen Dominicci (also of Primer Impacto); you'd never guess that Carmen or María Celeste were Puerto Rican from listening to them on the show. Yet none of the Mexican hosts or anchors have abandoned their native accent. Go figure!

But I must come to the defense of (some) Spanish TV: primetime soaps. First, the technical mastery of the Mexican makeup artists: no matter how much the heroine cries (and on Mexican soaps, she cries a lot), I have yet to spot a single instance of running mascara... unless it was made to run intentionally, for dramatic effect. And the base and foundation are flawless, I tell you. Flawless!

You can always tell a Mexican soap by the makeup. And if it's a period-piece, by the historical details, which are meticulously researched. On Amor Real, for instance, the wardrobe was updated with the story to keep up with mid-nineteenth century fashion. The characters made generally accurate references to the liberal uprising against Santa Anna.

Now, the vast majority of Latin American soaps are contemptible rubbish, especially the ones from Venezuela. But occasionaly a little gem appears, like Betty la Fea (Colombia), Rubí (Mexico), or Amor Real (Mexico). They have the good sense to run for only six months to a year—making them more like a long miniseries—unlike their American counterparts. And they haven't resorted to vampires or talking marionettes yet.