From true love to daring escapes and heart wrenching death to revenge, "La Reina del Sur" truly has it all. The main heroine, Teresa is fighting for her life as she tries to avoid her dead boyfriend's past and create a future for herself. However, how does it differ from other telenovelas and how is it the same?
While watching "La Reina del Sur" I have begun to attempt to categorize it and discern its typology. With the more modern, untraditional storyline, this telenovela is easily identified as a "De Ruptura" or realist telenovela. While it does have a romantic subplot, Teresa's struggle to evade her enemies and stay alive has been the main point of focus.
It appears to fall into the category of a couple of categories. Firstly, it could be considered a Cinderella story or "rags to riches." The Telenovela follows her on her journey from being essentially hunted to becoming the most powerful women in Latin America. Something that is different from the stereotypical cinderella trope is in most Telenovelas that follow that storyline the woman is innocent to the point of stupidity. However, Teresa is brilliant, resourceful, and proves to be a formidable foe.
As far as I can tell, there also appears to be a betrayal and revenge storyline or a "Count of Monte Cristo" subplot. Teresa wants revenge for her boyfriend's untimely demise. She has not gotten it yet but she continues to take chances at revenge when she can afford to.
"La Reina del Sur" is also considered a narconovela due to the heavy amount of drug trafficking in this Telenovela. The qualifications for this category is that the story must take place in a drug trafficking context. Drugs are the backbone of this show.
Overall, "La Reina del Sur" is a great show that focuses on the grit and intelligence of a woman in a man's world which is encouraging to average, everyday women like myself.
Great blog, Rebecca! I liked how you wrote how it could be a Cinderella story but what is even more unique is that the female lead, Teressa Mendoza grows more powerful as the episodes proceed. I think it is her character development is fascinating because it is uncommon in telenovelas. Women are usually objectified and shown as pretty mindless things, but they chose to show her as someone who is beautiful and also good at math and business. She asks for respect in any room they walk into. I also like the women's empowerment aspect in this show. Women have each other's backs and stand up for one another, like Fatima and Teressa.
ReplyDeleteHey Rebecca! I really love your writing style in this post! I also noticed that "De Ruptura" novelas are a lot more difficult to pigeon hole into one type of novela. Mine also seemed to fall into a couple different categories and I wasn't sure which ones it might be till I read your post. Also a side note, giving the typology of the show or trying to at least was a really good way to communicate the general plot without spoiling the show. I wish I had read this before my last post because that method would have been super helpful for that!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your post! I feel like I am watching "La Reina del Sur" just from reading your post. As you mentioned, it is untraditional for a woman to not only be the main focus of the telenovela, but also to be smart and not naive. This is a more modern and unique plot, which I think is important in the world today because it is relatable in the sense that women have more predominant roles in society compared to the past. However, I was wondering if there are any other important characters in your telenovela that are women or is it just Teresa? I feel like it would be even more unique and realistic if there were also other women defying the odds. Reading your post was also different for me since my telenovela is more traditional or "Rosa." I like to learn about the other side of the spectrum, "De Ruptura." Overall, you seem so invested in your telenovela and you hooked me with just one blog post!
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