Telenovela mania --Spanish TV soaps make splash
By ROBERT DOMINGUEZ NY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Forget about the battle between Ruben and Clay on "American Idol."
For many New Yorkers, the most compelling story line on TV last month was whether Rosaura and Luis Mario would find true happiness on "Gata Salvaje."
The popular Spanish-language soap opera, or telenovela, ended its year-long run Friday on Univision (Channel 41) with boffo ratings.
In fact, despite being aimed at Spanish-speaking households,"Gata Salvaje" - "Wild Cat" - drew more viewers here than both WCBS/Channel 2 and UPN/Channel 9 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the May sweeps period.
It beat out such established shows as the syndicated "Entertainment Tonight" and "Hollywood Squares" on Channel 2 and "The Hughleys" and "The Jamie Foxx Show" on Channel 9.
This wasn't the first time a Spanish soap scored that high in the ratings — and it likely won't be the last.
This week, Spanish-speaking audiences are getting their own version of a TV reality show.
“Rebeca," which will have its debut at 8 p.m. tomorrow on Univision, is being touted as the first interactive telenovela: The audience decides which of Rebeca's three suitors will win her heart by voting over the Internet.
“I love telenovelas because they're so dramatic," said 28-year-old Dapheney Rodriguez, 28, of Queens, who has been an avid telenovela watcher since she was a child.
“Even though the plots are basically the same — it's always a guy and a girl falling in love, then breaking up, then marrying each other at the end — you still get hooked," Rodriguez said.
These shows — and their incredible popularity with everyone from teens to grandmothers — have created their own superstars, too.
Thalia, the Mexican pop singer, is considered the Susan Lucci of the Spanish soaps. Now the wife of former Sony music honcho Tommy Mottola, Thalia hasn't acted in a telenovela in more than two years. But she is still revered by fans for her roles in mid-1990s hits, such as "Maria la del Barrio" ("Maria of the Neighborhood").
Other well-known soap stars are Venezuelan actress Gabriela Spanic, who was in the popular "La Usupadora" ("The Usurper"), and Fernando Colunga, who has played the love interest for both Thalia and Spanic on several series.
Even Salma Hayek, nominated for an Academy Award this year for "Frida," got her start on a Mexican soap opera.
Many story lines on the Spanish soaps are about class struggle as well as romance. The character of a poor, lower-class young woman ends up marrying her rich Prince Charming — but only after myriad troubles, tribulations and humiliations.
"They're a little bit like fairy tales that allow the audience to escape to other worlds," said Clara Rodriguez, a professor of psychology at Fordham University.
"They're like a Cinderella story where the heroine always wins out over evil, and she's swept off into a land of comfort and love and security," Rodriguez said.
Most shows are produced in Mexico and Venezuela. But some recent ones, such as "Rebeca" and Telemundo's upcoming "Amores de Mercado" ("Barrio Love") on Channel 47, are set — and made — in the U.S. to appeal directly to U.S. Hispanics.
Unlike American soaps, the Spanish shows run for a set length of time, most often three to six months.
"We usually try to have a happy ending," said Mauricio Gerson, Telemundo's senior vice president of programming. Originally published on May 31, 2003