Review of First Love

First Love (2000–2001)
Excellent and Relevant
10 July 2001
Although I am old enough to be the parent of many of the main characters, this show holds my attention with its plot turns and character dynamics. Without giving away anything about the story, the issues of sex, drugs, AIDS, teen pregnancy, family dynamics, and eating disorders are well handled and realistically presented. The female lead characters remind me of the sort of loyal friends I knew in my school days. The characters are interesting and prove that teens are basically the same the world over especially when turning to each other in a crisis rather to than their parents. I tune in religiously every day and am taping these programs for the children of a friend who will be old enough to appreciate this series in a year or two.

As for the actors, they are all excellent in these roles and give us characters we can care about and relate to. It's a real pleasure to see Valentino Lanus again (after his fine performances in AMOR GITANO and LA CASA EN LA PLAYA); he has a brilliant future as a major leading man. His character is a role model for young men (and catnip to young women). Mauricio Islas' performance as the demonic Damian is making me wonder whether he will want to play villains full time in the future.

I wish I had studied Spanish instead of French in my high school days so I could have been watching novelas, although I doubt that there would have been many for a teen audience that would have been this good.

If you missed this or are only just discovering this program, watch for the next run on Galavision. If you are a high school Spanish teacher, I recommend getting your students to watch this and its sequel, when that finally airs here.
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