I was eighteen and in my first year at university when "Corazón Salvaje" 93 was broadcasted in my country. This was the time before the DVD and youtube so, if you had an afternoon lesson, you relied on your mother or another student to tell you what had happened in the chapter. However, I relied on nobody from the earthquake onwards. I recorded it on VHS. Half of the university was hooked on the (mis)adventures of Juan and Mónica, but we would not openly recognise it. The huge number of "salvajitas/ os" was snubbed by the pseudo intellectuals at university, who regarded very negatively watching telenovelas (and watching football, which I also loved). For those who asked me why a serious academic wasted one hour of her life watching such "low entertainment", let me tell you why.
As it was based on a novel (a trilogy by Caridad Bravo Adams), the plot was well developed and tied neatly (opposed to other telenovelas, which improvise it as it goes on). Despite not having a huge budget, the setting and costumes looked nice and realistic.
Absolutely all the actors were wonderful in their roles. The female protagonists, Aimée and Mónica, represented two models of femininity. Glamorous Aimée (Ana Colchero) thought herself very liberated, but was proved to be weak and trapped by her own double standards. In contrast, inexperienced Mónica (Edith Gonzalez) appeared submissive at first, but showed real passion and strength when confronted to the hardship of life. She was a real rebel (unforgettable the scene when she jumped off a cliff to save her husband).
Juan del Diablo (the late Eduardo Palomo, whom we still miss) was not the conventional telenovela hero archetype. In a refreshing change, smouldering Juan never went through the (too recurrent) scenario of cheating on the heroine. Kudos to the scriptwriter for keeping the interest on a story about a married couple who remained faithful to one another. "Corazón Salvaje" 93 was also credited with being the telenovela with the highest number of male viewers ever. I do not think it was because of the action scenes or the pirates' subplot, but because the male characters were very well defined. Many people think that the best scenes were the father – son conversations between Juan and Don Noel (Enrique Lizalde, who had played Juan del Diablo in the 60s).
No other telenovela hooked me in the same way. "Corazón Salvaje" was worth it being snubbed at university (in fact, telenovelas are now part of my academic research).
As it was based on a novel (a trilogy by Caridad Bravo Adams), the plot was well developed and tied neatly (opposed to other telenovelas, which improvise it as it goes on). Despite not having a huge budget, the setting and costumes looked nice and realistic.
Absolutely all the actors were wonderful in their roles. The female protagonists, Aimée and Mónica, represented two models of femininity. Glamorous Aimée (Ana Colchero) thought herself very liberated, but was proved to be weak and trapped by her own double standards. In contrast, inexperienced Mónica (Edith Gonzalez) appeared submissive at first, but showed real passion and strength when confronted to the hardship of life. She was a real rebel (unforgettable the scene when she jumped off a cliff to save her husband).
Juan del Diablo (the late Eduardo Palomo, whom we still miss) was not the conventional telenovela hero archetype. In a refreshing change, smouldering Juan never went through the (too recurrent) scenario of cheating on the heroine. Kudos to the scriptwriter for keeping the interest on a story about a married couple who remained faithful to one another. "Corazón Salvaje" 93 was also credited with being the telenovela with the highest number of male viewers ever. I do not think it was because of the action scenes or the pirates' subplot, but because the male characters were very well defined. Many people think that the best scenes were the father – son conversations between Juan and Don Noel (Enrique Lizalde, who had played Juan del Diablo in the 60s).
No other telenovela hooked me in the same way. "Corazón Salvaje" was worth it being snubbed at university (in fact, telenovelas are now part of my academic research).