We read in the Esmas.com blog the article “Talents Which Reinforce The Telenovelas”, about the fashion of incorporating ‘stars’ or recognized artists in the Mexican telenovelas to refresh the story and give it a new touch, and in this way hook up the audience to the story.

A proof of this is “Fuego En La Sangre”, in which the guest artists’ list is very long, and to name a few as examples, the Chilean Christian de la Fuente and Sofia Vergara appeared recently. Other telenovelas like “Al Diablo Con Los Guapos” or “Las Tontas” also joined the cameo fashion.

Honestly, we think that this fact turns the telenovela into a circus and distorts the script and the story. There have always existed cameos in the telenovelas and series, and it can be something fun and exiting to know that a renowned actor will appear in an episode or that a character from another telenovela visits a relative who turns out to be a character from another different telenovela. This isn’t new, we’ve seen it zillions of times, but generally, the appearance of the guest actor or the cameo is a short appearance. It’s true that the appearance of a singer or international actor in a telenovela or series can hook people to that chapter, attracting an audience which is not the regular follower of the story. It may be a kind of push in a certain moment of the story, but abusing this resource is not the way to channel a telenovela.

What the Mexican telenovelas are achieving is to leave the story aside - a script that people would have loved. Whatever, the hook is:

- “Did you know that Capetillo will appear tonight in “Fuego En La Sangre”?”
- “Really? And what character will he play?”
- “It doesn’t matter…. It’s Capetillo. He’ll sing and flirt with one of the actresses and the audience will be ensured, because Capetillo’s fans will come to see the telenovela.”

And it’s has been happening this way since “Fuego En La Sangre” started. Honestly, to watch a program in which singers and international artists parade around, I’d rather watch any Saturday show, which will surely be more interesting and will not confuse you, because you know what you’re going to see.

It’s a pity that these resources are being used to win rating points at any rate, because this fact only jeopardizes the audience, who is being messed around with.
We may put up with remakes that turn into awful telenovelas (though we’d prefer that they’d plagiarize the original one - they would have surely done a better job); but on top of that, if we also have to put up with meaningless telenovelas based in zillions of plots with no reason or logic, it’s a real shame.

In the quoted article, Salvador Mejía says, “We are looking for international stars to refresh the telenovela and to give the public a better product”. Up to this moment, I believed that the telenovela was valued for its actors’ talent and for the good interpretations and not for the number of well-known artists that may appear in it. It was about quality, not quantity, wasn’t it?

I think our Chava (Salvador) is at a loss – refresh the telenovela doesn’t mean that they have to eliminate the initial script, that the protagonists rarely appear and that after a hundred episodes we wonder what the telenovela was about.

What worries us in this respect is that the Mexican telenovelas are a mirror of many other production companies, like Venevision International or Telemundo, which ‘mexicanize’ their telenovelas, even if they have some raw material which could bear good fruit. We hope that this cameo fashion be temporary and that we can continue enjoying well-constructed and well-structured stories and with good performances. Don’t let the telenovela become the excuse to see the artist of the moment without caring what character he or she interprets or whether it has a relation with the story; and having us saying, “What’s the story in this telenovela?, It doesn’t matter… Bisbal is on it!!!