I looked at the tv screen and realized she was watching the Spanish version of  ’Yo Soy Betty, la fea (I’m Betty, the ugly one’) a Colombian soap opera that has become popular all over the world. It’s a hit everywhere they show it, in the USA as Ugly Betty, Verliebt in Berlin in Germany, Ne Rodis’ Krasivoy in Russia, Sensiz Olmuyor in Turkey, Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin in India, La Fea Más Bella in Mexico and Yo Soy Bea in Spain. Different languages and different scenarios, yet popular anywhere it is shown. But why? Why is it that everyone falls in love with Betty? I asked my mom and she just told me the characters are really good.

Truth is, I believe Latinamerican screenwriters are genies writing screenplays for soap operas. They’re always a hit here in Spain. And even though I feel embarrassed, I must admit I’ve been hooked on two Mexican soap operas. Let me tell you, once you start watching, you won’t be able to stop… and that’s what happened to my mom. That’s why I avoid watching tv around noon or 4-5pm. Soap operas are not good!The funny thing is you know how the story is going to end. Soap operas always have happy endings, but still you can’t help turning the tv on to see how that evil step mother is treating her step daughter or if the baby she’s expecting is really her boyfriend’s or someone else’s. I know, it sounds silly, but we (and by we I mean us, women) get hooked! Probably because we still believe in fairy tales.
Let me tell you about my ’soap opera’ experience. I’d never seen one and every time my Grandma used to come home, I’d refuse to sit with her to watch a soap. ‘Not my style, amona’, I used to say. Well, boredom can make you watch things you’d never thought you would… And when is the best time to get bored? When you have finals in college! Yep, that’s when I got hooked on those two soap operas.

During the exam period in college, I used to get up at 6am, have a quick breakfast and shower and start studying at 6.30-6.45am. I was already bored by 11am… One day I thought about going to the living room and watching some tv. Such a bad idea that was! They were showing this Mexican soap called Rosalinda where the main character was played by a popular singer called Thalía. I liked her music so I thought, there can’t be any harm on watching the soap for a few minutes, right? Well, there was… I got so hooked on it, I couldn’t stop watching it till it was over. The story was very simple, Rosalinda is a poor girl who happens to crash into a really handsome man in the middle of the street. They’re attracted to each other immediately, but his mother will refuse to see him with her. After all, they don’t belong to each other, she’s poor, he’s rich. But like it always happens in soap operas, after two hundred misunderstandings, arguments, fights, reconciliations, more misunderstandings… they end up realizing they can’t live without each other and against all odds, they end up getting married. That’s basically Rosalinda.

I swore myself I’d never watch a soap opera in my life again. But something I’ve learnt through the years is that you can never say never… and yes, again, I got hooked on another Mexican soap opera. Just the same way I got hooked on Rosalinda. I turned the tv on and there they were, Paloma and Diego, the two lovebirds, making love by a waterfall. I kept watching the episode and I eventually got hooked. The soap was called Cuando Seas Mía (When You’re Mine) and not only I liked the show but the main track as well. The lyrics were written by my favorite songwriter, Diane Warren. To this day, this song still gives me chills, both in the Spanish and English version. So, anyway, the plot of the soap opera was basically the same as it was in Rosalinda. Happy ending as well .

I used to laugh at those friends that would always watch soaps and then… I became one of them. Why is it that we like all that drama so much? I wish I had the answer… I guess we like the intrigue, we like happy endings and somehow, I guess we still want to be ‘rescued’ by a charming man like Diego or Fernando José. Oh, but life is no fairy tale… life if much more complicated than a soap opera. That’s what makes it so exciting, sad, scary, sweet, bitter, uncertain, wonderful, painful… that’s the secret of life and a soap opera doesn’t give you that…

Just one warning… do NOT turn the tv on at around noon or 4-5pm in Spain or you’ll get hooked on those cheesy shows!

Location: Irun, Gipuzkoa

Mood: Pensive

Music: Miss Me So Bad - Son By Four and the Spanish version Cuando Seas Mía - Son By Four