''Conde Vrolok'' (''Count Vrolok''; "vampire" in Slovak) is a

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

produced and broadcast by

Televisión Nacional de Chile Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) is a Chilean public service broadcaster. It was founded by order of President Eduardo Frei Montalva and it was launched nationwide on 18 September 1969. Since then, the company has been reorganized on sever ...

(TVN) in 2009, succeeding '' ¿Dónde está Elisa?'' Recording began on 11 August and the first episode aired on 3 November of that year. With an average rating of 44.2 points, between 10:38 and 11:16, and a peak of 54, it became the most successful debut of a TV series in the TVN night slot, which can be largely attributed to the popularity of the aforementioned telenovela which it replaced. The production – created by and Felipe Ossandón, with Jorge Ayala – is the first

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

telenovela made in Chile, and began shooting at Las Majadas Palace in

Pirque Pirque () is a commune of Chile in Cordillera Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region; it is located 2.8 kilometers southeast of Puente Alto and 21.3 kilometers south-southeast of the center of Santiago. It is situated at the base of the Cajón de ...

. The scripts were written by

Pablo Illanes Pablo Andrés Illanes Tapia (born March 12, 1973) is a Chilean writer, screenwriter, journalist and film director, principally known as the creator of various successful telenovelas, including ', ', '' Alguien te mira'', '' ¿Dónde está Elisa? ...

, Nona Fernández, Francisca Bernardi, and Juan Pablo Olave, and its first promotional spot was aired on 6 October 2009 during the nightly series ''¿Dónde está Elisa?'' It stars

Álvaro Rudolphy Álvaro Gonzalo Rudolphy Fontaine (born May 24, 1964, in Viña del Mar, Chile) is a Chilean actor who works in theater, soap operas and film. He has obtained numerous awards, among them the Apes Prize in 2001 to the best Actor in his role in ' ...

and , with supporting performances by

Claudia Di Girólamo Claudia del Carmen Di Girolamo Quesney (born December 30, 1956 in Santiago de Chile), is a Chilean actress and theater director of Italian descent, who has a prominent and distinguished artistic career in theater, film and television. Considered ...

, Francisco Reyes,

Marcelo Alonso Marcelo Alejandro Alonso Claro (born 19 March 1969) is a Chilean actor and theater director. Alonso has a degree in Acting from the Theater Department of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Chile. In 1994, he debuted in the ''Champaña'' t ...

, Luz Valdivieso, and , and with a special appearance by

Bastián Bodenhöfer Bastián Lorenzo Bodenhöfer Alexander (Santiago, July 1, 1961) is a Chilean actor, theater director, musician and cultural manager. He served as cultural attaché of the Chile embassy in France between 2000 and 2002, during the government of p ...

. Towards the end of its run its ratings had dropped significantly; its average (at the end of May 2010, counting from its debut) had been 20.3 points, but in the last two weeks of that month it dipped to 18 points, "a situation very different from what happened with its predecessor, that in its final stage averaged 40 rating points."

Plot

In times of war, 1880, a mysterious stranger and his companions arrive at a small town called Santa Bárbara. The people react with distrust to the visit of this mysterious character; the arrival of this attractive, seductive, and elegant man completely changes the destiny of this town. Now back in Santa Bárbara, Count Domingo Vrolok (Alvaro Rudolphy) unleashes the passions of women and the envy of men, while suspicions about the foreigner's past increase. Soon, the count will have to face his condition after falling in love with the wrong woman, Emilia Verdugo (Francisca Lewin). But the legendary curse that afflicts those of his race will be more powerful than love. Vrolok, being a vampire, can not understand human feelings clearly. In addition, a love from the past returns to confuse things further; the spirit of Teresa Salvatierra () has returned to recover her lost love, Vrolok. Domingo is at a crossroads between two loves, Emilia and Teresa. To everyone's surprise, Emilia is expecting a daughter of Domingo. However, the little one is devouring her mother inside. Desperate situations call for extreme measures. Once the daughter is born, Domingo and the others discover, in spite of themselves, that the girl is an ancient vampire; that is, she is weak before the light, garlic, roses, etc., besides having no reflection, because she is half human. And that's not all: Lucio Martino (Bastián Bodenhöfer), Vrolok's old and powerful enemy, has arrived in Santa Bárbara to take Montserrat (Luz Valdivieso) with him and kill anyone who gets in his way.

Cast

as Conde Domingo Vrolok * as Emilia Verdugo * Claudia Di Girolamo as Doña Elena Medrano / Teresa Salvatierra * Francisco Reyes as Froilán Donoso * Luz Valdivieso as Montserrat Vrolok *

as General Juan de Dios Verdugo * Alejandra Fosalba as Beatriz Buzeta * Francisca Imboden as Hermana Victoria Buzeta * Julio Milostich as Padre Faustino Rengifo * as Gabriel Donoso * Antonia Santa María as Úrsula Donoso * as Santiago Verdugo * as Dario Gutiérrez * as Tadeo * as Luisa Verdugo * as Fernando Gutiérrez * Violeta Vidaurre as Ercilia Núñez * as Modesta Pérez *

as Barón Lucio Martino * Héctor Morales as Capitán Maximiliano Ariztia * as Teresa Salvatierra * as Agustina Ariztia * as Pancracio Tancredo * as Soldado González * as Soldado Vampiro * as Prostitute * Ángela Vallejos as María * Paulina Eguiluz as Lucía Cienfuegos de Vrolok * María de los Ángeles Calvo as Ana Mardones

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2009 telenovelas 2009 Chilean television series debuts 2010 Chilean television series endings Televisión Nacional de Chile telenovelas Vampires in television