La Madrastra (1981 TV Series)
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''La Madrastra'' (lit: ''The Stepmother'') is a Chilean television
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
created by Arturo Moya Grau, that aired on Canal 13 from April 21, to September 18, 1981, starring Jael Unger and Walter Kliche. The series, set in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
between 1961 and 1981, depicts the memoirs of Marcia Espínola, an innocent woman accused of murder in America, twenty years later, she is freed from prison, returning to Chile for revenge, and to see her children as their stepmother. ''La Madrastra'' having achieved both wide acclaim and commercial success with 80% television ratings, became a significant part of 1980s Chilean popular culture. Directed by Óscar Rodríguez and comprising a total of 75 episodes, the series has been consistently ranked by Latin American media as one of the greatest television screenplay in Spanish language of all time, and has been remade several times by other television networks. ''La Madrastra'' has been cited as a key influence on Chilean television productions inspiring
screenwriters A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...
until now. International versions has been adapted and rebranded as ''
Vivir un poco ''Vivir un poco'' (English title: ''Live a little'') is a Mexican telenovela, which was produced and broadcast by Televisa in 1985. The story was a remake of the very popular Chilean telenovela, ''La Madrastra'' from 1981. ''Vivir un poco'' tells ...
'' (1985), ''Para toda la vida'' (1996), ''Forever'' (1996), '' La Madrastra'' (2005), ''
¿Quién mató a Patricia Soler? ''¿Quién mató a Patricia Soler?'' is a 2015 Spanish-language telenovela produced by RTI Producciones for Colombia-based television network RCN Televisión. The program is fifth in a series of remakes of the 1981 Chilean telenovela '' La madra ...
'' (2014) and the most recent '' La madrastra'' (2022).


Plot

The series starts twenty years earlier when a group of Chilean friends travel for fun to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. One night in the hotel a gunshot is heard, and Marcia Jones (Jael Unger), the first to hear it, runs to the room where she heard the shot to find her friend Patricia dead on the floor of the room. Marcia picks up the gun by accident, therefore becoming the sole murder suspect. Months later she's found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United States. During the trial it's discovered that at the time of her death, Patricia was pregnant. Every friend Marcia thought she had shuns her, including her husband Esteban San Lucas (Walter Kliche), who leaves her in the United States and forces her to sign a marriage annulment. The story moves on to present day (1981), Marcia has now become a bitter woman who only maintains contact with her attorney, who has always believed in her innocence and tries to help her. Father Belisario (Tennyson Ferrada), a priest in Pomaire also remains in touch with Marcia and regularly sends her Chilean food and clay which Marcia uses to make highly-appraised figurines which had allowed her to generate a small fortune by herself. One day Marcia is released from prison and decides to return to Chile. At this point, Esteban is about to marry Ana Rosa (Ana María Palma), to the dismay of Héctor (Ramón Farías), Luna (Claudia Di Girólamo), and Ricardo (Alberto Vega), Esteban's children with Marcia. Especially since the wedding day coincides with another anniversary of the "mother's death"—Esteban had told this lie to his kids so he wouldn't have to tell them she was a murderer. Days later, the group of friends receives an invitation to a hotel where they find out that they have been summoned by Marcia herself, who has returned to reclaim her children and finally discover Patricia's real murderer. She begins by making Esteban cease his relationship with Ana Rosa, and goes on to remarry him herself, therefore becoming "La Madrastra" ("The Stepmother") of her own children who reject her completely and make her life impossible at first. But as time goes on, Marcia slowly regains their trust. At the same time, she slowly uncovers the truth: Patricia's murderer was Estrella (Gloria Münchmeyer), who killed Patricia because she was expecting a baby that could have possibly come from her affair with Estrella's husband Donato (Jaime Vadell) who might have left Estrella to be with Patricia and their baby.


Cast

* Jael Unger as Maria Espínola / Marcia Jones. * Walter Kliche as Esteban San Lucas. * Sonia Viveros as Claudia Molina. *
Patricio Achurra Patricio Achurra Garfias (born Santiago, February 3, 1943) is Chilean actor and politician. Recognized for his roles in telenovelas such as ''J.J. Judge'', ''La Colorina'', '' La madrastra'', and series such as '' Martín Rivas'', among many oth ...
as Leonelo Ibañez. * Marés González as Luisa San Lucas. *
Nelly Meruane Nelly Lucinda Consuelo Meruane Solano (20 December 1927 – 20 June 2018) was a distinguished Chilean actress and teacher whose career spanned 65 years. For 20 years she was a member of the stable cast of the of the Pontifical Catholic Universit ...
as Dora San Lucas. * Sergio Urrutia as Miguel Ángel. * Arturo Moya Grau as El Langosta. * Ana María Palma as Ana Rosa. *
Gonzalo Robles Gonzalo Eduardo Robles García (Santiago, April 22, 1952), is a Chilean film, theater and television actor and comedian. Biography Robles studied at Colegio San Ignacio. Later he started a career in Civil Construction at the Pontificia Unive ...
as Carlos. * Tennyson Ferrada as Padre Belisario. * Lucy Salgado as Casta de Molina. *
Cristián Campos Juan Cristián Campos Sallato (Punta Arenas, 31 August 1956) is a Chilean actor and director of theater, film and television. Career He served as Chilean cultural attaché in the city of Washington, a position in which he was appointed by Pre ...
as Greco Molina. * Alberto Vega as Ricardo San Lucas. * Ramón Farías as Hector San Lucas. *
Claudia Di Girolamo 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 ...
as Luna San Lucas. *
Jaime Vadell Jaime Patricio Vadell Amión (born 6 October 1935) is a Chilean film, theatre and television actor. He is one of the most recognisable faces in Chilean telenovelas and cinema, having played key roles in films directed by Raúl Ruiz, Silvio Cai ...
as Donato. *
Gloria Münchmeyer María Gloria Münchmeyer Barber (born September 2, 1938 in Santiago) is a Chilean television, film and theatre actress, known for her roles in some telenovelas like La Madrastra, Marrón Glacé, and others. She was married with the actor/come ...
as Estrella. * Mario Lorca as Boris. * Silvia Santelices as Felisa. * Eduardo Naveda as Serafín. *
Yoya Martínez Yoya Martínez, real name Ofelia Martner Semblett (August 27, 1912 Santiago, Chile - February 1, 2009) was a Chilean actress. She is best known for her role as Hilda Viuda de Maturana on the popular TVN television series, '' Los Venegas'' from 19 ...
as Vivian. * Sergio Aguirre as Harry. *
Coca Guazzini Silvia Beatriz Guazzini Monsalve (born December 22, 1953 in Santiago), best known as Coca Guazzini, is a Chilean television, theatre and film actress. Guazzini studied theatre at Universidad de Chile. She appeared in some popular Chilean telenov ...
as Hortencia. *
Paz Irarrázabal Pas or PAZ may refer to: Places * Paz, Croatia, a village and castle ruin in Istria, Croatia * Pads, Iran or Faz, a village in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran Organisations * Pavlovo Bus Factory or ''Pavlovsky Avtobusny Zavod'', a Russian bus c ...
as La Condesa.


Impact and reception

During the five months of broadcast, La madrastra, was the most seen television programme in Chile. According to audience measurements, the final episode aired on September 18, 1981, reached 80% television ratings. Director Óscar Rodríguez, said that "It was heard that meetings from top executives and ministers were postponed" ("Se supo de reuniones de ministros y ejecutivos que fueron suspendidas") and that "that afternoon, there wasn't a single soul walking the streets of the city and that soda fountains in Santiago's city centre put up signs saying "Here we watch La Madrastra."" (esa tarde no circulaba un alma por las calles y que las fuentes de soda del centro de Santiago pusieron carteles que decían “aquí se ve La Madrastra”). For Canal 13's 50th-anniversary celebrations in 2009, they produced and released ''TV o no TV'', a small series narrating the story of television on Chilean society. In the series it was described the level of popularity of the series back when the series finale was aired in 1981. Additionally, La madrastra touched on the impact that this soap opera had on the careers of the actors, specially the role of Gloria Münchmeyer as Estrella, the killer of Patricia.


International adaptations

In 1985,
Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
purchased the original screenplay, adapting it and shooting a new version called ''
Vivir un poco ''Vivir un poco'' (English title: ''Live a little'') is a Mexican telenovela, which was produced and broadcast by Televisa in 1985. The story was a remake of the very popular Chilean telenovela, ''La Madrastra'' from 1981. ''Vivir un poco'' tells ...
'', which was premiered in Mexico on July 29, 1985, on
Canal de las Estrellas Las Estrellas ("The Stars"; previously El Canal de las Estrellas, or "The Channel of the Stars") is one of the cornerstone networks of TelevisaUnivision, with affiliate stations all over Mexico, flagshipped at XEW-TDT in Mexico City. Many of t ...
starring Angélica Aragón and Rogelio Guerra. After 165 episodes ''Vivir un poco'' came to an end on March 14, 1986. Ten years later, in 1996 was released ''Para toda la vida'', co-production between broadcasters companies
Megavisión Red Televisiva Megavisión (MEGA) is a Chilean private television network headquartered in Santiago. It currently airs on digital frequency channel 27 ( ISDB-Tb) for HDTV. In 2012, ownership of Mega channel was transferred from Claro Group to B ...
and Televisa, from Chile and Mexico, respectively. Starring Ofelia Medina and Exequiel Lavanderos, ''Para toda la vida'' had low television ratings, the original story was cut, and unexpectedly the main actress Ofelia Medina resigned. That same year was launched the American version called ''Forever'', that aired on the
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
network from June 10, to September 27, 1996, comprising a total of 80 episodes, starring Maria Mayenzet and Mark Schneider. Starring Victoria Ruffo and César Évora, the new '' La Madrastra'', was broadcast in Mexico from February 7, to July 29, 2005. That adaptation became highly successful in several countries. In 2014, the Colombian broadcaster
RCN Televisión RCN Televisión, branded as Canal RCN (''Radio Cadena Nacional'') is a Colombian free-to-air television network. It is a Colombian open television channel, belonging to the Ardila Lülle Organization. It was founded as a television content produ ...
released the fifth adaptation, called ''
¿Quién mató a Patricia Soler? ''¿Quién mató a Patricia Soler?'' is a 2015 Spanish-language telenovela produced by RTI Producciones for Colombia-based television network RCN Televisión. The program is fifth in a series of remakes of the 1981 Chilean telenovela '' La madra ...
'', it was developed by
RTI Producciones RTI Colombia, also known as Radio Televisión Interamericana (Inter-American Radio and Television), is a Colombian television production company and former ''programadora''. It aired 14.5 hours per week of programming in 1993. In the 1990s, as a ...
having as main characters
Itatí Cantoral Itatí Guadalupe Cantoral Zucchi (born May 13, 1975) is a Mexican actress, singer, dancer, and producer, She is of Spanish and Italian descent. She is best known for her roles as Soraya Montenegro in Televisa's telenovela ''María la del Barrio ...
and Miguel de Miguel. This series also was broadcast in the United States by the Spanish-language network
MundoFox MundoMax (; originally known as MundoFox from August 13, 2012 to July 28, 2015) was an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network that was owned by RCN Televisión. The network broadcast programs aimed at Hispanic and Latino America ...
. In 2022,
TelevisaUnivision TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American media company headquartered in New York and Mexico City, which owns the American Spanish language broadcast network Univision. 45% of the company is held by the ...
produced a second version in serial format starring
Aracely Arámbula Aracely Arámbula Jacques (; born March 6, 1975), known professionally as Aracely Arámbula, is a Mexican actress, model, singer, television personality and entrepreneur. Life and career Early life Aracely Arambula Jacques was born in Chih ...
and Andrés Palacios.


Home releases and merchandise


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madrastra Chilean telenovelas Canal 13 (Chilean TV channel) telenovelas 1981 telenovelas 1981 Chilean television series debuts 1981 Chilean television series endings Television shows set in Santiago Television shows set in Los Angeles Spanish-language telenovelas