''Veneno'' (previously ''Veneno: Vida y Muerte de un Icono'') is a 2020 Spanish

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

television limited series, created by

Javier Ambrossi Francisco Javier García de la Camacha Gutiérrez-Ambrossi (born 24 June 1984), better known as Javier Ambrossi, is a Spanish people, Spanish actor, Theatre director, stage, film director, film and television director and writer. He is best know ...

and Javier Calvo that aired on

Atresplayer Premium Atresplayer Premium (often stylized as ATRESplayer Premium) is a Spanish paid subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service of Atresmedia. History and description It was launched in Spain on 8 September 2019. The first original ...

in Spain from 29 March to 25 October 2020. The series, which tells the life and death of Spanish transgender singer and television personality Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez, better known by the nickname "

La Veneno Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez (19 March 1964 – 9 November 2016), better known as ('Poisongirl'), was a Spanish singer, actress, sex worker, and media personality. Considered one of the most important and beloved LGBT icons in Spain, she rose to ...

", is based on the biography ''¡Digo! Ni puta ni santa. Las memorias de La Veneno'' by

Valeria Vegas Valeria Martínez Zaragoza (born August 8, 1985 in Valencia, Spain), known by her pseudonym Valeria Vegas, is a Spanish journalist, essayist, writer, documentary filmmaker and producer. Literary career She studied journalism in Valencia, and g ...

. The full season was scheduled to be released on 29 March 2020 on subscription streaming platform

but, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, production and post-production could not be completed. Thus, only the first of eight episodes aired on that date. The second episode aired on 28 June 2020. The third episode aired on 20 September 2020, and the rest of the episodes were released on a weekly basis. The series' soundtrack including cover versions by

Amaia Amaya is a female given name and surname of Spanish language, Spanish origins, derived from the Amaya (Burgos), village of Amaya and its neighboring mountain in Castile and León, Spain.Patrick Hanks, ''Dictionary of American Family Names'' (2003), ...

, Álex de Lucas and Jedet as well as the original song "Nunca Debiste Cruzar el Mississippi" by Leiva, was released on digital platforms on 29 October. ''Veneno'' premiered internationally on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

starting 19 November 2020. A sequel series, '' Vestidas de azul'', is set to premiere in December 2023.

Background

In May 2019 it was announced that Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi were in talks to produce, write and direct a biopic about the life of Spanish transgender TV personality "La Veneno" for Atresmedia. In November 2019 the cast was confirmed, with Jedet, Daniela Santiago and Isabel Torres being selected to play the main character, Cristina Ortiz, in the series. The selection was very well received by the general public who thanked the duo for choosing three genuine transgender women to play a transgender woman. Filming began on December 16 in

Isleta del Moro Isleta del Moro is a fishing town located near Los Escullos, in Cabo de Gata. It was frequented by Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciatio ...

, a small town in the

province of Almería Almería (, also , ) is a province of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is the homonymous city of Almería. Almería has an area of . With 701, ...

. Production later extended to

Adra The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA or ADRA International) is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief. I ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and the

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...

(with special focus at the

Casa de Campo The Casa de Campo (, for Spanish: ''Country House'') is the largest public park in Madrid. It is situated west of central Madrid, Spain. It gets its name 'Country House' because it was once a royal hunting estate, located just west of the Ro ...

) and was scheduled to last four months, ending in March 2020. Production was shut in early March due to Spain's national lockdown, decreed on March 14 and caused by the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic, which had already infected over 5,000 people by that date. On January 17 and 25, the first two teasers were posted on social media. On January 28 it was announced that the series would be released on Atresmedia Premium in March 2020. The official release date was revealed on February 14. The series' poster was revealed on March 6 with the final trailer being released a week later.

Synopsis

''Veneno'' focuses on the life and death of one of the most important and beloved

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

icons in Spain, known as La Veneno (Cristina Ortiz). Despite being known for her charisma, and a fun personality, La Veneno's life and death remains an enigma. This story tells the experiences of a struggling transgender woman, who achieved fame with television appearances in the 90s and conquered the audience with a unique vision of the world. Throughout her life, the LGBT story in Spain is narrated from the 1960s to the present day. The series follows the story of

, a journalism student who never understood why people called her by a name that was not her own, the same thing that happened to Cristina, by then misnamed “Joselito” and the same one she had they have to survive a cruel and violent childhood under the Spain of the 60s. Two women who were born in very different times but who end up united forever when Valeria decides to write a book about the life of the iconic Cristina, La Veneno. The series also talks about the importance and relevance of mass media, how it can popularize or marginalize in just one second.

Context

The last decade of the second millennium was an amazing and turbulent one for Spain. The

1992 Summer Olympic Games The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

were held in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

transforming the city entirely and showing the world the new open and democratic Spain after the

Francoist Dictatorship Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

, the 1992 Universal Exposition was held in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

as Spain started an internationalization process to let the world get to know the country. Tourism flourished and so did the economy. What visitors did not know was that the country was in a process of moral reconstruction after a 35-year totalitarian dictatorship, and many were still fanatics of that kind of politics. The mentality of the dictatorship included press and personal

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

, repression and persecution of minorities or left-wing people. After this dark period the social movement popularly known as " Movida Madrileña" started. This movement consisted of making use of the freedom Spaniards had been deprived of. Musicians, journalists and ordinary people could now express themselves completely without being afraid of being taken to prison or being assassinated. Thus, Madrid became this paradise of liberty within Spain, filled with parties, wild life and cultural activities from all kinds of ideologies. The democratic transition started in the 1980s even though the essence and soul of

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

was still present after his death. The first five years of the 1990s in Spain were a dark, life-changing period for the country due to the huge amount of corruption scandals,

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people. Definitions of terrori ...

and the murder of three 14-year-old girls in the province of Valencia. The girls (according to the official report) were kidnapped in November 1992 by two young men after they both agreed to take them to a youth club in

Picassent Picassent () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Sud in the Valencian Community, Spain. Picassent is a town of close to twenty thousand people. Originally the town's main economic activity was agriculture, however during the last twen ...

. They were taken to a ruined rural house in the middle of the hills in Tous where they were raped, tortured and killed. Throughout the investigation, the discovery of the bodies in January 1993, their respective funerals and judgments, the media was always present since one of the girls' parents went to the press in first instance in order to help with the search for their daughter. When it was revealed that the girls

hitchhiked Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads hav ...

to get to the club (something very normal at that time), women's freedoms were considerably reduced due to the histeria generated by this event. The essence of freedom in Spain declined and social chronic shows started appearing on national television. One of the most popular and most important of these was '' Esta Noche Cruzamos el Mississippi'' (), hosted by journalist Pepe Navarro. This TV show mixed humorous sketches and news of social chronicle. It is mostly known because of its humor and in major part due to its exhaustive investigation and reporting of the

Alcàsser Girls Miriam García Iborra, Antonia Gómez Rodríguez and Desirée Hernández Folch, collectively known as the Alcàsser Girls (Valencian: ''Les xiquetes d'Alcàsser'', Spanish: ''Las niñas de Alcácer''), were three teenage girls from Alcàsser, Val ...

murder. ''El Mississippi'', aired on

Telecinco Telecinco is a Spanish free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset España. The channel was previously known as Tele 5, because it had first begun its experimental transmissions on 10 March 1989, and a year later, it was officially launc ...

, became the most-watched late night show in Spain. In April 1996 journalist Faela Sainz, had to make a report for Navarro's show. After being scammed in her first attempt to report from

Chueca Chueca is an area of central Madrid, named after its main square, Plaza de Chueca. It is known as Madrid's gay neighborhood. Plaza de Chueca was named after Spanish composer and author Federico Chueca. It is located in the administrative ward ...

, Sainz drove to the

Parque del Oeste The Parque del Oeste (in English: ''Western Park'') is a park of the city of Madrid (Spain) situated between the Autovía A-6, the Ciudad Universitaria de Madrid and the district of Moncloa. Before the 20th century, the land that the park cu ...

to film how

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

took place in Madrid, to show the world something that was still not talked about in the press. Separated in two "districts", the park was filled with

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

and

cisgender Cisgender (often shortened to cis; sometimes cissexual) is a term used to describe a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth. The word ''cisgender'' is the antonym of ''transgender''. The prefix ''wiktionary:cis ...

prostitutes. The journalist, alongside a camera and audio man, interviewed some of them. At one point she interviews Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez who adopted the alias of "La Veneno" due to the 1976

Los Chunguitos Los Chunguitos are a Spanish Romani rumba flamenca group from Badajoz, Extremadura, formed in Vallecas, Madrid in 1973. The group's nucleus was the three brothers Juan (1954), Manuel (1962), and José Salazar (1957), whose uncle was the flamenco ...

track "Dame Veneno". The interview with La Veneno aired on live television on April 15. The audience constantly wrote into the show asking when she was going to make an appearance. After two weeks of insisting, Ortiz made an appearance on the show on April 29, 1996 and became a regular castmember. Her undeniable beauty, unbelievably raw stories, coarse language, light and sense of humor captivated the public, making Navarro's show reach 8 million viewers every time she made an appearance. La Veneno became one of the first transgender people to show Spain the raw but true reality of prostitution, poverty and disrespect for minorities even from their own family members. Since that moment, she became an instant

LGBT icon A gay icon is a public figure who is regarded as a cultural icon of some members of the LGBT community. The most widely recognized gay icons are often actresses and singers who garnered large LGBT fanbases, such as Judy Garland, Madonna, Diana Ros ...

in Spain and a voice for all transgender people who have been repressed for their personal identity. When ''Esta Noche Cruzamos el Mississippi'' ended in 1997, La Veneno did two R-rated movies, released an EP and continued appearing in other television shows like ''La Sonrisa del Pelícano'' or ''Sálvame''. In 2003 she was sent to prison due to fraud. After being released from prison in 2006, a transgender student

from the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...

met La Veneno and became close with her. In October 2016 La Veneno's memories "''¡Digo! Ni Puta ni Santa. Las Memorias de la Veneno''" (), written by Vegas, were released.

Cast

In order of appearance.

Main

* Jedet as

(young age) *

Daniela Santiago Daniela Santiago Villena ( Málaga, April 1, 1982) is a Spanish model and actress, known for playing Cristina "La Veneno" in the biopic series '' Veneno'' (2020), for which she was awarded an Ondas Award. Biography Daniela Santiago Villena w ...

as La Veneno * Isabel Torres as La Veneno (older age) * Lola Rodríguez as

* as herself * Desirée Rodríguez as Paca "La Piraña" (young age)

Recurring

Single appearances

Episodes

Release and reception

Since the release of the series' first episode on 29 March 2020, the number of subscribers to Atresplayer Premium grew 42%, reaching 3.3 million subscribers. ''Veneno'' had the best debut of a series in the platform's history and became the most-watched programme on Atresplayer Premium being 10 times more watched than any other show on it to date. The series' second episode aired on 28 June, to celebrate the cancelled Pride Day. On 12 August, Atresmedia announced that the third episode would be available on their platform on September 20. Starting then, a new episode was launched every Sunday, marking the series' end on 25 October 2020. The first three episodes were screened at more than 200 Spanish cinemas on 17 September. To mark the launch of the last episode on the streaming platform, the first two episodes aired on free-to-air channel Antena 3 on 25 October 2020. They were the most-watched show of the day in Spain, with over 2.5 million viewers for the first episode. In July 2020,

acquired the streaming rights to the series for the

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 territorie ...

and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. The series premiered on HBO Max on 19 November 2020.

Critical reception

''Veneno'' received acclaim from critics upon release. Several critics named the series "a must see", "a moving and complex story within a brilliant fiction that is emotional and necessary", "an interesting and risky proposal about the Spanish icon" as well as "a work of art".

Impact

In June 2020 it was announced that the series' main cast was selected as the barker for the 2020 Gay Pride in Madrid. However, ''Veneno'' reached its popularity peak in October 2020, as the series was coming to an end. On 10 October 2020, the

City Council of Madrid The City Council of Madrid ( es, Ayuntamiento de Madrid) is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the Madrid, the capital and biggest city of Spain. The City Council is composed by three bodies; the Mayor who leads the City Council an ...

announced that a new commemorative plaque of

would be placed at the

due to popular demand after the first one was vandalized and stolen a week after its placement in April 2019 during the presidency of

Manuela Carmena Manuela Carmena Castrillo (; born in 1944) is a retired Spanish lawyer and judge who served as Mayor of Madrid from June 2015 to June 2019. She was a member of the General Council of the Judiciary. Biography Early life She was born on 9 Feb ...

. On October 15 a huge promotional canvas was placed in the centre of Gran Vía, Madrid's most transitted and most important avenue. This marks the first time an LGBT series is promoted in this avenue in particular. On October 18, Spanish vice president Pablo Iglesias stated on Twitter that the series "makes you cry, laugh, remember, empathize, but above all, it makes you understand the savage pain that trans people have been and are inflicted on, simply by being themselves. I hope a lot of young people see the series". This caused a lot of people to react negatively against the

Government of Spain gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , da ...

, who promised a national "Trans Law" back in 2015. On October 30, Minister of Equality

Irene Montero Irene María Montero Gil, MP (born 13 February 1988) is a Spanish politician and psychologist, member of the Podemos party. She currently serves as the Minister of Equality of Spain since 13 January 2020. She is the partner of Pablo Iglesia ...

announced that the law would be voted by the Spanish people before being submitted for approval by the government in the following months. This would allow transgender people to change their name and gender in the official documentation without presenting medical evidence of transition nor taking hormones. Spain's law stated before this that you had to present medical evidence to do so as well as taking hormones for 2 months without interruption. Montero had previously recommended ''Veneno'' on RNE "to understand the stigma that trans people suffer". ''Veneno'' also became the only Spanish series to be included in the prestigious FreshTV Fiction list as one of the most innovative productions of MIPCOM 2020. It was also nominated for a Premio Iris for Best Direction and its main characters won the Premio Ondas for Best Female Performance in a Fiction.

Feature film version

In the summer of 2022 a 110 minute cut of the series had a limited release in movie theaters.

Awards and nominations

, - ! rowspan="12" scope="row" , 2020 , rowspan="2", Iris Awards , Best Direction , Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi , , style="text-align:center;" , , - , Critics' Award , ''Veneno'' , , style="text-align:center;" , , - , rowspan="3",

Premio Ondas The Premios Ondas (Spanish: literally "wave awards", also known in English as the Ondas Awards or simply The Ondas) have been given since 1954 by Radio Barcelona, a subsidiary of Cadena SER, in recognition of professionals in the fields of radio ...

, rowspan="3", Best Female Performance in a Fiction , Daniela Santiago , rowspan="3" , rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:left", Isabel Torres , - , style="text-align:left", Jedet , - , MIPCOM Diversity TV Excellence Awards , Diversity TV Excellence Award , ''Veneno'' , , align = "center , , - , FanCineGay Awards , FanCineGay Award , ''Veneno'' , , style="text-align:center;" , , - , FICAL Awards , Filming Almería Award , ''Veneno'' , , style="text-align:center;" , , - , rowspan="4" , HOY Magazine Awards , Best Series of the Year , ''Veneno'' , , rowspan="4" , , - , rowspan = 2 , Best Actress of the Year , Daniela Santiago , rowspan="2" , - , style="text-align:left", Isabel Torres , - , Promise of the Year , Jedet , , - ! rowspan="10" scope="row" , 2021 , rowspan="2" , 26th Forqué Awards , Best Series , ''Veneno'' , , align = "center" rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Actress in a TV Series , Daniela Santiago , , - , rowspan="3" ,

Feroz Awards The Feroz Awards ( es, Premios Feroz) are Spain-based film and television awards presented by the Asociación de Informadores Cinematográficos de España (''Association of Cinematographic Informers of Spain''). They are considered the Spanish e ...

, Best Drama Series , ''Veneno'' , , align = "center" rowspan = "3" , , - , Best Actress in a TV Series , Daniela Santiago , , - , Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series , Paca la Piraña , , - , rowspan = 2 , MiM Series Awards , Best Direction , Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi , , align = "center" rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Drama Series , ''Veneno'' , , - ,

GLAAD Media Awards The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...

, , Outstanding Spanish-Language Scripted Television Series , , ''Veneno'' , , , , , - , Diversa Awards , Diversa TV , ''Veneno'' , , style="text-align:center;" , , - , 23rd Iris Awards , , Best Fiction , , ''Veneno'' , , , , , - ! rowspan="1" scope="row" , 2022 ,

Actors and Actresses Union Awards The Actors and Actresses Union Awards ( es, Premios de la Unión de Actores y Actrices, links=no) is an annual award ceremony organised by the Spanish Spanish Actors Union, Actors and Actresses Union, recognising the best performances in Cinema of ...

, , Best Actress in a Minor Role , , Ester Expósito , , , ,

References

External links

* * {{Atresplayer Premium original series 2020 Spanish television series debuts 2020s LGBT-related drama television series 2020s Spanish drama television series Prostitution in television Spanish LGBT-related television shows Spanish-language television shows Television series based on actual events Transgender-related television shows Television shows set in Madrid Television shows set in Andalusia Television shows set in the Valencian Community Atresplayer Premium original programming Spanish biographical television series