''La Reina del Sur'' () is a Spanish-language

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'' ...

based on a novel of the same name by Spanish author

Arturo Pérez-Reverte Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez (born 25 November 1951 in Cartagena) is a Spanish novelist and journalist. He worked as a war correspondent for RTVE for 21 years (1973–1994). His first novel, ''El húsar'', set in the Napoleonic Wars, was ...

. The first season is produced by the American television network

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...

in conjunction with the Antena 3 network and

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 ...

, while season 2 is co-produced by Telemundo Global Studios and Netflix. It premiered on 28 February 2011. The series depicts the rise of Teresa Mendoza (

Kate del Castillo Kate del Castillo Negrete Trillo () is a Mexican-American actress. At the age of 19, del Castillo became known for her lead role in the telenovela '' Muchachitas'' for Televisa in 1991. Afterwards, she continued her career in film and televisio ...

), a young woman from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

who becomes the most powerful drug trafficker in southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. With a $10 million budget it is the second most expensive telenovela ever produced by Telemundo, the first being ''

El Señor de los Cielos ''El Señor de los Cielos'' (in English: ''Lord of the Skies'') is an American telenovela created by Luis Zelkowicz, based on an original idea by Mariano Calasso, and Andrés López and it started airing on American broadcast channel Telemundo. P ...

''. An English language remake, '' Queen of the South'', premiered in June 2016 on

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

, starring

Alice Braga Alice Braga Moraes (; born 15 April 1983) is a Brazilian actress and producer. She has appeared in several Brazilian films, starring as Angélica in the acclaimed '' City of God'' (2002), Karinna in ''Lower City'' (2005), and Dolores in '' Only ...

. The series has been renewed for a second season that premiered on 22 April 2019. On 16 July 2020, Telemundo announced that the series was renewed for a third season. The third season premiered on 18 October 2022.

Synopsis

Season 1 (2011)

The series is the television adaptation of the literary work of the same name of Spanish author

. It is the chronicle of the rise to power of a Mexican woman within the world of international drug trafficking. Teresa Mendoza begins her adventure as a humble young woman in love with a pilot employed by the Mexican

cartels A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

. When they execute her boyfriend, Teresa flees, desperate to avoid the same fate. Her escape takes her to the south of Spain where she tries to start a new life. However, she is once again immersed in the world of narcotics trafficking, and for a second time, she suffers the death of a beloved man. After several blows, Teresa decides to take the reins of her destiny and becomes the head of her own organization. This was done with the help of a woman she met in prison, who decided to share her fortune with Teresa. Through strategic alliances and a strong sense for business, Teresa "La Mexicana" begins to control an intercontinental drug distribution business. However, her great success is accompanied by a high personal price, and Teresa's happiness and heart are tested.

Season 2 (2019)

The second season of La Reina del Sur follows the life of Teresa Mendoza eight years after the events of the first-season finale. Isolating herself from the rest of the world, Teresa now lives an idyllic life in Italian Tuscany, but the kidnapping of her daughter forces her to go back to the underworld and reintroduces herself into drug trafficking. To save her daughter, Teresa needs to confront her old enemies once more and face her past that she tried to leave behind.

Episodes

Cast

Main

Introduced in season 1

as Teresa Mendoza (seasons 1–3) *

Humberto Zurita Humberto Zurita (, born September 2, 1954) is a Mexican actor, director and producer. Zurita, one of 10 siblings from Torreón, Coahuila, is best known as actor, director and producer of telenovelas. Acting career He made his first stage appea ...

as Epifanio Vargas (seasons 1–3) * Rafael Amaya as Raimundo Dávila Parra "El Güero" *

Iván Sánchez Iván Sánchez (born November 19, 1974 in Móstoles, Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish actor, model and film producer. Career After his time as a model, Sánchez started acting in 2002 in his home country doing cinema, television, and theater. His fi ...

as Santiago López Fisterra "El Gallego" * Cristina Urgel as Patricia O'Farrell * Alberto Jiménez as Oleg Yasikov * Miguel de Miguel as Teo Aljarafe *

Gabriel Porras Gabriel Porras (born Carlos Gabriel Porras Flores, February 13, 1968 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican actor. He began his acting career working for TV Azteca in telenovelas like "Tres Veces Sofia" along with Mexican diva Lucía Méndez and " ...

as Roberto Gato Márquez "El Gato Fierros" *

Salvador Zerboni Salvador Zerboni (born May 3, 1979, in Mexico City) is a Mexican actor of Italian descent. Career Salvador Zerboni is famous for his role in film and television productions. He began his career in 2003 in a Chilean production, in the telenove ...

as Ramiro Vargas "El Ratas" * Nacho Fresneda as Dris Larbi *

Mónica Estarreado Mónica Estarreado (born 29 June 1975, in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish actress. She is best known for her role as Cayetana de la Vega on the popular Spanish comedy-drama ''Yo soy Bea'' and for her current role as Dr. Valeria Peralta on ''Hospital C ...

as Fátima Mansur * Alejandro Calva as César Güemes "Batman" (seasons 1–3) * Cuca Escribano as Sheila (seasons 1–3) *

Dagoberto Gama Dagoberto Gama (born December 22, 1959 in Coyuca de Catalán, Guerrero, Mexico) is a Mexican television and film actor. He is well known for his recurring role in the television series '' La Reina del Sur'' as El Pote and ''Sin senos sí hay par ...

as Potequim Gálvez "El Pote" *

Christian Tappan Christian Tappan (born 19 February 1972) is a Mexican-Colombian television actor. He is mainly recognized for his work in Mexican and Colombian soap operas and series. Biography At the age of 5 he had already participated in several television ...

as Willy Rangel (seasons 1–2) * Eduardo Velasco as Coronel Abdelkader Chaib (seasons 1–2) * Alfonso Vallejo as Manolo Céspedes * Pablo Castañón as Lalo Veiga * Miguel Ángel Blanco as Siso Pernas (seasons 1–2) * Lorena Santos as Soraya * Sara Maldonado as Verónica Cortés / Guadalupe Romero * Carmen Navarro as Marcela "La Conejo" (seasons 1–2) * Santiago Meléndez as Saturnino "Nino" Juárez * Juan José Arjona as Pablo Flores (seasons 1–2)

Introduced in season 2

Raoul Bova Raoul Bova (born 14 August 1971) is an Italian actor. Bova's European film breakthrough was in the 1993 film ''Piccolo grande amore'', and he's played romantic male leads the following years. His American film credits include ''Under the Tusca ...

as Francesco Belmondo * Paola Núñez as Manuela * Mark Tacher as Alejandro Alcalá *

Flavio Medina Flavio Medina (; born April 19, 1978) is a Mexican actor. Biography Flavio Medina was born in Mexico City, Mexico, D.F. His first experience with live theater was during his childhood, when the grandson of Juan Grandini, passionate and illumin ...

as Zurdo Villa * Luisa Gavasa as Cayetana Segovia * Antonio Gil as Oleg Yosikov (seasons 2–3) * Kika Edgar as Genoveva Alcalá (seasons 2–3) * Lincoln Palomeque as Faustino Sánchez Godoy (seasons 2–3; guest season 1) *

Patricia Reyes Spíndola Patricia Verónica Núñez Reyes Spíndola (born 11 July 1953) is a Mexican actress, director, and producer. She has received four Ariel Awards, two for Best Actress ('' Los Motivos de Luz'' in 1985 and ''The Queen of the Night'' in 1994), and ...

as Carmen Martínez * Carmen Flores as Charo * Karine Amaya as Marixa * Emmanuel Orenday as Danilo Márquez (seasons 2–3) * Horacio Colomé as Fermín *

Alejandro Speitzer Alejandro Sánchez Speitzer (born 21 January 1995) is a Mexican actor. Career Alejandro Speitzer started his career as a child actor when he was 5 years old. His very first job was in a recurring role in the Mexican TV mini-series ''Ray of Ligh ...

as Ray Dávila * Tiago Correa as Jonathan Peres (season 2; recurring season 3) *

Ilja Rosendahl Ilja Rosendahl (born 23 February 1968) is a German film and music producer, director, screenwriter, actor, songwriter, musician (vocals, guitars, bass) and voiceover artist. Biography Artistic career Rosendahl was born in Bochum. He played in t ...

as Alexej * Sara Vidorreta as Rocío Aljarafe (season 2; recurring season 3) * Agata Herranz as Paloma Aljarafe * Abdelali El Aziz as Ahmed (season 2; guest season 1) * Isabella Sierra as Sofía Dantes (seasons 2–3)

Introduced in season 3

* Pêpê Rapazote as Pablo Landero * Ed Trucco as Ernie Palmero * Horacio Garcia Rojas as Charlie Velazquez * Beth Chamberlin as Jane Kosar * Sofia Lama as Susana Guzmán

Recurring and guest

* Karim El-Kerem as Mohamed Mansur (season 1) * Klaus as Eddie Álvarez (season 1) * Nerea Garmendia as Eugenia Montijo (season 1) * Juan Pablo Raba as Jaime Gutiérrez Solana (season 1) *

Ezequiel Montalt Ezequiel Montalt Ros (born August 24, 1977 in Bonrepòs i Mirambell, Valencian Community, Spain) is a Spanish actor. Career Montalt started out his career as a singer, trumpet player, composer, and arranger in a jazz band called Ejazz in his ...

as Jaime "Jimmy" Arenas (season 1) * Rodolfo Valdés as El Chino Parra (season 1) * Jesús Castro as Jesús (season 2) * Pol Monen as Juan (season 2) *

Eduardo Yáñez Eduardo Yáñez Luévano (; born September 25, 1960) is a Mexican actor. Biography Yáñez was born in Mexico City, Mexico. He lived with his mother. He never met his father. Career Producer Ernesto Alonso saw his potential and gave him his fi ...

as Antonio Alcalá (seasons 2–3) * Aitor Luna as Pedro (season 2) * Eduardo Santamarina as Mariano Bravo (season 2) *

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in '' King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes ...

as Erick Sheldon (season 2) * María Camila Giraldo as Jimena Montes (season 2) * Vera Mercado as Virginia Vargas (season 2) * Norma Angélica as Morgana (season 2) * Eduardo Pérez as Sergio (season 2) * Dimitry Anisimov as Anton (season 2) * Aroha Hafez as Triana (season 2) * Anna Ciocchetti as Marietta Lancaster (season 2) * Roberto Abraham Wohlmuth as Lencho (season 2) * Daniel Martínez as Senator (season 3) * Carlos Valencia as Montaño (season 3) * Arturo Ríos as Delio Jurado (season 3) * Dmitry Anisimov as Anton Potapushin (season 3) * Denia Agalianou as Vanessa (season 3) * Anderley Palomino as Mateo Mena (season 3) * Noé Hernández as General Carlos Garrido (season 3)

Remake

An English language remake, titled '' Queen of the South'', premiered in June 2016 on

, starring

Ratings

Awards and nominations

Source material

Pérez-Reverte, author of the novel, has stated that a great source of inspiration were Mexican drug ballads, country-polka songs that tell the stories about real life Mexican drug lords. One of the real life characters that inspired the novel is Sandra Ávila Beltrán, known as the ''Queen of the Pacific'', famous for being one of the first female drug traffickers to reach the level of "Boss" in the Mexican cartels, a place usually reserved for men.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reina Del Sur, La 2011 telenovelas 2011 American television series debuts 2011 Spanish television series debuts American television series based on telenovelas Spanish-language American telenovelas RTI Producciones telenovelas Telemundo telenovelas Works about Mexican drug cartels 2019 telenovelas Spanish-language Netflix original programming Television series based on Spanish novels 2022 telenovelas