''Los Beltrán'' () is a Spanish-language American television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that aired on the U.S.-based 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 a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

from October 17, 1999 to 2001. Although canceled after two seasons, ''Los Beltrán'' received a number of media awards. ''Los Beltrán'' was the first sitcom in two decades to deal with the

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States after Mexican Americans, Stateside ...

experience (following the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

sitcom ''

¿Qué Pasa, USA? ''¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' () is America's first bilingual situation comedy, and the first sitcom to be produced for PBS. It was produced and taped from 1977 to 1980 in front of a live studio audience at PBS member station WPBT in Miami, Florida and a ...

'', which aired from 1977 to 1980) and the first-ever Spanish-language entertainment series to feature sympathetic

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

characters as regulars.

Plot

The series is based broadly on the 1970s American sitcom ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'', by

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

, and on its 1960s British antecedent, ''

Till Death Us Do Part ''Till Death Us Do Part'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1975. The show was first broadcast in 1965 as a '' Comedy Playhouse'' pilot, then as seven series between 1966 and 1975. In 1981, ITV continued the sitc ...

''. The lead character, Manny Beltrán (

Emiliano Díez Emiliano Díez (born August 26, 1953) is a Cuban-American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Vic Palmero, George's father-in-law, in the sitcom '' George Lopez'', as well as his role as Manny Beltrán in the sitcom '' Los Beltrán''. E ...

), is an ultraconservative Cuban exile who owned a small ''bodega'' (neighborhood market) in southern California. Manny is comically obsessed with money, and with reason: he is financially supporting not only his wife Letti ( Margarita Coego) and law-student daughter Anita (played by Yeni Álvarez), but also his daughter's militantly liberal husband, Miguel Perez ( Demetrius Navarro), a

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

art student who is constantly challenging his father-in-law's prejudices and politics, while living under Manny's roof. Unlike the families of

Archie Bunker Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional character from the 1970s American television sitcom ''All in the Family'' and its spin-off '' Archie Bunker's Place'', played by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker, a main character of the series, is a World War II ...

and

Alf Garnett Alfred Edward Garnett is a fictional character from the British sitcom '' Till Death Us Do Part'' and its follow-on and spin-off series '' Till Death...'' and '' In Sickness and in Health''. He also appeared in the chat show ''The Thoughts of Ch ...

, however, the Beltráns in the first episode are moving up from their working-class digs to a nice, middle-class duplex in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

, which they've bought thanks to some lottery winnings. Upon moving in, they discover that their next-door neighbors (and holdover tenants) are a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

couple: a Spanish physician, Fernandito Salazar ( Gabriel Romero), and his American boyfriend, Kevin Lynch ( James C. Leary). This sets up a number of plot lines through the course of the series, much as did

the Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...

moving in next door to the Bunkers in the early days of ''All in the Family''. Two particular episodes, focused on Fernandito and Kevin, got the series noticed by some English-language media. In the first season, Fernandito receives an unexpected visit from his father, a Spanish general (who resembles the late

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

), and in the end comes out to the father as gay. In the second season, Fernandito and Kevin have a commitment ceremony—shortly after Californians in real life had voted on, and passed into law, the anti-gay-marriage Proposition 22. This was the first same-sex wedding ceremony ever shown on a Spanish-language television series.

Cast

as Manny Beltrán *Margarita Coego as Letti Beltrán * Demetrius Navarro as Miguel Perez * Yeni Álvarez as Anita * Gabriel Romero as Fernandito Salazar * James C. Leary as Kevin Lynch

Episodes

Season 1 (1999–2000)

Season 2

Awards and recognition

''Los Beltrán'' received the 2001

Imagen Foundation The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry." To be considered for an Imagen Award, a media piece or perso ...

Award for Best Comedy Series and the 2001

ALMA Award The American Latino Media Arts Award or ALMA Award, formerly known as Latin Oscars Award, is an award highlighting the best American Latino contributions to music, television, and film. The awards promote fair and accurate portrayals of Latino ...

from the

National Council of La Raza UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza (NCLR) ( La Raza), is the United States's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. It advocates in favor of progressive public policy changes including immigration reform, a path to citize ...

for Best Spanish Language Comedy Series. It was nominated for two

GLAAD Media Awards The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...

, the first Spanish-language program so honored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

External links

''Los Beltrán'' unofficial Web site (in English and Spanish)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beltran Telemundo original programming 1999 American television series debuts 2001 American television series endings 1990s American LGBTQ-related sitcoms 2000s American LGBTQ-related sitcoms Television series by Sony Pictures Television