admin
FIRST it was the soap opera era that gripped the nation. Soapies like “Days of our Lives”, “Sunset Beach”, “The Bold and the Beautiful”, “All My Children”, “The Young and the Restless” and countless other ‘80s and ‘90s productions had Zimbabweans glued to their TV sets. Next came the African Movie craze as Nollywood took control. Even if one was not a fan they were not spared as almost every aspect of Zimbabwean life was at one point influenced by Nigerian productions.
South Africa followed after that with “Generations”, “Isindingo” and “Muvhango” among others. These are the main stages of television viewing that the average Zimbabwean household has gone through over the past 30 years as women slowly but surely win the battle for the remote control. And winning they are: we are now watching TeleMundo!
TeleMundo is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by Comcast through the NBC Universal division NBC Universal Telemundo Enterprises. It is the prime provider of Spanish content worldwide, with programming syndicated to more than 100 countries — and Zimbabwe is one of them.
So what do we know?
Well, for starters Spanish television could be the biggest and most polarising genre this country has ever seen. It embodies all the attractions of African movies, soap opera appeal and Hollywood’s knack for storytelling. Where before men would sit stonily and lustfully eye the remote control in the unyielding hand of the woman of the house as she kept everyone on TeleMundo, the male species is increasingly appreciating these Spanish offerings.
Of course, many of these guys are “closet viewers” — they rarely own up in public that they watch these programmes. But say a bad word about TeleMundo and watch in awe as these macho men bare their intimate knowledge of “My Heart Beats for Lola”, “All Roads Lead to Love”, “Forbidden Passion”, “Cruel Love”, “Manuel and Silvana”, “Labour of Love”, “If Only I Were You”, and “The Imposter”.
Our own Business Editor here at The Sunday Mail, Darlington Musarurwa, is man enough to openly admit his love for the channel.
Spanish television’s biggest merit is that it is “filtered down Hollywood” in that you have all the writing, performances and topnotch acting without the CGI and cheap gimmickry. These shows have made actors like Carlos Ponce, Maritza Rodriguez and Gabriel Porras household names.
Rodriguez, a former Columbian model turned actress, is one of the most popular actresses and has featured in over 22 productions. Ponce and Porras are her male equivalent, and have made a combined 45 television shows. Did you know that Ponce is not only a darling of Latin cinema, but has also made his mark in Hollywood starring in films like “Beverly Hills, 90210”, “Lipstick Jungle”, “Devious Maids” and “7th Heaven”?
He also does a little voice acting, and his credits include “Rio”, “Freebirds” and most recently “Ice Age-Collision Course”. I have taken a liking to “Woman of Steel”, which tells the story of Sarah Aguilar (Bianca Soto), a recently-widowed woman on the run from the cartel after her late husband stole US$3 million.
Set in Mexico and the United States, we follow her as she tries to rebuild her life while on the run from the cartel. While I am still trying to get over the annoying voice-overs, there is a lot of promise. You can join me in the TeleMundo binge on DStv’s channel 118.
Online Reporter