JRLC/LACS 5060 Telenovelas, Culture and Society

The Love Stories

Things in the world of Santa Diabla are heating up quickly. There are so many love triangles, that it is difficult to keep track. The humor of all these triangles lies in the fact that every single one is connected to the other in some way. No story is independent of the others. I will discuss each love triangle from my least favorites to my most.

I can't stand the relationship between Arturo and Mara. This triangle involves Arturo, Mara, Arturo's fiance, and a man who is involved in human trafficking who is stalking Mara. There are additional complications in their love story because Mara is black, and Arturo's mother is racist. Arturo and Mara's relationship is disgusting in its obsessiveness. Mara becomes so obsessed with Arturo that to keep herself in his life forever, she attempts to get pregnant by him. It takes over her life and she can't focus on anything else. Also, I don't completely understand the reasoning as to why Arturo is still marrying Lisette. There is money involved, but it really stems from Arturo's mother's racism. I think Arturo is a weak character and person, and Mara is obsessive and has to be with this man or she will literally die. I don't understand that, and I don't like it.

The next relationship that I dislike as well as find boring is the relationship between Ivan and Victoria. For starters, he is 18 and she is literally at least 10 years older than him. That's just weird. But also, i just don't care about their relationship. They're not cute together in any way, the other people involved in the triangle are boring. There is just no interest in that relationship.

Though these love triangles are either boring or disgusting, these less-than-stellar plot lines are completely compensated by the relationship between Amanda and Santiago. Their chemistry is obvious, and it drives the story. They are the only reason that the story is so captivating to me. The antagonist, Ines, is SO annoying and such a deterrent to them being together, and Amanda's husband, Humberto, is scary, dominating, powerful, etc. I just so badly want her to escape from him and find happiness with Santiago. I think the villainy of the two antagonists and the chemistry of the two protagonists is the perfect combination to make the viewer root for Amanda and Santiago to be together and root for the destruction of Ines and Humberto. It's a great way to hook viewers and leave them wanting more.

There are so many other interesting plot lines that happen in Santa Diabla, but the love triangles definitely take up the most space in the story telling. Thus, they are a great topic to focus in on. Even in the plot lines that I hate, I can't wait to see how their stories will end, and how the antagonists will turn out. I am loving watching this telenovela, even if they characters are irrational and dumb sometimes.