Mexican
TV's ugly duckling picks a prince in show's finale
Web Posted: 06/24/2007 03:01 PM CDT
Nora Lopez
Express-News
"La Fea Mas Bella," the
most watched Spanish-language show in the U.S., reaches its climactic conclusion
from 7-9 tonight during which the telenovela's ugly duckling-turned-swan protagonist
will finally choose her prince.
The soap opera is Mexico's version of the worldwide television
phenomenon that began with "Yo Soy Betty, La Fea" ("I am Betty,
the Ugly"), a Colombian soap opera that burst on the scene in 1999. The show
was immensely popular, breaking audience viewing records and spawning numerous
adaptations, including in Germany, India, Russia and most recently, the U.S. with
"Ugly Betty" on ABC.
The show, which aired weekdays at 7 p.m. on KWEX-TV, Channel
41, the Univisión Network affiliate, was consistently the No. 2 rated show
locally in its timeslot in head-to-head competition with English-language shows.
A large part of the format's appeal is its departure from
the traditional melodramatic telenovela. "La Fea Mas Bella" ("The
Prettiest Ugly One") is a love story wrapped in slapstick comedy, the kind
most often found in Spanish-language variety shows such as "Sabado Gigante."
And who can't identify with the horn-rimmed, plain-but-brainy heroine with an
inner beauty just waiting to be discovered?
"I think it appeals to people's sense of reality and
being able to relate to the primary character," says Derene Allen, managing
partner at Santiago Solutions Group, a San Francisco-based marketing and consulting
firm, who described the show's leading lady as a role model for all women, regardless
of race.
In Mexico's version, Betty was renamed Lety, and there are
actually two ugly-duckling storylines running simultaneously.
The primary one, of course, is that of Lety, the nerdy secretary
who falls for her boss, the handsome playboy Don Fernando. Fernando first tries
to woo Lety in order to manipulate her into cooking the company books to hide
some financial problems. But in the end, he ends up falling for her, too. In traditional
telenovela fashion, by the time he realizes it, Lety is too hurt to forgive him.
The other storyline involves Lety's best friend, the equally
smart, but nerdy Tomás, who is in love with the show's blond, buxom villain
— a character who is redeemed in the end when she sacrifices her first love
— money — for Tomás.
And that's a large part of the show's appeal, too, its emphasis
on family values.
"When you look at the countries it has expanded to,
Mexico, India, Russia, Germany, these are all countries where we are looking to
either have a very strong family unit or looking to strengthen the family unit,"
Allen says.
Fans say the characters have mass appeal.
"You can relate them to your personal life, they are
so real," says Mary Alice O'Bryant, 54, who watches the show faithfully.
"It's a very unique novela."
"La Fea" is also unique in that, unlike most telenovelas,
which run for just a few months, it has enjoyed a 14-month run.
As the soap winds down, Lety is now the president of the
company, and Don Fernando is her assistant. Only one question remains: Who will
Lety stay with? Her first love — Don Fernando — or good guy Aldo who
was there to pick up the pieces when Fernando broke her heart.
"I think she's gonna go with Don Fernando. She's liked
him for a long time," says Jessica Hernandez, 21, who watches the show with
her mother Inez, 50. "That's who I want her to be with."
Her mom agreed, adding that she's going to miss the show
a lot.
"I get mad whenever I miss it," she says. "It's
funny and interesting and different. I wish it weren't ending."
Others, like Rosa Gonzalez, 47, say they would miss some
of the secondary characters more — like the greedy blonde, Alicia, and Luigi,
a gay character known for his outrageous sense of fashion and stinging one-liners.
"To me, those were the most original characters,"
Gonzalez says. "Luigi for his spontaneity, the things he says and the things
he does. He's great."
