Spanish-Dubbed Chinese Telenovelas Are Way Better than Regular Telenovelas

EsposaValiente

This is a story of love, passion and betrayal, but its main protagonists do not boast names like Camila Valentina, or Eduardo Alberto Manuel.

Meet Xie An Zhen and Wen Rui Fan, the protagonists of Esposa valiente (Xi Li Ren Qi in Chinese, or The Fierce Wife) a nightly telenovela airing nightly on Spanish-language KJLA-TV channel 57 in Los Angeles.

The story might sound familiar to any drama lover: Xie An Zhen is happily married with one daughter until her husband cheats on her with her cousin, and “the ensuing divorce becomes a battle of love and wits.” But Esposa valiente is not your typical telenovela. It is, in fact, part of an initiative by the Taiwanese government to promote Taiwanese culture in the U.S.

“If we talk about politics every day, nobody will listen,” Steve Hsia, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times. “If we can shorten the distance between Taiwan and other nations through culture, that’s helpful.”

I’m not sure if this thing is going to shorten the distance between Latinos and Taiwan, but the story looks juicy enough for this blogger to go get hooked. Oh, and the dubbing makes it particularly awesome!

Via: Los Angeles Times

Netflix Adds Univision, and that Means One thing…

…. Soraya is BAAAAAAAACK!

lisiada

Per a Univision press release:

Netflix will now offer many hours of some of the most beloved and highly-rated shows from the Univision classics such as Teresa, Maria la del Barrio, Lo Que La Vida Me Robó, Por Ella Soy Eva, La Viuda Negra and Rosa de Guadalupe. The lineup also features some of the Top 20 novelas of all time including La Fea Mas Bella, Cuidado con el Angel and Rubi.

Yeah.. I know what you’re thinking

Latinas Have Hot & Steamy Relationships with Their Coffee

Not content with launching a “Latin-inspired” line of products featuring a hot & steamy abuela and producing its own telenovela, Coffee Mate is back on its “hot steamy” theme, this time in the form of a short video featuring a Latina having way too much pleasure with her coffee.

Is this supposed to be a plug for the equally pathetic 50 Shades of Gray or what is this thing exactly?

Hat tip: Julio Varela

Univision Telenovela Will Now Feature Footlong Sandwiches

QuepobrestanricosIf you thought Subway’s Fritos Chicken Enchilada Melt was as culturally relevant as the fast-food chain was going to get, think again.

In the latest example that Hispanic-targeted marketing knows no limits, Subway Restaurants this week announced a partnership with Univision to “seamlessly integrate Subway products and restaurants into Televisa’s hit telenovela Qué pobres tan ricos (Poor, But Rich).

The first integration, say the partners, will show one of the characters surprising another with a Subway $5 Footlong.

Per a joint Univision-Subway press release:

“This integration allows us to reach Hispanic audiences in an engaging and authentic way,” says Gabriela Mangieri Harper, multicultural marketing manager at Subway.

Because everybody knows that, to effectively reach Hispanic audiences, there is nothing more authentic than a Fritos Chicken Enchilada Melt

Televisa Wants Gringos to Get Hooked on Telenovelas, Too

Not content with having befuddled generations of Latin Americans worldwide, Grupo Televisa now wants gringos to get hooked on its nightly dramas.

As it turns out, the Mexico City-based media giant is the producer behind Hollywood Heights, an English-language telenovela inspired in the early 1990’s hit Alcanzar una Estrella.

Hollywood Heights, premiered June 8 on Nickelodeon and this blogger cannot wait to not watch.