Telenovela Moments Every Latino Grew Up Watching

If La Usurpadora, Marimar and Betty La Fea are names that ring a bell, you probably grew up in a household with a mom, abuela or tia who loves telenovelas…. Or maybe you were into some of these perfect drama series from back in the 90s every Latino couldn’t resist. 

The trilogy of the Marías: María Mercedes (1992), Marimar (1993) María la del Barrio (1994), with Thalia in the forefront, were iconic for her to build the starpower she now has. However, some other telenovelas were important for other Latino telenovela actresses, like Alcanzar una estrella (1990), and Muchachitas (1991) and Amigas y Rivales were crucial for actresses like Adamari López and Ludwika Paleta. 

In the 90s, there was a long debacle between two Mexican stations, Televisa and TV Azteca which were both gaining more and more ground in the telenovela-making biz.  

Whether you grew up in the U.S. or you grew up abroad, we can probably all agree that there are certain moments that we all still mention to the moment, and even have become recognized memes. 

What makes a telenovela memorable? Let’s break it down.

At number one, we have the ultimate viral telenovela moment. When Soraya Montenegro on María la del barrio, played by Itatí Cantoral, says “maldita lisiada” to María (Thalía).

This moment even made it to Orange is the New Black and we absolutely adore it!

Cuna de Lobos wayyyy back in the early 90s Catalina Creel (María Rubio) had an eye patch. She guilt-tripped the protagonist his whole life over blinding her in one eye until in the finale she reveals HER EYE WAS JUST FINE. It was just a front to get her husband to like their mutual son better than the other one. 

“Ser o Parecer” was probably the song we’ll all remember from the Rebelde telenovela that brought us all back to those days in school wearing plaid short skirts and white shirts… After 12 years of being MIA, the RBD group went back on stage in 2020 to record a new concert (probably the best moment of 2020).

Ok… we gave Mexican telenovelas the spotlight, but let’s not forget Colombian telenovela Betty La Fea, written by Fernando Gaitán. This series, originally released in 1999 in RCN Televisión, has been redone at least 13 times in different countries and translated into plenty of languages. Don’t believe us? Here’s the list:

1. Yo soy Betty, la fea — Colombia. …
2. La fea más bella — México. …
3. Yo soy Bea — Spain
4. Ugly Betty — United States
5. Betty en NY — U.S. (En Español)
6. Bela, a feia — Brasil. 
7. BrzydUla — Poland 
8. Verliebt in Berlin — Germany
9. Ne Rodis Krasivoy — Rusia
10. Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin – India
11.  Maria, i Ashimi – Greece
12.  Lotte – Netherlands
13.  Sensiz Olmuyor — Turquía

Like these unforgettable telenovela moments, so many more still remain in our hearts. We went over a few of our favorites with LATV’s editorial team and these are still engraved in our soul! And the list goes on… Can you relate?

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Amor Real

Clase 406

La Esclava Isaura

Teresa

La Usurpadora

La Niña de la Mochila Azul

El Clon

La Hija del Mariachi

Maria la del barrio, Marimar, Maria Mercedes

Dos Mujeres un Camino

Pasión de Gavilanes

Gata Salvaje

Soñadoras

Cuidado con el Angel

Pedro el Escamoso

Carita de Angel

Isa, TQM

Rosa Salvaje