What I learned from telenovelas...

As some of you may know, the telenovela "Soy tu Dueña" ("I'm your boss", also translated as "Woman of Steel" for the US version) has become one of the staples of my time here in Costa Rica. In my first week here, my host mom invited me to watch with her, since she watches it every night at 9. I figured it would be another good way to practice my Spanish, would give me an opportunity to bond with my host mom, and would be something fun to look back on...but then I got involved. It's become kind of a running joke in the house that they know it's 9 o'clock when I sit down expectantly in front of the TV. Now don't worry, I'm not obsessed, and I know full well just how ridiculous this show is, but as today is the finale, I felt I owed it a tribute here on my blog.

To give a brief overview, the show is about Valentina, a smart, headstrong woman who in the very first episode gets left at the altar by Alonso (not a good guy). Heartbroken, Valentina leaves Mexico City where she's been living to move back to her family-owned cattle ranch with her aunt and cousin (the evil Ivana!). She takes over as the "dueña" or owner of the ranch, and basically manages it on her own, turning it into a successful business. She also wears lots of cowgirl outfits and spends a lot of time riding horses. Next door lives the handsome Jose Miguel, also a rancher, and the two of them fall madly in love. This of course is not enough to make a telenovela, a romantic comedy maybe, but it would be too simple of a story line if it ended here. Instead of ending up happy together right away, the couple's marriage plans are ruined when Alonso shows back up declaring his love for Valentina and Ivana (the cousin) declares that she's in love with Jose Miguel. Then there's Rosendo, the classic bad guy. He's in love with Valentina as well, and ends up doing a lot of terrible things (kidnappings, killings, burning things, etc.). Between all of the drama surrounding Valentina and her various love triangles (since pretty much every main character in the show has some sort of romantic history) and a few side stories with secondary characters, the show gets pretty dramatic, but is fun to watch and has captured the attention of not just Costa Rica, but also Mexico, the US and many more countries.

But between the bad acting, cheesy (and predictable) plot lines, and the slightly absurd modern-day cowboy theme, the novela had some good points and life lessons which I'd like to share with you:

1. It is perfectly natural for a man to take his shirt off for no apparent reason.

2. Bad guys are always bad, but they will pay for their actions and get what they deserve in the end.

3. Sleeping around is a bad idea. (There's always one or two women villains in telenovelas who are a bit promiscuous, and always pay for their actions. In this one, Ivana ends up suicidal and crazy, convinced that she's pregnant with an imaginary baby.)

4. Family is important, but a dysfunctional one can cause serious problems (that make for some very entertaining story-lines).

5. Men, even the good ones, have their flaws and are going to mess up...but then again, so do the good women. In the end, a strong couple can work it out.

6. Love is strong and can survive some pretty tough things. (It can also make people CRAZY, and I mean actually medically crazy with hallucinations and suicide attempts)

7.  A strong woman with self-confidence can achieve anything she puts her mind to. (She also may end up with half a small Mexican town in love with her, causing quite a bit of trouble, but she ends up with the right guy in the end).

So that's my plug for telenovelas...yes, they're absurd, but I must say that this has been one cultural experience I will remember fondly.