Musica Maestro!

     Teresa is a novela that I watched when it aired in 2010, and it instantly pushed me to become an Angelique Boyer fan. I really felt like it was the best novela out there. I recently rewatched it after all those years in the fall of 2018, and I can confirm it wasn’t an immature assumption;it is one of the best. I also think it’s an excellent choice to discuss the power and influence of music in telenovelas. I feel like the acting, the production, the script and all the things that novelas incompass are sort of like the skeleton of it and the music is the blood that flows through it in this strange analogy. You can have the skeleton alone, but to make it come alive (bear with me) the music takes it to the next level. Which anybody can attest to if they watch when the novelas are filmed and they’re void of music. There is an element missing that is essential to the development of the story.

     In Teresa, the song that takes its own form throughout the story is ¿A Dónde Vamos A Parar? by Marco Antonio Solís. It becomes the theme song Teresa has branded as her and Mariano’s song from when they were in a relationship. It’s introduced to the audience when she needs to ground herself and reminds herself that the reason she cannot be with Mariano, even though she loves him, is that her ambition must be greater than that love. Her love for him won’t help her accomplish all that she wants which is to be successful so she can get out of what she deems as the lowest of the low. The song’s purpose shifts throughout the novela from being a painful reminder to also being a song of celebration. It plays in scenes when Teresa and Mariano are happy however fleeting it may last. She carries the song with her everywhere she goes metaphorically and physically. Whenever she leaves to live with Arturo, she takes the cassette tape that holds the song to remind herself that every sacrifice she makes is valid. Whenever she begins to fall in love with Arturo, the song seemingly comes to her mind when she thinks of him thus the song shifts and she starts to project it onto him. I feel like it’s a good representation of when she is no longer in control of how she feels towards him because as hard as she tries to not love him, it happens against her will. The song mirrors the evolution of Teresa’s change of heart, but it also serves as a depiction of her true emotions. In some moments, the song allows Teresa to be vulnerable in the safety of her own presence which works well with the character because she is not someone who shows her true nature. The song assists in showing the audience her inner mind at work. The audience also grows attached to the song due to its repetition. We know when it starts to play that one way or another we are seeing through whatever facade she is putting up. The song comes alive in the novela and takes its own form along with Teresa’s character.

     To understand how Teresa feels beyond the visual aspect, the audio, in this case this song, transforms scenes and allows a connection to be formed with the audience. Theme songs for subplots give another dimension to them and create a more enjoyable experience. Is there any song that has stuck with you from a particular novela?