Zoom Chats with Leonardo Padrón

     Having the privilege to speak Leonardo Padrón is something I will forever treasure. Though I didn’t actually get to voice my question (he did answer one of them throughout the chat), I really enjoyed being in his presence virtually. He touched a lot of the topics we discussed in class and continue to learn about through the powerpoints. It was a privilege to have him share his thoughts on these topics to further bring them to life before us.
     It was very interesting to learn about Leonardo’s dislike of remakes as he has done his fair share of them now. Though, this has obviously been propelled by his employer. I think the thing to treasure about remakes is the way that the stories can be taken, overlapped onto a new era, generation, time in place and have them adapted to tell a story that is quite realistically nothing like the old one. It will take some of the plotline structure, but what the remake is carrying over pales in comparison to the new material made around the novela. I think, from a standpoint of someone trying to garner success for a new thing, they do see the success of previous things and relate them once again. Some writers have some freedoms like Leonardo had when writing Amar a Muerte, in that he kept the essence of the novela as that was his job, but he was also able to insert a new subplot that reflects more of the place we are in now. It makes me wonder if there will ever be a telenovela with LGBTQ+ representation at the forefront. For now, the overwhelming success of plotlines like the one Leonardo inserted into the remake show the executives there can be more to those types of stories if given the chance. These remakes can be vessels for unlikely stories to gain exposure and test the waters of how the audience receives them. In the powerpoint, Alberto Barrera shared that “There’s a desperation for success, and a great fear of failure,” in regards to remakes. This holds truth in countries like Mexico who are known for still being antiquated in their ways, but we can also see some reception to new stories that push new narratives.
     Then, there are other entities that challenge the success networks believe they have with remakes. Netflix is entering the telenovela scene, and they are not holding back on what they want to do. The future of telenovelas can be believed to be stumped at only making remakes, but then comes along others who are willing to take creative risks in creating brand new content. Leonardo now finds himself juggling these two worlds. He is doing another remake, but he also now has the chance to create whatever world he envisions with the help of Netflix. I wonder if the word ‘telenovela’ perhaps will be the one to fade if newer non-Latin American companies like Netflix make novelas, but maybe they won’t be advertised as such or people just chose to call them series. A really interesting turn of events in my opinion when thinking about challengers to the network's remake stability is also the way a Turkish drama took up a prime slot and has been a success. It was shocking to me when we learned about it, and I wonder if that has opened up the door for more foreign dramas/novelas to enter the Latin American market at the level that it did. There should be a healthy balance, perhaps not equal though, with remakes and originals because if people feel like they keep seeing the same stories told over and over, their attention span will not be one networks can count on. The future of telenovelas is not on whether the novela will die out, but which kinds of novelas will survive the world we are in now.
     The opportunity we had to talk to Leonardo is one for the books. He brought forth many interesting takes on topics we talked about in class ranging from the reality of the interrelating aspect telenovelas have with society and what this quarantine means for creatives. It was a chance like no other, and I am very happy we were able to get to do it.