Miami .- Since a few pioneering producers first started making Spanish-language soap operas in Miami in the 1990s, this city has become a Mecca for taping the passion-filled serials that captivate audiences throughout the hemisphere.
Telemundo, for example, has a production studio in Miami, and it is there that most of the network’s soaps are filmed.
In fact, all Telemundo’s soap operas are produced by the network, not bought elsewhere, and among the most popular of them are “El cuerpo del deseo” (Body of Desire), “Tierra de pasiones” (Land of Passions) and “Decisiones.”
One of the recent additions to the list, “La viuda de Blanco” (Blanco’s Widow) – starring Itati Cantoral and Francisco Gattorno, is also set in tropical South Florida.
Among the projects currently on the drawing board and scheduled to be filmed next are the reality show “Mama: quiero ser artista” (Mom, I want to be an actor) and “Vas o no vas (the Spanish-language version of “Deal or No Deal”).
The management at Telemundo is now conducting casting calls to find new talent for its upcoming productions in Miami.
Meanwhile, Univision, through a contract it has with Televisa and Venevision Internacional to buy soaps, is also a part of the trend toward filming more productions in Miami.
Currently, Televisa is shooting “Las dos caras de Ana” (The Two Faces of Ana), a romance with a touch of suspense featuring Ana Layevska, Rafael Amaya and Alexa Damian.
Highly successful soap operas such as “El Magnate” (1990), “Guadalupe” (1994) and “Inocente de ti” (2005) – all of them broadcast by Univision – have backed up the theory that the specific setting of the productions does not matter to viewers.
For actors, this has been a step forward since it is no longer necessary for them to change their original accents nor to be of a certain nationality, given that the soaps allow the hiring of a “multicultural” cast.
That is the case with “El cuerpo del deseo,” “Tierra de pasiones” and this year’s “Amores de mercado” (Market Loves), all of which are Telemundo productions and which are set in Miami, Colombia and Mexico.
Miami has a strategic location enabling it to attract actors from all over the world. The fact that 15 years ago producers risked making it the main location for “Ciudad del sol” (Sun City) opened the doors for U.S. channels to get in on the Spanish-language soaps market.
That flexibility has attracted the big Hispanic channels, who have recognized the city as a bridge via which they can offer modern and high-quality products for soap viewers.
Telemundo, Telefutura and Univision all have film studios in Miami.
Neilsen Media Research says that in recent years its viewer surveys have shown a considerable increase in the Latino television audience in the United States.
That could serve as a reference point for understanding the importance that the networks are giving to the soap operas when they try to attract their audience and ensure themselves top spots in the viewer ratings.
During July, Univision was in second place among 18-34-year-old TV-watching adults, beating out ABC, CBS, WB and UPN, according to the Neilsen Television Index.
