La Otra
Encyclopedia
La Otra is a Mexican telenovela
that was produced by Televisa
and aired on El Canal de las Estrellas from 20 May through 20 September 2002. It aired on Univision
in the United States from October 14, 2002 through February 28, 2003. It stars Yadhira Carrillo
as both Carlota Guillen Sáenz and Cordelia Portugal, identical strangers whose lives collide upon becoming involved with Álvaro Ibáñez (Juan Soler
).
"The Best Telenovela of the Year" (Premios TVyNovelas
2003)
Years later, Carlota and Eugenia are attending a university where Carlota studies music and Eugenia studies accounting. Bernarda favors and expects the best out of Eugenia, who is failing school. However she disdains and expects the worst out of Carlota, whom Bernarda calls "inutil" (good-for-nothing). In reality, Carlota is the one who is successful, as she plays the piano
beautifully and paints many masks, showing us that she has quite the artistic side.
Bernarda is a materialistic woman, determined to never allow her daughters to marry in order to avoid what is stated in the father's will: Upon marriage, they will take their part of the fortune. She oppresses the girls and holds them near prisoner in their own home. However, Carlota and Eugenia do not allow circumstances to stop them from being their own selves. Eugenia is secretly dating Roman and has already had relations with him. Roman has slept with her for vengeance only. He thinks that she is his half-sister. However, she is not Leopoldo's daughter. When Bernarda and Carlota discover that Eugenia is pregnant, Bernarda sends her away to a small town with their housekeeper Tomasa. In the small town Eugenia meets Cordelia, who is identical to Carlota. She also meets Santos, a man who falls in love with her, and they marry in order to give her child a name.
Meanwhile, Carlota forms a relationship with a young doctor named Álvaro. He soon asks for her hand in marriage. When Bernarda finds out, she adamantly opposes and unsuccessfully tries break them up via many means. Eventually, she concedes and gives Carlota her blessing. Of course, knowing Bernarda, there is always an ulterior motive.
Eugenia gives birth but because Bernarda tells Eugenia the entire truth about everything that has happened, she instigates her own daughter's early death. During her last moments, Eugenia orders Tomasa to hide the baby with Santos and lie to everyone and say the baby died. Eugenia curses her mother with misery and guilt and dies.
When Eugenia's body is delivered to Bernarda, Álvaro asks to see Carlota, but Bernarda demands that he leave and leave her to mourn her daughter's death. Ignorant of recent happenings and of the fact that Carlota has a sister, Álvaro believes Carlota died. Bernarda does not correct him and says that Carlota died in a freak accident. She denies him access to view the dead body by lying (The lie is that Carlota's body is unrecognizable from the serious degree of the accident). Álvaro leaves for his parents' hacienda in a rural town to get over his first (and only) love. Bernarda tells Carlota that he abandoned her and that he was just using her. With the death of her sister and this terrible news, Carlota tries to kill herself, but she only kills her unborn child.
During Alvaro's grieving process, Cordelia eventually seduces Alvaro into a loveless marriage, using her appearance and her charismatic manipulation skills to her advantage.
Ten years later, Carlota is nothing more than a mere shadow of her former self, further enslaved by Bernarda, and Alvaro and Cordelia are having marital troubles, causing misery for their daughter Natalia.
Eventually, Carlota will learn to break free and become her own person...but it will take walking into the lion's den to do so. She will go to Alvaro's house and assume the position of La Otra.
was airing. However, it proved to be a sleeper telenovela
, as it won the Premio
for best novela of 2002, as well as numerous other Premios. It has also grown in popularity amongst telenovela fans of all kinds, thus making it a cult classic
of sorts. It has aired four times in the United States, the first time being its initial airing on Univision in the afternoon, from October 14, 2002 to February 28, 2003. It has been repeated three times afterward. The first repeat was on Telefutura
in the early morning, from September 26, 2005 to January 27, 2006. The second repeat was on Univision during the Grandes Historias hour late at night, from April 9, 2007 to August 9, 2007. The third repeat currently aired during the mid-afternoon later switched to mornings on Telefutura
, having started on November 22, 2010 to March 30, 2011.
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
that was produced by Televisa
Televisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
and aired on El Canal de las Estrellas from 20 May through 20 September 2002. It aired on Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
in the United States from October 14, 2002 through February 28, 2003. It stars Yadhira Carrillo
Yadhira Carrillo
Yadhira Carrillo Villalobos is an actress and former beauty queen.-Early career:Yadhira Carrillo was chosen Nuestra Belleza Aguascalientes in 1994...
as both Carlota Guillen Sáenz and Cordelia Portugal, identical strangers whose lives collide upon becoming involved with Álvaro Ibáñez (Juan Soler
Juan Soler
Juan Soler Valls Quiroga is an Argentine actor and former rugby player and model. He is married to Argentine actress Magdalena "Maki" Moguilevsky with whom he has two daughters.-Personal life:...
).
"The Best Telenovela of the Year" (Premios TVyNovelas
Premios TVyNovelas
The TVyNovelas Awards, also known as the Premios TVyNovelas are presented annually by Televisa and the magazine TVyNovelas to honour the best Mexican television productions, especially telenovelas. Instituted in 1983, the award ceremony is held in Forum Mundo Imperial in Acapulco...
2003)
Plot
On a dark, stormy night, Bernarda, Leopoldo Guillen's lover, takes her two small daughters, Eugenia and Carlota, to his funeral. Leopold's son, Roman, his wife, and the priest tell them that they are unwelcome at the funeral and Roman throws them out in the mud.Years later, Carlota and Eugenia are attending a university where Carlota studies music and Eugenia studies accounting. Bernarda favors and expects the best out of Eugenia, who is failing school. However she disdains and expects the worst out of Carlota, whom Bernarda calls "inutil" (good-for-nothing). In reality, Carlota is the one who is successful, as she plays the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
beautifully and paints many masks, showing us that she has quite the artistic side.
Bernarda is a materialistic woman, determined to never allow her daughters to marry in order to avoid what is stated in the father's will: Upon marriage, they will take their part of the fortune. She oppresses the girls and holds them near prisoner in their own home. However, Carlota and Eugenia do not allow circumstances to stop them from being their own selves. Eugenia is secretly dating Roman and has already had relations with him. Roman has slept with her for vengeance only. He thinks that she is his half-sister. However, she is not Leopoldo's daughter. When Bernarda and Carlota discover that Eugenia is pregnant, Bernarda sends her away to a small town with their housekeeper Tomasa. In the small town Eugenia meets Cordelia, who is identical to Carlota. She also meets Santos, a man who falls in love with her, and they marry in order to give her child a name.
Meanwhile, Carlota forms a relationship with a young doctor named Álvaro. He soon asks for her hand in marriage. When Bernarda finds out, she adamantly opposes and unsuccessfully tries break them up via many means. Eventually, she concedes and gives Carlota her blessing. Of course, knowing Bernarda, there is always an ulterior motive.
Eugenia gives birth but because Bernarda tells Eugenia the entire truth about everything that has happened, she instigates her own daughter's early death. During her last moments, Eugenia orders Tomasa to hide the baby with Santos and lie to everyone and say the baby died. Eugenia curses her mother with misery and guilt and dies.
When Eugenia's body is delivered to Bernarda, Álvaro asks to see Carlota, but Bernarda demands that he leave and leave her to mourn her daughter's death. Ignorant of recent happenings and of the fact that Carlota has a sister, Álvaro believes Carlota died. Bernarda does not correct him and says that Carlota died in a freak accident. She denies him access to view the dead body by lying (The lie is that Carlota's body is unrecognizable from the serious degree of the accident). Álvaro leaves for his parents' hacienda in a rural town to get over his first (and only) love. Bernarda tells Carlota that he abandoned her and that he was just using her. With the death of her sister and this terrible news, Carlota tries to kill herself, but she only kills her unborn child.
During Alvaro's grieving process, Cordelia eventually seduces Alvaro into a loveless marriage, using her appearance and her charismatic manipulation skills to her advantage.
Ten years later, Carlota is nothing more than a mere shadow of her former self, further enslaved by Bernarda, and Alvaro and Cordelia are having marital troubles, causing misery for their daughter Natalia.
Eventually, Carlota will learn to break free and become her own person...but it will take walking into the lion's den to do so. She will go to Alvaro's house and assume the position of La Otra.
Cast
- Yadhira CarrilloYadhira CarrilloYadhira Carrillo Villalobos is an actress and former beauty queen.-Early career:Yadhira Carrillo was chosen Nuestra Belleza Aguascalientes in 1994...
— Carlota Guillen Sáenz / Cordelia Portugal de Ibáñez (protagonist|villain, drowned by Adrian) - Juan SolerJuan SolerJuan Soler Valls Quiroga is an Argentine actor and former rugby player and model. He is married to Argentine actress Magdalena "Maki" Moguilevsky with whom he has two daughters.-Personal life:...
— Álvaro Ibáñez - Jacqueline AndereJacqueline AndereJacqueline Andere is a Mexican actress.- Biography :...
— Bernarda Sáenz vda. de Guillen (villain, is left to be alone and miserable with her money-hungry lifestyle) - Sergio Sendel — Adrián Ibáñez (villain, is killed by Bernarda via her "protected" safe)
- Manuel OjedaManuel OjedaManuel Salvador Ojeda Armenta is one of the most active actors of television and cinema in Mexico. He played the villain, Zolo, in the Hollywood film Romancing the Stone.-Career:...
— Juan Pedro Portugal (villain, burns to death by his daughter Apolonia's hand) - Mercedes MoltoMercedes MoltoMercedes Molto , and work in Mexico as a soap opera actress.At the age of sixteen, she arrived in Mexico, where she began her career.- Telenovelas :*Pablo y Andrea *Niña.....
— Eugenia Guillen Sáenz (dies while giving birth to her son Librado) - Chantal AndereChantal AndereJacqueline Chantal Fernandez Andere is a Mexican actress. She is professionally known as Chantal Andere.-Early life:...
- Bernarda Sáenz vda. de Guillen (young) (villain) (only appears in few episodes) - Alejandro Ávila — Román Guillen (villain, is shot to death by Bernarda)
- Eugenio Cobo — Padre Agustín
- Jorge VargasJorge VargasJorge Vargas may refer to:*Jorge B. Vargas , Filipino lawyer and youth advocate*Jorge Vargas González, Chilean politician, mayor of Pichilemu 1997-2007*Jorge Alberto Vargas, Ecuadorian football player*Jorge Francisco Vargas, Chilean footballer...
— Delfino Arriaga - Julio BrachoJulio BrachoJulio Bracho Gavilán was a Mexican film director and screenwriter.Bracho was born as ninth of eleven children of Julio Bracho y Zuloaga and his wife Luz Pérez Gavilán...
— Lázaro Arriaga - Toño Mauri — Daniel Mendizábal
- Azela RobinsonAzela RobinsonAzela Jacqueline Robinson Cañedo is an English-born Mexican actress.-Biography:Born in the United Kingdom to an English father and a Mexican mother, Azela Robinson studied in the Old Vin Drama Workshop and soon after, she enrolled in the National Theatre Workshop...
— Mireya Ocampo - Maty Huitrón — Fabiana Morales (pushed off a roof by her son Adrian)
- Rosa María Bianchi — Lupita Ibáñez
- Josefina EchánoveJosefina EchánoveJosefina Echánove is a Mexican actress, model and journalist.Echánove started working as an actress and then later became a journalist.-Biography:...
— Tomasa López - Alonso Echanove — El Cuco
- Luis Couturier — Justo Ibáñez
- Sergio Sánchez — Saltiel Orozco
- Sergio Ramos — Don Joaquín Pardo
- Veronica JaspeadoVerónica JaspeadoVerónica Jaspeado Martínez is a Mexican actress and voice actress.-Biography:She was born in Puebla, Mexico on September 6 of 1976. Veronica studied at the Centro de Capacitación Artística de Televisa . She also participated in the Acrobatics workshop at Centro Universitario de Teatro , of the...
— Apolonia Portugal (villain, ends up in prison waiting for her mother's aid) - Ignacio Guadalupe — Santos Merida
- Roberto Atúnez — Padre Fermín
- Virginia Gutiérrez — Esperanza
- Fernando Robles — Fulgencio Ríos
- Gastón Tuset — Dr. Salvador Almanza
- Alfonso Iturralde — Narciso Bravo
- Zoila Quiñones — Simona Díaz
- María Prado — Martina Rubio
- Virginia Gimeno — Hilaria Rivero
- Isadora González — Paulina Mendizábal
- David Ramos — Padre Conrado
- Alberto Inzúa — Padre Javier
- Antonio de la Vega — Isaac Gómez (villain, aid of Adrian, runs off before getting killed or caught)
- Carlos González — Benigno Merida
- Rosángela Balbó — Socorrito
- Lucy Tovar — Celina Chávez
- Thelma Dorantes — Carmen
- Shirley — Julieta de Guillen
- Ester Guilmain — Esther
- Erika Blenher — Roberta
- Ofelia GuilmáinOfelia GuilmainOfelia Guilmain was an actress of telenovelas, stage and the cinema of Mexico.She is also the mother of actors Juan Ferrara and Lucía Guilmain...
— Sabina Vda. de Ocampo (Mireya's mother, smothered by Bernarda) - Carlos Speitzer — Librado Merida
- Natasha DupeyrónNatasha DupeyrónNatasha Elizabeh Dupeyrón Estrada better known professionally as Natasha Dupeyrón, is a Mexican actress and singer. Natasha has starred in various Mexican telenovelas since childhood...
— Natalia Ibáñez Portugal - Cosme Alberto — Braulio Portugal Rivero
- Annie del Castillo — Karen Mendizábal
Critical reception
This telenovela was a moderate success in Mexico, airing at 8pm in the summer of 2002, right before the (usually) highest-rated hour of 9pm, during which Entre el Amor y el OdioEntre el amor y el odio
Entre el amor y el odio is a Mexican telenovela produced by Salvador Mejía Alejandre and Televisa that aired on El Canal de las Estrellas in Mexico from 11 February 2002 through 2 August 2002...
was airing. However, it proved to be a sleeper telenovela
Sleeper hit
A sleeper hit, a.k.a. surprise hit , refers to a film, book, single, album, TV show, or video game that gains unexpected success or recognition...
, as it won the Premio
Premios TVyNovelas
The TVyNovelas Awards, also known as the Premios TVyNovelas are presented annually by Televisa and the magazine TVyNovelas to honour the best Mexican television productions, especially telenovelas. Instituted in 1983, the award ceremony is held in Forum Mundo Imperial in Acapulco...
for best novela of 2002, as well as numerous other Premios. It has also grown in popularity amongst telenovela fans of all kinds, thus making it a cult classic
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
of sorts. It has aired four times in the United States, the first time being its initial airing on Univision in the afternoon, from October 14, 2002 to February 28, 2003. It has been repeated three times afterward. The first repeat was on Telefutura
TeleFutura
TeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
in the early morning, from September 26, 2005 to January 27, 2006. The second repeat was on Univision during the Grandes Historias hour late at night, from April 9, 2007 to August 9, 2007. The third repeat currently aired during the mid-afternoon later switched to mornings on Telefutura
TeleFutura
TeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
, having started on November 22, 2010 to March 30, 2011.
Trivia
- Yadhira Carrillo and Sergio Sendel would go on to be a main couple in their next telenovela, Amarte es mi PecadoAmarte es mi pecadoAmarte es mi Pecado' is a Mexican telenovela that was transmitted in the year 2004. It is a production of Ernesto Alonso and the protagonists are Yadhira Carrillo, Alessandra Rosaldo and Sergio Sendel.- Plot :...
, also produced by Ernesto AlonsoErnesto AlonsoErnesto Ramirez Alonso was a Mexican producer, director, cinematographer and actor. He was nicknamed "Señor Telenovela" because most of his work centered around telenovelas known around the world....
.