La Reina del Sur ( Queen of the South ) is the original product of Telemundo . The series is the first film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Arturo Perez-Reverte . The plot tells the story of Teresa Mendoza, a young Mexican who, after the death of her drug dealer lover, at the risk of being killed at home, escapes from the militants of the Sinaloa cartel to Europe, subsequently becoming the largest drug dealer in southern Spain. The plot is based on the story of a real woman convicted in 2007.
| Queen of the South | |
|---|---|
| La reina del sur | |
 | |
| Genre | Drama , Action |
| Creator | Arturo Perez-Reverte |
| Based upon | |
| Screenwriter | Roberto Stopello |
| Producer | Walter Doener Mauricio Cruz |
| Cast | Kate del Castillo |
| A country | USA - Spain |
| Original language | |
| Number of episodes | 63 ( ) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Patricio wills |
| Timing | 38-43 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Tv channel | Telemundo |
| On the screens | February 28 - May 30, 2011 |
| References | |
| IMDb | ID 1704637 |
Content
Production
Process
In 2009, the American Telemundo channel issued a press release informing them of the intentions of the adaptation of the Queen of the South novel by Spanish writer Arturo Perez-Reverte. A pilot trailer was shot, which consisted of 50% cutscenes of the music video for the song "La Reina del Sur" by Los Tigres del Norte . In 2010, the company announced that it had found its "Mexican" - it was the Hollywood actress Kate Del Castillo. Filming lasted one year and took place on four continents - in the United States (Miami), Colombia, Spain, Mexico, Morocco and the UK ( Gibraltar ).
Commercial Success
With a 10-million-dollar budget, the series was the most successful product of the American, Hispanic television channel Telemundo , dominating in the evening 10-hour time slot over most major English-language television networks such as NBC , ABC and CBS . [1] [2] The series was shown in 63 episodes throughout the United States, and in a stripped-down, 12-episode format on the Spanish television channel Antena 3 . The last episode shown in the USA got the highest ratings for the 19-year history of the Telemundo channel (4.2 million viewers), beating all English-speaking US channels, thereby taking first place in the evening 10-hour time slot among viewers aged 18-49. [3] [4] On May 31, 2011, Telemundo officially launched a campaign to nominate a series for an Emmy Award on one of its TV shows. The series was sold in less than a year after the premiere in more than 90 countries, including Russia . The premiere of the series in Russia took place on November 19, 2012 on the Domashny television channel with a broadcast at 22:00 from Monday to Thursday.
Storyline
The Queen of the South is the story of Teresa Mendoza (Kate Del Castillo), a 23-year-old girl who lived in Mexico with her boyfriend Guero Davila (Rafal Amaya), a drug dealer and rising star of the Sinaloa cartel . Guero tried to start his own drug business, which was at a loss to the cartel, for which he was killed on the orders of Epifanio Vargas (Umberto Surita), the leader of the cartel. Teresa receives a phone call in which she is told to immediately run. Not knowing the details of Guero's death, Teresa mistakenly believes that he was killed by his rivals in the organization. She gives the diary to Guero Epifanio Vargas in exchange for salvation and assistance in escaping from the country.
Arriving in Spain, Epifanio's friends give Teresa a chance to start working for businessman Dries Larbi on the northern coast of Africa in the city of Melilla. On the ferry to her destination, she meets Fatima Mansour, a prostitute who works in the Yamis bar of Dries. Teresa becomes a cashier in the bar of Dries, where he once meets Santiago Fisterra (Ivan Sanchez), a Galician who works as a black market smuggler, transporting tobacco through the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain with his friend Lalo. Teresa and Santiago begin a romance. Knowing that Santiago receives quite a bit for his work, and about his desire to become a drug dealer, during an emotional conflict, Teresa promises to help him. Through bed, she manages to negotiate with one of her acquaintances, Abdelkader Chaib, Colonel of the Moroccan army, so that he gives Santiago the opportunity to enter the hash trade business. Trade brings big profits, and Teresa and Santiago move to Malaga.
A year later, experiencing zealous pain from Teresa’s refusal, Dries Larbi conspires with a Spanish naval officer, whose goal is to cut off one of Santiago’s major deals. Instead, Santiago dies in this carriage, while Teresa is arrested and sent to prison. Santiago's corrupt lawyer, Eddie Alvarez, subsequently appropriates all of them and Theresa’s property to himself and spends it on his mistress.
In prison, Teresa meets Patricia O'Farrell (Christina Urhel), a girl from a wealthy Irish family of Spanish descent, whose father left her after he had to save her from trouble too many times. They become faithful friends, although Patricia's lesbian inclinations make themselves felt, and she repeatedly tries to seduce Teresa. After serving his term, Pati tells Teresa that he knows about the whereabouts of 500 tons of cocaine stolen and hidden by her late friend, and plans to sell the goods back to the owners - the Russian mafia. During the negotiations, Teresa faces the criminal authority of the Solntsevo Mafia Oleg Yazykov. Teresa holds successful negotiations on the sale of cocaine, breaking the big jackpot in her first transaction in life, thereby starting her promotion in the drug business. Subsequently, Oleg and Teresa become true friends.
DEA agent Willy Ranhel heads to Spain, where he begins to file a case against Theresa, who is quickly becoming the most powerful drug dealer in southern Spain. Leaning on friendship with Yazykov, and with the help of Theo Aljarafe (Miguel de Miguel), a lawyer and casual lover Pati, she opens a trucking company - a shell company created to hide the true business. Soon after, the three killers arrive from Mexico, seeking revenge on Teresa for the past. With the help of Oleg, she catches two, and, getting rid of the fact that she was raped during her escape after Guero's death, she leaves the life of the second - Pote Galvez (Dagoberto Gama), who eventually becomes her bodyguard and the only thread connecting her with her homeland . Teresa and Theo get closer, despite their reservations about this, and, in the end, a love relationship is struck between them.
Willy introduces his agent to Teresa’s company, Veronica (Sarah Maldonado), in Spain, who becomes Patie’s girlfriend and subsequently mistress in order to gain access to the affairs of Teresa’s organization. Willie also puts pressure on Theo, making him an informant. Months pass. Teresa and Theo attract media attention, and Pati, having parted with Veronica, delves into alcohol and drugs. In pursuit of Veronica in an attempt to return her, Pati reveals the truth about her former lover: she finds out that she works in the police and used Pati to discredit Teresa. After an emotional scene, Veronika (who actually fell in love with Pati, deciding to quit) leaves late at night with her in a car in which they continue to quarrel. The desperate and confused Party fails to control, and the car falls off a cliff, after which Veronica dies. Waking up in the hospital, Pati tells Teresa that she knows something, but before she can tell her about the police, she commits suicide.
In Mexico, meanwhile, Epifanio Vargas is about to become president. His nephew (who is actually his son), Ramiro neutralizes his rival and candidate. Thrilled that the head of the Sinaloa cartel is about to be elected president of Mexico, the DEA change tactics and offer Teresa to avoid the trial by removing all charges from her if she agrees to testify against Vargas and destroy his political career. At the same time, Vargas invites Teresa back to Mexico under the guise of participating in his debates, but in reality wanting to kill her, because she is the only living person who knows about his criminal past.
Then Oleg presents evidence that Theo is a police informant. After that, Teresa also learns with horror that she is pregnant from the traitor Theo. But according to the rules of this business, she with a lump in her throat decides to get rid of him. She sets up a trap for him on a yacht on the high seas, saying that she knows everything and that she is pregnant, and then leaves, leaving Pote to get rid of Theo. Upon discovering that the Spanish police are trying to obtain a warrant for her arrest, Teresa accepts the offer and immunity from the DEA in exchange for testifying against Vargas, also learning that he has been her enemy all this time. Upon returning to Culiacan, Vargas first tries to sue Teresa and not give evidence, but having failed, he orders the militants to cut off her house from the communication lines and liquidate her. After a stormy shootout, Teresa miraculously survives, thanks to the fact that Pote blocked her from Ramiro's bullets. Remaining 1 on 1, Ramiro directs a pistol at Teresa, pulling the trigger with a grin, but the store is empty, and Teresa, with an easy smile, kills him with one shot. The next day, she leaves the police station in triumph, and Vargas is taken away in handcuffs.
The final shots show pregnant Teresa seven months later, living in peace and tranquility in a seaside villa somewhere in Spain. Going down the veranda, she walks along the pier, stroking her stomach and smiling, on which the series ends with the song playing on the radio in her jacuzzi in the first series. From the details of the latest series, it can be established that the history of the series lasted for approximately thirteen years.
Roles and Characters
| Actor | Character | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Kate del Castillo | Teresa Mendoza, Mexican | Raimundo’s girlfriend “Guero” Davila, the drug carrier of the Sinaloa cartel, who is forced to flee to Spain after his death. Later he meets Santiago with the “Galician” Fisterra, who is associated with the Galician syndicate, which soon dies in one of the shipments, after which Teresa goes to prison. After her release, she establishes a relationship with the Solntsevo Mafia and enters into a relationship with Theo Aljarafe. In an advertising-shy image of a successful and wealthy businesswoman, local media call her the “Queen of the South”. Having been convicted of breaking the law, makes a deal with the police in exchange for testifying against Epifanio Vargas in Mexico to ruin his political career. |
| Umberto Surita | Epifanio Vargas | The godfather of Guero Davila, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel. He begins his political career as a senator from the state of Sinaloa, with ambitions to enter the Mexican parliament. The father of Ramiro "Ratas" Vargas. When Ratas liquidates the only presidential candidate, without the request of Epifanio, he is appointed in his place. After realizing how much is at stake, Vargas realizes that Teresa Mendoza is the only person who knows about his criminal past and transactions with the cartel, deciding to kill her. |
| Rafael Amaya | Raimundo Guero Davila Parra | Seen mainly in the memoirs of Teresa. Guero is a rising star in the Sinaloa cartel. Dies at the hands of the people of Epifanio Vargas, with the result that Teresa escapes to Spain. Toward the end of the series, Teresa finds out that Guero was a DEA agent and worked with Willy Rangel, and that he was found and killed by order of Epifanio Vargas. |
| Ivan Sanchez | Santiago Lopez Fisterra, The Galician | A smuggler of cigarettes and tobacco products from Galicia (hence his nickname - Galician), who works in Melilla and has connections with a Galician syndicate. At the beginning of their relationship with Teresa, she helps him enter the hash trade, after which he teaches her the craft of smuggling across the Strait of Gibarlthar. Santiago dies in a boat accident crashing into the rocks during a raid initiated by Dries Larbi . |
| Alberto Jimenez | Oleg Yazykov | Criminal authority from the Solntsevo mafia. Becomes Teresa's business partner and best friend after her release from prison, keeping secret feelings for Teresa. Ultimately reveals the traitor in the person of Theo Aljarafe. |
| Christina Urhel | Patricia (Party) “Lieutenant” O'Farrell | A rich girl from an Irish-Spanish family, known for her alcoholic addictions and lesbian exploits. He meets Teresa in prison and finances their early operations in the drug business. He falls in love with Teresa, but eventually begins to meet Veronica, a native of Mexico, which attracts Pati. Having received a suspended sentence for the unintentional murder of Veronica, she falls into a deep depression from guilt and loss of her beloved, after which she commits suicide. |
| Sara Maldonado | Veronica Cortes Santos / Guadeloupe Romero | DEA employee. A native of Mexico, originally working in her homeland, but after having sympathy for her boss Willy Ranhel, he goes on a mission to Spain. Her goal is to seduce Party (to whom she ultimately develops true love) and penetrate the organization of Teresa. Hiding his real name is represented as Veronica Santos. Dies in a car accident . |
| Miguel De Miguel | Theo Aljarafe | Initially, lover Paty O'Farrell. Becomes Teresa’s lawyer after she learns of the betrayal of her primary lawyer (who conspires with Theo’s wife, Eugenia, to kill him). Unbeknownst to Teresa, she becomes a police informant, and betrays her by helping Veronica merge information for the DEA. Killed by Pothe on the orders of Teresa . |
| Nerea Garmendia | Eugenia Montijo | Theo's wife. A solid careerist judging everything by the cover without worrying about the content. Becomes an accomplice and mistress of Eddie Alvarez to kill his own husband. He commits suicide when police find evidence against her. |
| Gabriel Porras | Roberto Marquez, Gato Fierros | One of the members of the Sinaloa cartel, who was sent to eliminate Teresa after the murder of Guero. During the persecution, she rapes her, and she shoots him in the face. He later tracks Teresa in Spain with Pote and Ratas. Dies at the hands of the Russian mafia on the orders of Oleg in revenge for Teresa . |
| Salvador Serboni | Ramiro Vargas, Ratas | Originally introduced as the nephew of Epifanio Vargas. Later it will be revealed that he is his son. Mentally unbalanced and sadistic person. Chases Teresa to kill during her flight to Spain, but instead ends up in jail. After serving his term, he goes to Spain along with Pote and Gato to finish the long-begun business, but falls into the hands of the Russian mafia. He manages to escape back to Mexico, continuing to harbor unbridled hatred of Theresa. Upon learning that Epifanio is his father and not his uncle, he is organizing the assassination of Antonio De Las Casas, a Mexican presidential candidate whose campaign is run by Epifanio, to have his father appointed by his government as the main candidate to replace Casas. By order of Epifanio, he goes with the militants to liquidate Teresa to her mansion in Culiacan. Dying from Teresa's bullet. |
| Dagoberto Gama | Flowing Galves, "Pot" | One of Batman’s fighters, originally sent along with Gato to liquidate Teresa, and forbidding him to rape her, leaves this fragment in Teresa’s memoirs, thanks to which Teresa subsequently leaves him alive after a raid in Spain. Having overheard of intentions to undermine Teresa’s car, he rescues her a few seconds before the explosion. After that, she becomes her personal bodyguard, and the only close person from her homeland. Dying from the bullets of Ratas, overshadowing the pregnant Teresa . |
| Alejandro Calva | Cesar Gümez, Batman | The right hand of Epifanio Vargas. After his departure to politics, he takes over the leadership of the Sinaloa cartel, but subsequently Epifanio removes him from his post, making Ratas the main, which is why Batman is fraught with anger at him. In order to keep him at bay, Ratas kills the entire Batman family to warn Teresa of Epifanio's intentions to remove anyone who dares to testify against him. The last time appears viciously smiling in the distance, when the arrested Epifanio is taken out in handcuffs. |
| Christian Tappan | Antonio Smith / Willy Rangel | DEA employee based in Mexico. He was a mentor to Guero and accompanied Teresa to San Diego during her escape from the militants of the Sinaloa cartel. Later, he comes to Spain to start a criminal case against her, with the help of his agent Veronica Cortes. Having learned about the development of affairs in Mexico, he is forced to offer Teresa a deal in exchange for her testimony against Epifanio Vargas. |
| Carmen Navarro | Marcela, Konejo | A friend of Pati and Teresa, who was sitting with them in prison. Hired as secretary in Theresa's organization. She got the nickname “Conejo” (from the Spanish “La Conejo” - “Rabbit”) because she used poison to kill her cruel husband and his mother. |
| Santiago Melendez | Saturnino "Nino" Juarez | Former head of the Spanish police, who was fired after it was established that he secretly worked for Yazykov. Subsequently, he worked for Oleg and partially for Teresa as an informant. Theo kills him during a shootout when he discovers that he works for the police . |
| Juan Jose Archon | Pablo Flores | Spanish police officer in charge of the Teresa Mendoza case after Juarez’s dismissal. An effective and somewhat ruthless worker in his field, he feels a certain betrayal when Willie and DEA offer immunity to Teresa. Of the last possibilities, he is trying to accuse Theresa of killing Theo in order to prevent her from leaving Spain and arrest her. |
| Carlos Diaz | Eddie Alvarez | Originally a lawyer for Santiago. He betrays Theresa by stealing her assets during her time in prison. After her release, she tells him in person that "he will not be able to deceive her twice." Replacing him with Theo, she provokes Eddie to conspire with Theo Eugenia's wife to kill him, but fails. Hiding from the pursuit of Nino and the police, he accidentally falls from a high-rise construction site and dies . |
| Nacho Fresneda | Dris larbi | The owner of the bar “Yamilla” in the city of Melilla, where Teresa worked upon arrival in Spain. Secretly in love with Teresa, and bitterly jealous of her to Santiago. After Teresa moves to mainland Spain, he conspires with a police officer to intercept Santiago by the coast guard, but this ultimately ends with Santiago’s death and Teresa’s arrest. When the truth is revealed, Dries flees to Mexico from the persecution of the Russian mafia and Teresa, where Ratas kills him after providing information about the whereabouts of Teresa . |
| Monica Estarreado | Fatima Mansour | Teresa’s best friend, with whom they met while working in Yamil. A kind-hearted woman expelled from a Moroccan family and forced to work as a prostitute in southern Spain. Later, with the help of Teresa and Santiago, she manages to rescue her young son from the orphanage in Morocco. Years later, Teresa helps Fatima and her son Mohammed move to Marbella. Mohammed is later abducted by the Turkish mafia in retaliation for Teresa’s business. Fatima dies with her son in front of Teresa during an unsuccessful rescue operation . |
| Cook Escribano | Sheila | The employee of "Yamil". Initially feuding with Teresa. After a while, Teresa saves her life, and they become close friends. |
| Eduardo Velasco | Abdelkader Chaib | Colonel of the Moroccan army, and part-time drug lord. Teresa's ally and business partner. |
| Alfonso Vallejo | Marcelo Cáceres | Governor of Melilla. Under pressure, he forced Theresa to provide him with sexual services, in exchange for helping her. She publicly humiliated him when she met Abdelkader, whom she recognized as more important and influential. |
| Pablo Castagnon | Lalo Veiga | Santiago's best friend and his assistant in smuggling. He falls in love with Soraya at about the same time that Santiago meets Teresa. He was later captured by the Moroccan coast guard, where his tongue was cut off before he was sent to prison. Years later, Teresa uses her influence on Abdelkader and is released, after which she takes him to a house for the disabled in Spain. |
| Lorena Santos | Soraya | A colleague of Teresa and one of the girls of Yamiliya. Initially a supporter of Sheila, and later one of Teresa's friends. |
| Karim El-Kerem | Mohammed Mansour | The 17-year-old son of Fatima. Kidnapped by the Turkish mafia in revenge of Teresa. Killed with his mother in front of Teresa during an unsuccessful rescue operation . |
Links
Notes
- ↑ Guthrie, Marisa . How the Telenovela Is Beating the Networks , The Hollywood Reporter (April 1, 2011). Date of treatment May 12, 2011.
- ↑ Ng, Philiana . Telemundo's 'La Reina Del Sur' Telenovela Has Strong Launch , The Hollywood Reporter . Date of treatment May 12, 2011.
- ↑ Ng, Philiana . Telemundo's 'La Reina del Sur' Tops Broadcast in Ratings , The Hollywood Reporter . Date of treatment May 12, 2011.
- ↑ Gorman, Bill "La Reina Del Sur" Draws Best Audience Ever For Telemundo Entertainment Program, Averaging Nearly 4.2 Million Total Viewers . TV by the Numbers . Date of treatment June 1, 2011. Archived January 26, 2013.