Episode 4: Telenovelas Pt 1

This week Juhem and Luciano talk to Dr. Melixa Abad-Izquierdo about Telenovelas, the Latin American cultural phenomenon in the first of two episodes exploring the concept. In part 1 Dr. Abad-Izquierdo looks at the history of telenovelas in Mexico and how interest groups helped shape the religious content in the genre.

 

About the guest

Dr. Melixa Abad-Izquierdo is an Assistant Professor of History at Farmingdale State College. She is also the author of “A Melodramatic Miracle: The Cultural and Political Economy of the Mexican Telenovela, 1950-1980” an essay in Soap Operas and Telenovelas in the Digital Age: Global Industries, Hybrid Content, and New Audience,edited by Diana I. Rios and Mari Castañeda. Also by her, “A Lachrymose Heroine For the Masses: The Origins of the Cinderella Plotline in Mexican Telenovelas, 1968-1973.” In Modernization, Nation-Building, and Television History. Edited by Melissa Chakars and Stewart Anderson. New York: Routledge, 2014. Her research interests are Latin American popular culture and its connections to politics.