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La Madrastra (Chile)

La Madrastra
La madrastra (1981).jpg
Title card
Genre Crime drama
Created by Arturo Moya Grau
Directed by Óscar Rodríguez
Creative director(s) Jorge Garate
Starring Jael Ünger
Walter Kliche
Opening theme "Soy el amor" by Alejandra Álamo
Country of origin Chile
Original language(s) Spanish
No. of episodes 75
Production
Executive producer(s) Ricardo Larenas
Producer(s) Astrid Campos
Gisela Montenegro
Location(s) Santiago, Chile
Los Angeles, United States
Cinematography Oscar Alarcon
Manuel Villaroel
Editor(s) Ricardo Montoya
Camera setup Multiple camera
Running time 55–60 minutes
Production company(s) Corporación de Televisión de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Release
Original network Canal 13
Picture format Standard-definition in colour 480i 4:3
Audio format Monaural
Original release April 21 (1981-04-21) – September 18, 1981 (1981-09-18)
Chronology
Related shows Vivir un poco (1985)
Para toda la vida (1996)
Forever (1996)
La Madrastra (2005)
¿Quién mató a Patricia Soler? (2014)

La Madrastra (lit: The Stepmother) is a Chilean television soap opera created by Arturo Moya Grau, that aired on Canal 13 from April 21, to September 18, 1981, starring Jael Unger and Walter Kliche. The series, set in Los Angeles and Santiago between 1961 and 1981, depicts the memoirs of Maria Espínola, an innocent woman accused of murder in America, twenty years later, she is freed from prison, returning to Chile for revenge, and to see her children as their stepmother. La Madrastra having achieved both wide acclaim and commercial success with 80% television ratings, became a significant part of 1980s Chilean popular culture.

Directed by Óscar Rodríguez and comprising a total of 75 episodes, the series has been consistently ranked by Latin American media as one of the greatest television screenplay in Spanish language of all time, and has been remade several times by other television networks. La Madrastra has been cited as a key influence on Chilean television productions inspiring screenwriters until now. International versions has been adapted and rebranded as Vivir un poco (1985), Para toda la vida (1996), Forever (1996), La Madrastra (2005), and the most recent ¿Quién mató a Patricia Soler? (2014).

The series starts twenty years earlier when a group of Chilean friends travel for fun to Los Angeles, United States. One night in the hotel a gunshot is heard, and Marcia Jones (Jael Unger), the first to hear it, runs to the room where she heard the shot to find her friend Patricia dead on the floor of the room. Marcia picks up the gun by accident, therefore becoming the sole murder suspect. Months later she's found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United States. During the trial it's discovered that at the time of her death, Patricia was pregnant. Every friend Marcia thought she had shuns her, including her husband Esteban San Lucas (Walter Kliche), who leaves her in the United States and forces her to sign a marriage annulment.

The story moves on to present day (1981), Marcia has now become a bitter woman who only maintains contact with her attorney, who has always believed in her innocence and tries to help her. Father Belisario (Tennyson Ferrada), a priest in Pomaire also remains in touch with Marcia and regularly sends her Chilean food and clay which Marcia uses to make highly-appraised figurines which had allowed her to generate a small fortune by herself. One day Marcia is released from prison and decides to return to Chile. At this point, Esteban is about to marry Ana Rosa (Ana María Palma), to the dismay of Héctor (Ramón Farías), Luna (Claudia Di Girólamo), and Ricardo (Alberto Vega), Esteban's children with Marcia. Especially since the wedding day coincides with another anniversary of the "mother's death"--Esteban had told this lie to his kids so he wouldn't have to tell them she was a murderer.


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