El derecho de nacer

"Sin Tantina Pena" is the theme to this good "telenovela". Kate Del Castillo plays a young girl named Maria Elena del Junco in this remake of the 1982 novela, which was a remake of the 1966 version. "El Derecho de Nacer" was broadcast on Univision(formerly SIN) all the way to Friday Night, February 22nd, 2002. Besides Kate del Castillo, Saul Lisazo plays her husband, later, the novela will(maybe)be rebroadcast in Grandes Historias(M-F 1:00-3:00 AM). Another good telenovela of Televisa. I give this novela ****out of****.

When Mexican soap operas have become so predictable, schematic and boring, `El Derecho de Nacer' (`Right for Birth') is a mature alternative. This is a classic, proven successful story that is about a rich Mexican family reigned by a mean, corrupt man, who is capable to do such a terrible thing like dictating his own grandson assassination, when he is still a newborn child. In this new version, magnificent Kate del Castillo's acting is superb. You will fall in love with `Maria Elena del Junco'. who's emotionally intense, gorgeous but tormented, and absolutely lovely. Don't miss it, you will find also an excellent cast in this show.

Despite the fact that I don't speak Spanish, I find this show a reality about family conflicts. It relates to rifts in families, where Elena the main character takes her mother's side, and Matilda takes her fathers. Overall this is an enjoyable show.

This is probably one of the best stories ever to come out of Mexico, and it spawned at least three remakes (four if you count the Venezuelan version "De Su Misma Sangre"). But this latest one lacks two important elements: acting and characterization.

The acting is downright awful. In some scenes, it is obvious that the actors and actresses are, well, acting! They over-act and they make a mockery out of the characters, to the point of making them caricatures. (With the exception of Kate Del Castillo).

And this brings up the second point: the Don Rafael Del Junco character, is way, way over the top, badly acted, and badly scripted! They've turned the very stern father from earlier versions, into a complete psycho in this one. Maybe they thought that since this guy's supposed to be a baby killer, that he should be a madman, but this is way too much. In earlier versions, the father was super strict and evil, but he was not a madman. He was set in his ways and did order the (failed) murder attempt of his daughter's baby but later in life he grew remorseful of this act, and had enough redeeming qualities that the audience could forgive him. If this father is forgiven later on, that would be a huge mistake. (And his wife was not a drug addict either, until this one!)

It is a shame that Televisa has taken upon itself to remake several classics of what I consider its earlier glory days. The Veronica Castro 1981 version of this soap opera is much better. We need a station that will broadcast the earlier versions of the classics, so that the younger generations will know the good stuff that came before. Telemundo/Univision are you listening ?