(This post is part of a series on the 14 Top TV Dramas
You’ve Never Seen)
We continue our countdown of The Top TV Dramas You've Never
Seen with Number 11, Los Plateados.
Admittedly, one wouldn’t expect to find a telenovella in a top drama list.
Novellas are Spanish soap operas, but unlike American soaps, they are
structured like novels, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. The typical
novella is poorly written, sometimes written days or weeks before episodes are
broadcast, leading to hackneyed dialogue, plot holes, and clichéd endings. But
on rare occasions, a novella will rise above its genre. Such is the case of Los
Plateados.
Los Plateados is Spanish for “the silver-plated ones”. This
historical fiction drama takes place against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution. Robin Hood style bandits would steal silver shipments, robbing the
rich to give to the poor, giving rise to the appellation “the silver-plated
ones”. This particular group of sibling bandits fought for honor and justice,
and to avenge their father’s death. The eldest brother, Gabriel Campuzano
(played by Latin star Mauricio Islas) leads them on an attack against their
enemy Emilio Gallardo (played to perfection by Humberto Zurita) only to fall in
love with Gallardo’s fiancé. It is a pleasure to watch Zurita’s nuanced performance,
as he turns what might otherwise have been a two-dimensional villain into the
most compelling character in the show.
There are too many fascinating subplots to describe, but
I’ll mention one minor yet memorable one, which you can watch climax in the
YouTube clip below. Gallardo had an affair with a servant and she became
pregnant. He agreed to house her and the child and support them, because she
had borne him his only son (male heirs being a big deal in that culture), so Gallardo
acknowledged the bastard, who is now a teenager. The servant forced her child
to live a lie, for Toñito was born a girl and she has dressed her and raised
her as a boy, fearing they would be kicked out on the streets if Gallardo
learned she had borne him a daughter and not a cherished son.
Toñito has a crush on the nephew of a couple that work for
Gallardo and he becomes attracted to her, yet confused since he thinks Toñito
is a boy. Once Toñito reveals her secret to him, they become secret lovers. One
day, his uncle catches them kissing, and thinking his nephew is kissing another
boy, he beats him mercilessly. The boy refuses to explain, protecting Toñito’s
secret. His aunt begs the uncle to stop beating him. A crowd forms, and
Gallardo comes out to see what is going on. The uncle explains he caught his
nephew kissing Gallard’s son, and Gallardo is as enraged as the uncle.
(Obviously a homophobic culture and period).
Toñito appears with a pistol and dares to aim it at her
father, warning him not to harm the boy she loves. She loves her father but he
has always found his “son” to be unmanly (no surprise there). While she’s torn
by having to threaten his life, Gallardo is proud Toñito is finally acting like
a man, but he tells her to put down the gun. She breaks down, releasing a
lifetime of repressed frustration, anxiety, and rage. “Isn’t this what you
want? I’m macho now. I’m your son now.” Then she rips off her shirts, revealing
her bandaged breasts, and shouts to everyone’s surprise, “I’m not your son! I’m
your daughter!”
In one short, dramatic clip, we have a microcosm of the
culture and the societal norms of the era – machoism, misogyny, homophobia,
violence, the subjugated role of women, the expectations placed on men
(especially first born males in a primogeniture-based society). We see love, romance, self sacrifice, deceit,
conflict, and an incredible range of emotions and motivations. And each subplot
contained the same intensity.
I know I said I wouldn’t include any westerns on this list,
but I think Los Plateados qualifies more as historical fiction than as a
typical western. It also has a great theme song. You can hear and watch the
opening theme (“Por Amor a la Verdad”).
Below, you'll find links to the show's listing at the Internet Movie Database and the clip described above, hosted on YouTube.
Below, you'll find links to the show's listing at the Internet Movie Database and the clip described above, hosted on YouTube.
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