Madre Luna
| Madre Luna | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developed by | Julio Jiménez, Iván Martínez Lozano |
| Starring |
Amparo Grisales Gabriel Porras Michel Brown Alex Sirvent Arap Bethke Ana Lucía Domínguez Mónica Dionne Saby Kamalich |
| Opening theme |
"Madre Luna" Adriana Ferrer |
| Composer(s) | Héctor Cardona Jr. |
| Country of origin |
Colombia United States |
| Original language(s) | Spanish |
| No. of episodes | 141 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Hugo León Ferrer |
| Producer(s) | Jorge Sastoque Roa |
| Production location(s) | Bogotá and Girardot, Colombia |
| Editor(s) | José Luis Varón |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 42-45 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Telemundo |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| Audio format | Stereophonic sound |
| Original release | July 2, 2007 – January 28, 2008 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Marina |
| Followed by | La traición |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Madre Luna (Mother Moon) is a Spanish-language telenovela produced by the United States-based television network Telemundo and RTI Colombia. This limited-run series, also known as Grains of Love,[1] debuted on July 2, 2007. Veteran telenovela writer Julio Jiménez developed the story as a vehicle for star Amparo Grisales.[2] The show scored a 35 percent share of the Colombian audience during the summer of 2007.[3] During November 2007, it averaged 571,000 core adult (ages 18–49) viewers.[4]
Luna's final episode aired Monday, January 28, 2008.
Story
This romantic melodrama features Alejandra Aguirre (Amparo Grisales), a gorgeous, tenacious woman with an amazingly well-preserved body who grows rice in the rural town of Castellón—and hides a deep, shocking secret. She is a 50-year-old woman with great passion, sensuality and splendor. Her self-willed intensity puts her in the middle of a rivalry between Leonardo Cisneros (Gabriel Porras) and his handsome, daring son Ángel (Michel Brown).[5] Both dashing men want to possess this vivacious heroine.
Leonardo is Alejandra's old flame, who gave her two energetic children, Valentin and Demetrio. He reappears in her life after many years of absence and revives the strong feelings which she thought had died long ago. This turns her whole life upside down, forcing her to face her past.[5]
Years before, Leonardo met Alejandra during a business trip and they fell in love. He never told his unsuspecting lover that he had been married to his cruel, calculating wife Flavia (Mónica Dionne), who is the mother of his son Ángel, for three years. Instead, he chose to live a double life of deception.[5]
Not knowing the truth, Alejandra discovered that she was pregnant. When she finally discovered Leonardo’s deception, she broke off the relationship. She chose to keep her silence rather than risk hurting his family.[5] While she accepts a plot of land in Castellón from Leonardo, she avoids him for years before serendipity brings them back together.
Alejandra's reappearance sends a jolt of passion through Leonardo’s heart. This also raises hatred and envy in vengeful people who want Alejandra and her children destroyed. These dangerous enemies include Doña Trinidad Zapata (Saby Kamalich), Flavia's tyrannical mother, and the villainous Tirso Reinoso (Paulo Quevedo), who oversees the Cisneros property, along with the scheming Commandante Veneno ("Captain Venom") (Mauricio Aspe),[6] who leads a group of thugs called the Sierra Brigade.
Meanwhile, the younger generation faces its own fight for love, companionship and fulfillment. Leonardo’s son Angel falls for Alejandra, knowing nothing of her forbidden secrets. Despite the enormous age difference, Angel becomes so obsessed that he tries to take her by force. This provokes Alejandra's strong desire to stand up against anyone who would abuse her or her children.
Leonardo’s other sons are also adults with their own conflicts. Valentin now works on the rice farm and Demetrio attends college. These two find themselves competing for the love of Flavia's beautiful young niece, Anabel Saldaña (Ana Lucía Domínguez).[6]
All this leads both families down a path to intrigue, desperation, and betrayal. Generational and status conflicts converge. The struggle over love and family and between rich arrogant upper-class families and poor, decent farmers pushes both Alejandra and Leonardo to their limits.[5]
Title
The name Madre Luna refers to a family character in the children's stories that Alejandra told her sons when they were growing up. Telemundo's English promotional copy says that the luna (moon) represents the two heroines. Alejandra and Anabel lead the story toward its emotional climaxes just as the phases of the moon direct "ancient feminine mysteries.".[1]
Production
Madre Luna is the last Telemundo-produced telenovela filmed in NTSC resolution. Variety called the show "exquisitely lensed," featuring "bronzed bodies, revealing dresses, hacienda lust and luxury, and pop scoring".[3] Madre Luna is shot in Colombia and vehicles in the show bear yellow Colombian license plates. Jiménez said the setting is an imaginary locale inspired by Colombia's rice fields [7] Despite the setting, Telemundo made product placement deals to promote Windex, Splenda and other U.S. brands during the show.
In addition, Telemundo is expected to air 130 hours of Madre Luna from Monday to Friday over about six months.[1] As with most of its soap operas, the network broadcasts English subtitles as closed captions on CC3. This show replaced Marina in Telemundo's 8 p.m. ET/PT time slot.
Changes
When Telemundo announced Madre Luna in May, 2006, the story was different. Grisales was to play a character named Leonor Aguirre. When her husband dies, she returns home to Castellón to face her troubled past and protect her family honor. She falls madly in love with a charming man half her age.[5]
The villain in this story was Isadora, who believes Leonor was once romantically involved with her husband. So she plots to expose Leonor's dark secret and ruin her family’s reputation Isadora spreads a hideous rumor around town, provoking irate villagers to attack Leonor's home and kill her eldest son. The novela was to focus on Leonor’s quest to rise from the ashes and avenge her son’s tragic death.[5]
Actor Javier Gómez was originally cast in a major role in this series, but he went over to another Telemundo soap, Sin Vergüenza, instead.
Cast
| Actor | Character | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| Amparo Grisales | Alejandra Aguirre | Main heroine, in love with Leonardo, mother of Demetrio and Valentín, friend of Angustias and Ignacio. |
| Gabriel Porras | Leonardo Cisneros | Main hero, in love with Alejandra, husband of Flavia, son-in-law of Trinidad, father of Ángel, Demetrio and Valentín, uncle of Anabel. |
| Michel Brown | Ángel Cisneros | Son of Leonardo and Flavia, grandson of Trinidad, cousin of Anabel, half-brother of Demetrio and Valentín, was obsessed with Alejandra, Dulce Elena's ex-boyfriend, husband of Zulma. |
| Saby Kamalich | Doña Trinidad Zapata | Villain, mother of Flavia and grandmother of Ángel and Anabel, mother-in-law of Leonardo, hates Alejandra, her sons and Leonardo, goes to jail. |
| Mónica Dionne | Flavia Portillo de Cisneros | Villain, wife of Leonardo, daughter of Trinidad, mother of Ángel, aunt of Anabel, hates Alejandra and her sons, lover of Román, killed by Tirso. |
| Arap Bethke | Demetrio Aguirre | Son of Alejandra and Leonardo, brother of Valentín, half-brother of Ángel, was in love with Anabel, in love with Dulce Elena, husband of Dulce Elena. |
| Ana Lucía Domínguez | Anabel Saldaña | Niece of Flavia and Leonardo, granddaughter of Trinidad, cousin of Ángel, girlfriend of Valentín. |
| Alex Sirvent | Valentín Aguirre | Son of Alejandra and Leonardo, brother of Demetrio, half-brother of Ángel, boyfriend of Anabel. |
| Paulo Quevedo | Tirso Reinoso | Villain, (ex-)foreman of the Cisneros ranch, lover of Luzmila, killed by Trinidad. |
| Mauricio Aspe | Román Garrido "El Veneno" | Villain, bandit in the town, Zulma's husband, brother of Violeta, lover of Flavia, killed by Flavia. |
| Judy Henríquez | Angustias García | Friend of Alejandra and Ignacio. |
| José Saldarriaga | Fidelio Márquez | Rich man in the town, uncle of Dulce Elena, brother of Basilio, brother-in-law of Irene, killed by Román. |
| Julio del Mar | Ignacio Morales | Farmer, friend of Alejandra and Angustias, father of Luzmila, Emilio and Oscar. |
| Daniela Tapia | Dulce Elena Márquez | Niece of Fidelio, daughter of Basilio and Irene, Ángel's ex-girlfriend, in love with Demetrio, wife od Demetrio. |
| Ana Beatriz Osorio | Violeta Cordero | Violeta's Bar owner in Castellón, sister of Román. |
| Sebastián Boscan | Erasmo Casilimas | Local hairdresser, husband of Séfora, Alejandra's ex-love interest, friend of Alejandra and Bebo. |
| Pedro Roda | Bebo Cantillo | Owner of the town's restaurant, Alejandra's ex-love interest, friend of Alejandra and Erasmo. |
| Luz Alejandra Pinzon | Juana López | Violeta's bar girl, had a brief affair with Valentín Aguirre. |
| Adriana Campos | Zulma Moreno | Ex-bandit, ex-wife of Román, wife of Ángel. |
| Mónica Pardo | Luzmila Morales | Daughter of Ignacio, sister of Emilio and Oscar, had an affair with Valentín, obsessed with him, lover of Tirso, wife of Elfo, killed by Tirso. |
| Sandra Guzmán | Marcela Pizarro | Villain, Fidelio's servant. |
| Margarita Duran | Berta | Friend of Flavia and Trinidad. |
| Freddy Ordóñez | Emilio Morales | Son of Ignacio, brother of Oscar and Luzmila. |
| Luz Estella Luengas | Irene de Márquez | Dulce Elena's mother, Basilio's wife, Fidelio's sister-in-law. |
| Sigifredo Vega | Basilio Márquez | Brother of Fidelio, husband of Irene, father of Dulce Elena. |
| Maria Claudia Torres | Séfora | Wife of Erasmo, enemy of Alejandra. |
| Gabriel González | Rosito Bocanegra | |
| Maria Margarita Amado | Verónica | Maid at Cisneros house. |
| Olga Lucia Rojas | Marieta | Maid at Cisneros house. |
| Dorían Díaz | ||
| Mauricio Álvarez | ||
| Orlando Lamboglia | ||
| Maria Ángela Cubillos | ||
| Jairo López | ||
| Orlando Bonnet | ||
| Maria Cristina Montoya | ||
| Daniel Merizalde | ||
| Ivette Zamora | ||
| Toto Vega | ||
| Nure Valbuena | ||
| Antonio Puentes | ||
| Richard Martínez | ||
| Aída Bossa |
Broadcasters
| Country | Alternate title/Translation | TV network(s) | Series premiere | Series finale | Weekly schedule | Timeslot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Madre Luna | Telemundo | July 2, 2007 | January 28, 2008 | Monday to Friday | 20:00 |
 | Madre Luna | Galavisión Azteca 7 (rerun) | September 3, 2007 September 3, 2012 | April 11, 2008 April 12, 2013 | Monday to Friday | 22:30 22:15 |
 | Plamen ljubavi | Fox televizija | June 18, 2008 | December 30, 2008 | Monday to Friday | 15:45 |
 | Зрънце любов | bTV | September 9, 2007 | April 14, 2008 | Monday to Friday | 17:00 |
 | Plamen ljubavi | Doma TV | August 6, 2012 | February 25, 2013 | Monday to Friday | 15:00/14:00 |
 | Մայր Լուսին | SHANTTV | September 16, 2008 | January 16, 2009 | Monday to Friday | 18:10 |
 | Madre Luna | Telecentro TV | March 20, 2012 | September 21, 2012 | Monday to Friday | 19:00 |
 | Madre Luna | Magna TV | February 13, 2012 | August 12, 2012 | Monday to Friday | 18:55 |
References
- 1 2 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20081112082147/http://www.tepuy.com/madre_luna_eng.swf
- ↑ "Entretenimiento, Música, Cine, Artistas Latinos, Hollywood". laopinion.com. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
- 1 2 Hopewell, John (2007-10-07). "Trio standout at Mipcom event - Entertainment News, Mipcom News 2008, Media". Variety. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
- ↑
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "La historia, Madre Luna - Yahoo! Telemundo TV". Yahoo.com. 2008-11-02. Archived from the original on 2008-11-02. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
- 1 2
- ↑ "Entretenimiento, Música, Cine, Artistas Latinos, Hollywood". laopinion.com. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
External links
- Telemundo International at the Wayback Machine (archived November 12, 2008) Madre Luna page (English, requires Flash)
- Telenovela World (bilingual)
- Official Telemundo site at the Wayback Machine (archived December 30, 2008) (Spanish)
- Only Amparo Grisales Can Be Madre Luna (Spanish article in La Opinion)
- Madre Luna in RCN TV (Colombia)
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