Perla Farías from Telemundo: Music is an additional character in the story

In the panel titled “At the Corner of Music and Scripted Drama,” during the last Natpe, Perla Farías, Senior VP for Scripted Development at Telemundo, said that music is an additional character in the story. Farías explained that Guerra de Ídolos is a combination of superseries with the success of the bioseries Celia.

The panel was chaired by Luis Silberwasser, President of Telemundo and NBC Universo. Together with Farías, it was integrated by Samuel Duque Rozo, CEO from FOXTelecolombia and Francisco Cordero, CEO of BTF Media.

“Musical dramas started in Colombia in the mid-80s with a very popular series titled Y Sigo Siendo el Rey; after, in the 90s came Escalona, Las Juanas, La Potra Zaina; in Argentina, Rebelde Way; and in Mexico, Alcanzar una Estrella. But it wasn’t until 2000 when in Colombia we started making these stories about true characters such as Joe Arroyo, Diomedes Díaz and more recently, Celia, that was very successful in Latin America. All these shows made around music have done very well, not only in Colombia, but at a pan regional level,” commented Duque. He mentioned that Cumbia Ninja is another product that has traveled well.

Duque added that in US Hispanic this type of show can do very well, in both the east and the west coasts.

Cordero from BTF Media told the process of how the successful biopic Hasta que te Conocí, on Juan Gabriel’s life, was developed.