Mujer, casos de la vida real
Encyclopedia
Mujer, casos de la vida real (translated: Woman, Cases of Real Life) is a television show produced by Hispanic television Televisa
for Canal de las Estrellas
. The show first aired after the Mexican earthquake of 1985 as a method to assist victims of the natural disaster. Though its execution was not exactly as conceived, Televisa continued the program after seeing the outpouring of response from the Mexican public.
In its first few seasons, the show presented lighthearted themes, such as love stories and lost loves; during the 1980s, such topics as domestic violence had still not been accepted in Mexican society. In the 1990s, themes acquired a grittier look, including cases of rape
, incest
, child abuse
, prostitution
, homosexuality
and domestic violence
. The show became a stage for social reform in Mexico. With these changes, the show was usually first in line to discuss topics that were often kept out of the public eye.
Although Mujer underwent several metamorphoses in the first decade of the 21st century, and a spin-off show developed, the show stopped producing episodes in 2007, and in 2009 Silvia Pinal confirmed its cancellation.
would discuss the social aspect surrounding the case the audience was about to view. Afterward, she would return with comments on the featured characters as well as present her own personal view on what should be done to prevent such events from happening, or, in some cases, what should be done to allow them to happen. In other programs, a guest expert offered advice or interpretation.
By the mid 1990s, the show aired on Saturday nights on Canal de las Estrellas
. In 2001, a weekday afternoon version was started, originally keeping the same style of cases as the Saturday version.
The weekday format changed in May 2006 to a mini-series format. Instead of individual cases, various situations were presented in a continuous mini-series that ran throughout the weekdays (MondayFriday) for one hour each day. This new format brought an end to the usually gritty and, at times, racy material and instead made way for more representation of the love stories and lost loves that characterized the show in its infancy (This was also partially due to being aired in a more family-oriented timeslot).
Reaction to this new format was mixed. Some fans argued that it was not possible to understand the cases without watching every single episode, a problem for many viewers. Other fans argued that the mini-series format allowed for a more accurate representation of cases as opposed to the bare minimum used by the thirty-minute individual cases.
of the Mujer, casos de la vida real franchise. This spin-off, entitled Casos de la vida real: Edición especial (“Special Edition”), offered once-a-month cases which were said to have been more urgent to the production, although not much difference was seen between the “special edition” branch and the original program by the public itself. This special editions presented cases in the same format as the original program, but utilized a different opening and contained more graphic and explicit material than the original. It was also televised later in the evening. Mexican audiences saw the special edition once a month and American audiences saw the special edition at 9pm on Friday evenings until 2007.
, created a similar program entitled Lo que callamos las mujeres
(translated: What We Women Stifle). The material was slightly more professional than the low-budget settings offered by Mujer, and Callamos episodes revolved more around an actual plot rather than simply the case itself. That show started airing in 2000.
Nonetheless, Silvia Pinal lashed out at the competing program, claiming it was a copy of her own, predicting its failure. With nearly a decade on the air, Lo que callamos las mujeres has proven Pinal's prediction to be wrong, and the program shows no signs of stopping production. Ironically, as stated, Mujer was cancelled. In fact, the weekday version of Mujer was started in response to Callamos and both shows would air against each other during 6 years.
.
A 2007 Televisa press release state that Mujer, casos de la vida real would return on Saturday evenings starting in January 2008. At first, it was believed that the show was to be canceled, but Pinal denied this. Since that return didn't occur, in March 2009, Pinal confirmed that the program had indeed been canceled and would not be returning to the airwaves. Reruns of the program continued to air on Univisión in the United States. In early 2010, however, the program was suddenly pulled from the air on Univisión as well and there are no signs of it returning anytime soon. As of June 2010, reruns from episodes produced between 1998 and 2007, from both the weekday and Saturday versions, are airing for 2 hours on weekday afternoons on Televisa's XEQ-TV
.
Televisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
for Canal de las Estrellas
Canal de las Estrellas
Canal de las Estrellas is one of the cornerstone networks of Televisa, with affiliate stations all over Mexico, flagshipped at XEW-TV in Mexico City. Many of the programs of Canal de las Estrellas are seen in the United States on Univision, Telefutura, and Galavisión...
. The show first aired after the Mexican earthquake of 1985 as a method to assist victims of the natural disaster. Though its execution was not exactly as conceived, Televisa continued the program after seeing the outpouring of response from the Mexican public.
In its first few seasons, the show presented lighthearted themes, such as love stories and lost loves; during the 1980s, such topics as domestic violence had still not been accepted in Mexican society. In the 1990s, themes acquired a grittier look, including cases of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
, prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
. The show became a stage for social reform in Mexico. With these changes, the show was usually first in line to discuss topics that were often kept out of the public eye.
Although Mujer underwent several metamorphoses in the first decade of the 21st century, and a spin-off show developed, the show stopped producing episodes in 2007, and in 2009 Silvia Pinal confirmed its cancellation.
Formats
The original format of the show usually consisted of two cases per episode, though some one hour special cases were presented from time to time. At the beginning of each episode, Silvia PinalSilvia Pinal
Silvia Pinal is a Mexican actress, who had roles in several of Luis Buñuel's movies such as El ángel exterminador and Viridiana...
would discuss the social aspect surrounding the case the audience was about to view. Afterward, she would return with comments on the featured characters as well as present her own personal view on what should be done to prevent such events from happening, or, in some cases, what should be done to allow them to happen. In other programs, a guest expert offered advice or interpretation.
By the mid 1990s, the show aired on Saturday nights on Canal de las Estrellas
Canal de las Estrellas
Canal de las Estrellas is one of the cornerstone networks of Televisa, with affiliate stations all over Mexico, flagshipped at XEW-TV in Mexico City. Many of the programs of Canal de las Estrellas are seen in the United States on Univision, Telefutura, and Galavisión...
. In 2001, a weekday afternoon version was started, originally keeping the same style of cases as the Saturday version.
The weekday format changed in May 2006 to a mini-series format. Instead of individual cases, various situations were presented in a continuous mini-series that ran throughout the weekdays (MondayFriday) for one hour each day. This new format brought an end to the usually gritty and, at times, racy material and instead made way for more representation of the love stories and lost loves that characterized the show in its infancy (This was also partially due to being aired in a more family-oriented timeslot).
Reaction to this new format was mixed. Some fans argued that it was not possible to understand the cases without watching every single episode, a problem for many viewers. Other fans argued that the mini-series format allowed for a more accurate representation of cases as opposed to the bare minimum used by the thirty-minute individual cases.
Casos de la vida real: Edición especial
In the last half of the 1990s and until 2003, Televisa also offered another separate program, a spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the Mujer, casos de la vida real franchise. This spin-off, entitled Casos de la vida real: Edición especial (“Special Edition”), offered once-a-month cases which were said to have been more urgent to the production, although not much difference was seen between the “special edition” branch and the original program by the public itself. This special editions presented cases in the same format as the original program, but utilized a different opening and contained more graphic and explicit material than the original. It was also televised later in the evening. Mexican audiences saw the special edition once a month and American audiences saw the special edition at 9pm on Friday evenings until 2007.
Similar programs
Based on the success of Mujer, casos de la vida real evident with its 22 year run, Televisa's main competitor, AztecaAzteca (television)
Azteca, is the second largest Mexican television entertainment. It was established in 1983 as the state-owned Instituto Mexicano de la Televisión , a holding of the national TV networks channel 13 and 7 and was privatized under its current name in 1993 and now is part of Grupo Salinas...
, created a similar program entitled Lo que callamos las mujeres
Lo que callamos las mujeres
Lo Que Callamos Las Mujeres , is a Mexican anthology television series which deals with the social problems of Mexican Society. The show started airing on the Mexican television network, Azteca 13 as a way to compete with Canal de las Estrellas' Mujer, casos de la vida real...
(translated: What We Women Stifle). The material was slightly more professional than the low-budget settings offered by Mujer, and Callamos episodes revolved more around an actual plot rather than simply the case itself. That show started airing in 2000.
Nonetheless, Silvia Pinal lashed out at the competing program, claiming it was a copy of her own, predicting its failure. With nearly a decade on the air, Lo que callamos las mujeres has proven Pinal's prediction to be wrong, and the program shows no signs of stopping production. Ironically, as stated, Mujer was cancelled. In fact, the weekday version of Mujer was started in response to Callamos and both shows would air against each other during 6 years.
Recent news
The show stopped airing on its traditional Saturday night slot in late 2006, the weekday miniseries version continued until November 2007, when it was replaced by two new serials: Central de Abasto (later cancelled) and La rosa de Guadalupe which is still airing on Mujer's former weekday slot on Canal de las EstrellasCanal de las Estrellas
Canal de las Estrellas is one of the cornerstone networks of Televisa, with affiliate stations all over Mexico, flagshipped at XEW-TV in Mexico City. Many of the programs of Canal de las Estrellas are seen in the United States on Univision, Telefutura, and Galavisión...
.
A 2007 Televisa press release state that Mujer, casos de la vida real would return on Saturday evenings starting in January 2008. At first, it was believed that the show was to be canceled, but Pinal denied this. Since that return didn't occur, in March 2009, Pinal confirmed that the program had indeed been canceled and would not be returning to the airwaves. Reruns of the program continued to air on Univisión in the United States. In early 2010, however, the program was suddenly pulled from the air on Univisión as well and there are no signs of it returning anytime soon. As of June 2010, reruns from episodes produced between 1998 and 2007, from both the weekday and Saturday versions, are airing for 2 hours on weekday afternoons on Televisa's XEQ-TV
XEQ-TV
XEQ is a Televisa TV station, based in Mexico, Distrito Federal. XEQ is the flagship television station of the Galavisión network ....
.