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soap opera

For anyone who grew up in a Spanish-speaking country or a Spanish-speaking home, telenovelas were not only part of the soundtrack of their lives, but of their very upbringing. Because watching telenovelas is not a lonely pursuit; it’s a shared experience with parents, siblings, friends, nannies, college roommates and grandparents.

Indeed, the origins of telenovelas date back to the factories of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with some historians specifically referencing tobacco factories in Cuba, where a “reader” would read stories to distract those who rolled the tobacco. From there, they evolved into the famous radio novelas, where daily chapters were narrated. These, in turn, became telenovelas, which are often equated with soap operas, but they’re more like cousins. Telenovelas air daily, both in daytime and nighttime slots, and their running time is far shorter than that a soap opera, usually between three to six months.

Produced throughout Latin America, but especially in Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela (previously), Colombia, and Brazil, the DNA of the telenovela is melodrama — love, betrayal, revenge, passion — all taken to the extreme. And of course, there’s the music: Each telenovela comes with its main theme, the song that announces the program’s beginning or its farewell, the siren that calls us to watch. It’s impossible to think of a telenovela without thinking of the song that identifies it, and for many artists, getting a song into a telenovela was a crucial marketing component to land a hit.

At Billboard, we set out to make a list of the 100 songs that made the most emblematic telenovelas memorable in our collective memories. Compiling the list was a titanic task, as there are literally thousands of telenovelas that have been successful on the continent, with ratings varying from country to country. We gathered all the editors and contributors of Billboard Latin and Billboard Español — 11 journalists in total, born and raised in Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, the United States, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic — and asked each one to select their favorite theme songs.

Although telenovelas date back to the 1950s, our list starts in the 1970s. We focused on “traditional” telenovelas, those that are broadcast daily during the day or night. We did not include biographical telenovelas based on the lives of specific people, or weekly series. We zeroed in on productions from Latin American countries and the United States, but did not include Brazilian telenovelas, given the language difference, or those produced in Spain. But we did include “narconovelas,” those dealing with cartel themes, as they are a specific subgenre of the daily telenovela.

Although we consider the 100 songs on this list to be the pinnacle of the genre, we have ranked them in order of importance, considering their impact, history, performer, and their influence on the history of music and the telenovela. For the next five weeks, every Monday we will publish a list of 20 telenovela theme songs, starting with Number 100, until we reach No. 1 in December.

This week’s list counts down to No. 61. Enjoy!

100. Alfredo Gutiérrez, “La Mala Hierba” / Telenovela: La Mala Hierba (1982)

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Beyond The Gates, a new soap opera announced by CBS will be the first show of its kind to focus on Black characters in an hour-long format. Veterans of the daytime soap opera scene, Tamara Tunie, Daphnee Duplaix, and Karla Mosley were all named as leads in the series which launches in 2025.
Beyond The Gates, formerly known as The Gates, was created by Michele Val Jean and is the first daytime television soap opera to center a Black cast. The first to do so was Generations in 1989, and Beyond The Gates is the first new daytime soap opera since Passions in 1999.
The show centers on the wealthy Dupree family, who live just outside of Washington, D.C. in the lavish suburbs of Fairmont Estates. Tamara Tunie, who acted previously on As The World Turns, stars as Anita Dupree, a former singer with roots in Chicago who serves as the matriarch of the family.
Daphnee Duplaix, an alum of One Life to Live, stars in the role of Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson and Anita Dupree’s daughter. While her marriage and image seem intact from the outside looking in, secrets are bursting at the seams according to the plot line.
Karla Mosley, who was a cast member of The Bold & The Beautiful, plays the role of Dani Dupree, Nicole’s sister and a former model who now works as a “momager” who stopped hitting the runway for her romantic partner.
More from the press release:
BEYOND THE GATES is set in a leafy Maryland suburb just outside of Washington D.C., and in one the most affluent African American counties in the United States. Here you’ll find a posh gated community with winding tree-lined streets and luxurious mansions to call home. At the center of this community are the Duprees, a powerful and prestigious multi-generational family that is the very definition of Black royalty. But behind these pristine walls and lush, manicured gardens are juicy secrets and scandals waiting to be uncovered. And those that live outside these gates are watching closely. These are the places where our characters live, love, work and play. Those who have “made it” and those who haven’t are all trying to navigate life … and some with more grace than others.
The show is set to begin production in Atlanta this fall with a release date set to be announced for early 2025.

We’re revealing the first cast members of the new @CBS drama, “Beyond the Gates,” the first hour-long daytime soap on TV featuring a Black cast. https://t.co/pRFT6FXnnB pic.twitter.com/ixB79cicNV
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) September 19, 2024

Photo: Emilio Madrid/Getty/Karla Mosley/CBS