2013 Nominees for “Premios TVyNovelas” Spanish-Language Television Awards

ABISMO DE PASION is nominated for 18 awards including Best Telenovela

Univision has announced the superstar nominees for the 2013 edition of “Premios TVyNovelas,” the preeminent award honoring Hispanic television’s most popular programs, actors, comedians, hosts, writers, and directors. Hosted by DESPIERTA AMERICA co-host Alan Tacher and renowned Mexican singer/actress Yuri, the 31st Annual Edition of “Premios TVyNovelas” will air on the Univision Network on Sunday, April 28, 2013 at 9 p.m. ET/PT (8 p.m. Central).

TELENOVELA WATCH: UniMás Premieres Three Shows, And A Trio Of Villains In The Spotlight

FIRST THOUGHTS ON THREE PREMIERES
The relaunch of Telefutura into UniMás this week with a pair of new telenovelas in prime time means viewing options for fans of telenovelas are more plentiful than ever before – four hours on Univision, three hours on Telemundo and a pair of hours on both MundoFox and UniMás.

Unfortunately, neither of the offerings from UniMás – MADE IN CARTAGENA or ¿QUIÉN ERES TÚ? - are English friendly, a curious decision from the network given Univision’s concerted efforts of late to provide English captioning on their telenovelas.

TELENOVELA WATCH: First Thoughts On CORONA DE LÁGRIMAS & LA MARIPOSA

CORONA DE LÁGRIMAS
No telenovela this year has been more aptly titled than CORONA DE LÁGRIMAS (weeknights at 7 p.m. ET), which premiered this week on Univision. The tears are flowing from the very first scene of this Televisa production as the novela’s heroine, Refugio (Victoria Ruffo), is tossed out onto the street with her three young sons by the boys’ father, with his mistress by his side. Refugio goes on to cry three additional times in the first fifteen minutes, understandable given the momentous upheaval she and her children are facing. We are soon to find out, however, that Refugio cries a lot. She cries four more times in the second episode, and has cried at least once in each of the first five episodes. Victoria Ruffo has long earned a reputation as one of the best weepers in telenovelas, but by week’s end, I began to think she was attempting to break some perverse record.

TELENOVELA WATCH: UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR's Final Week; EL CAPO 2 Finale; AMOR BRAVÍO; ROSA DIAMANTE; Premieres: CORONA DE LÁGRIMAS (Dec. 3), LA MARIPOSA (Dec. 4)

UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR
I intend to write more on UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR as a whole later this month when I run down my favorite telenovelas of the year. For now, some words on the final week, which was darker and more somber than I anticipated. This novela managed to maintain a wonderfully balanced tone through its run, but the humor waned in these final episodes as the novela went after tears instead and earned them: Don Aquiles making peace with the daughter he never knew he had, Violeta, and her mother before his death and funeral; Patricio discovering the proof that street ragamuffin Mateo was Luciana and Rodrigo’s son, missing five years and the subsequent reunion of them all as a family; and saddest of all, Patricio’s death in the final episode after complications in surgery he hoped would allow him to walk again.