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: Best Telenovelas Of The Year

A rundown of my favorite telenovelas of 2012 with a qualifier - that aired in the US on a broadcast network:

(1) FLOR SALVAJE
(2) UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR
(3) AMOR BRAVÍO
(4) LA QUE NO PODÍA AMAR
(5) UNA MAID EN MANHATTAN
(6) A MANO LIMPIA
(7) ESCOBAR: EL PATRÓN DEL MAL
(8) EL SECRETARIO
(9) RELACIONES PELIGROSAS (first 30 episodes)

Performances I liked in telenovelas that played in the US in 2012:

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.

TELENOVELA WATCH: UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR Finale Airing November 30; Plus, AMORES VERDADEROS, ROSA DIAMANTE & CORREO DE INOCENTES

The finale of UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR (weeknights at 7 p.m. ET) airs this Friday, November 30th on Univision, though it would be understandable if viewers were confused as to the date of the finale as the promos affixed to the end of episodes until this week were listing the finale date as December 3rd.

To end UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR on the 30th meant Univision had ten days to air eleven episodes, and rather than give the telenovela an extra hour on Friday, Univision decided instead to egregiously chop up a few episodes, most noticeable on Monday’s broadcast – at one point, there were three consecutive cuts, in effect, jumpcuts, to Gala in her office, three separate scenes forced to run consecutively as a single awkwardly disjointed scene. Would it really make that big a difference in the scheme of things if the new novela started on the 4th rather than the 3rd or if POR ELLA SOY EVA was given a single Friday off?

TELENOVELA WATCH: AMORES VERDADEROS, UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR, AMOR BRAVÍO, ROSA DIAMANTE

AMORES VERDADEROS
Watching the second week of AMORES VERDADEROS (weeknights at 9 p.m. ET on Univision), I found myself enjoying the interaction between the protagonists while not much caring for the overall story – a not too uncommon response for me with telenovelas. The poor-meets-rich intertwining of the simple farmer turned bodyguard, José Ángel (Eduardo Yáñez), and his wealthy employer and charge, Victoria Balvanera (Erika Buenfil), is obviously something that’s been done many times before, but it is being played here with considerable charm and good humor by Yáñez and Buenfil. Victoria, a classy, cultured woman who reads Marguerite Duras and shuts herself in a private studio to paint while listening to Mozart, endearingly juvenilized into a mischievous, giggling schoolgirl as she snuck a peek at José Ángel in the shower. In a parallel scene in a later episode, José Ángel accidentally wanders upon Victoria while she is in the bathtub. He exits unnoticed by her only to have to then conceal himself in her bedroom from her husband Nelson (Guillermo Capetillo), attempting to hide his hulking frame at the side of the bed and behind some curtains before finally taking a leap from the second story to the ground below.

TELENOVELA WATCH: ABISMO DE PASIÓN Finale; AMORES VERDADEROS Premiere; Five Years Later On UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR

Univision’s run of ABISMO DE PASIÓN concludes with a two-hour finale this Monday at 8 p.m. ET. I have not followed ABISMO DE PASIÓN with anywhere near the regularity necessary to render any meaningful comments on the novela; fond memories of the prior version of this story produced in 1996, CAÑAVERAL DE PASIONES, probably prejudiced me against ABISMO a bit from the start, as well as, in my opinion, a few questionable casting choices. When I have tuned into the novela, I encounter just enough annoyances to needle me away from staying with it, like the poor costuming of the heroine, the gloomy, dingy cinematography.

TELENOVELA WATCH: AMOR BRAVÍO Censorship, Final Stage Of UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR, PASION PROHIBIDA Casting Controversy

AMOR BRAVÍO
The protagonists of AMOR BRAVÍO (weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Univision), Daniel (Cristián de la Fuente) and Camila (Silvia Navarro), made love for the first time this week. As is becoming too frequent an annoyance, the scene was expurgated by Univision. The censorship of this scene was not as clumsily rendered as Camila's love-scene dream from a couple weeks ago where the Vincente Fernández sung theme playing over the scene suddenly jumped forward like a skipping record accentuating the edits, but it was noticeable nonetheless. Watching the full Televisa versions of the scenes and comparing them with what Univision decided to remove left me scratching my head as there is nothing the least bit objectionable in what hit the cutting room floor, literally a couple more close ups of the couple kissing and a shot of Navarro’s bare back.At this point, it seems Univision is merely censoring the love scenes for the sake of censorship.

TELENOVELA WATCH: UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR's Final Weeks, BELLA CALAMIDADES Comes To U.S.; Plus, AMOR BRAVIO, ROSA DIAMANTE & EL ROSTRO DE LA VENGANZA

UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR (weeknights at 7 p.m. ET on Univision) is heading into its final weeks and presumably the final story arcs are beginning to be set up. The action moved forward five months to the birth of Luciana’s son, milked for all its dramatic worth with a difficult, suspenseful delivery with mother and baby in precarious states before coming through healthy, the joyous celebration of the birth with Luciana’s family and friends, all counterbalanced by Rosalena (Laura Flores) and Gala (Jessica Coch) conspiring against the newborn. Portents were plentiful with the baby’s father (Gabriel Soto) and grandfather (David Ostrosky) away on a business trip to China and the arrival of Luciana’s mother delayed by inclement weather.

TELENOVELA WATCH: The Latest on AMOR BRAVIO, UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR & ROSA DIAMANTE! Plus, CORAZON VALIENTE & EL ROSTRO DE LA VENGANZA

AMOR BRAVÍO
It was an eventful week on AMOR BRAVÍO (weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Univision) as the protagonists, Camila (Silvia Navarro) and Daniel (Cristián de la Fuente), caught riding in a storm, shared their first passionate kiss.  As this is a fairly traditional Televisa production, the audience is sure to see flashbacks to that kissregularly, anytime either character is in a solitary moment of reflection, you can bet that kiss is what they will be reflecting upon.  After the smooch, Camila fled to church where she pleaded that she didn’t want to feel for Daniel what she felt for Luis, her first love and fiancé who died in the first episode in a car accident.

TELENOVELA WATCH: Thoughts on AMOR BRAVIO, UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR and POR ELLA SOY EVA

On AMOR BRAVÍO (weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Univision), poor sap Alonso (Flavio Medina) saw his problems go from bad to worse this week.  Unable to consummate his marriage with Camila (Silvia Navarro) due to impotence, Alonso decided to try out some Viagra with a prostitute in a hotel room only to suffer a heart attack.  Needless to say, he lands in the hospital and all the sordid details are revealed to half the cast, including Camila.

Camila’s eyes had already latched onto Daniel (Cristián de la Fuente) in a telenovela cliché – the spying on a swimmer in a natural body of water, typically, as in this case, a pond.  Navarro played the scene with out-and-out lust, completely appropriate given what her character’s going through and it’s refreshing to see a woman’s carnal desires at the forefront of a story.  After witnessing Daniel’s dip, Camila immediately rushed to dish about the spectacle with her best friend.

TELENOVELA WATCH: Dramatic Irony on AMOR BRAVÍO & UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR; Plus, CORAZÓN VALIENTE

AMOR BRAVÍO
This week on AMOR BRAVÍO (weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Univision), Daniel (Cristián de la Fuente), taking on a new identity, landed a job on the ranch central to the novela, La Malquerida, and is stalking around, gathering intel, plotting his vengeance on the owner of the ranch, Camila (Silvia Navarro), who he believes was behind the plot to kill him.

TELENOVELA WATCH: AMOR BRAVÍO and UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR Updates; Plus, PREMIOS TU MUNDO Coming August 30

The protagonists of AMOR BRAVÍO (weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Univision) finally met in Thursday’s episode, a coincidental encounter in a café.  It was fairly typical of these types of scenes: Camila (Silvia Navarro) prepares to take a seat at a table when Daniel (Cristián de la Fuente) reveals he was already sitting there, his gear on one of the chairs.  As Camila excuses herself she drops her belongings, in this case sunflowers, onto the floor, they both reach down to retrieve them, their eyes meet, the moment is held.  It’s a scene variations of which must have played in hundreds of telenovelas.

TELENOVELA WATCH: AMOR BRAVÍO Premieres; Plus, CORAZÓN VALIENTE, UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR

The premiere week of AMOR BRAVÍO (weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Univision) seemed to follow the current trend in telenovelas of starting with a bang – piling on drama early in an attempt to hook the audience – a trend I’m not particularly keen on, viewing telenovelas more as a marathon than a sprint.  Three episodes into AMOR BRAVÍO, the novela’s heroine, Camila (Silvia Navarro), has already been married twice and suffered the tragic loss of two loved ones, but it is difficult to connect with the drama as the characters have barely been introduced before they are biting the dust – it’s impossible for the audience to join in the mourning for characters they don’t really know.

TELENOVELA WATCH: EL ROSTRO DE LA VENGANZA Premieres July 30, ROSA DIAMANTE Expands, LA QUE NO PODÍA AMAR Nears End; Plus, PABLO ESCOBAR, UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR, PREMIOS TU MUNDO

EL ROSTRO DE LA VENGANZA PREMIERE
EL ROSTRO DE LA VENGANZA premieres this Monday at 10:30 p.m. ET on Telemundo, the third telenovela to premiere on the network this month.  Bizarrely, the television promos for the show vaguely state the start time as “after PABLO ESCOBAR;” EL ROSTRO DE LA VENGANZA looks to be a mystery telenovela, but does the time the show is airing really have to be kept a mystery as well?

TELENOVELA WATCH: UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR's Breakneck Pace, LA QUE NO PODÍA AMAR, UNA MAID EN MANHATTAN; Plus, Start Dates For PABLO ESCOBAR and POR ELLA..SOY EVA

UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR (weeknights at 7 p.m. ET on Univision) continues to zip along at a breakneck pace as this week Rodrigo (Gabriel Soto) and Luciana (Zuria Vega) married in a civil service.  It was a clever move by the writers, giving the audience a week of romance, a great deal of it familiar telenovela tropes like the make out session in a stream, though tossing in an odd little excursion assisting a woman in childbirth.  The pair are still planning a big church wedding, which in a Mexican telenovela, is the wedding that counts.  As Luciana says, they are wed by laws of man, soon, they will be wed in the eyes of God.  Of course, with church weddings typically serving as the climax of the telenovela, and with Rodrigo’s jilted fiancée Gala (Jessica Coch) and her mother Julie (Frances Ondiviela) digging dirt on Luciana, it seems doubtful that church wedding will go as Rodrigo and Luciana intend.

RATINGS: Univsion #3 Broadcast Network In A18-49 For Third Time In Four Weeks

Univision's primetime line-up of telenovelas continues to gain traction in the Nielsen ratings (as well as the We Love Soaps Primetime Soap of the Week Poll).  The network still believes in the Friday cliffhanger and it has paid off.  Below is this week's ratings release from the network with some amazing numbers especially the season-to-date tallies.

TELENOVELA WATCH: Gabriel Porras Joins CORAZÓN VALIENTE; Wedding Fireworks On UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR; Plus, Schedule Changes

GABRIEL PORRAS JOINS CORAZÓN VALIENTE
This week, Gabriel Porras (LA CASA DE AL LADO; DÓNDE ESTÁ ELISA?) joined the cast of CORAZÓN VALIENTE (weeknights at 9 p.m. ET), Telemundo’s action-oriented telenovela about childhood best friends Angela and Samantha, two girls of different backgrounds – Angela is the daughter of Miguel (Jorge Luis Pila), a bodyguard who dies in the line of duty saving rich Samantha - who reunite years later and become bodyguards, following in Angela’s late father’s footsteps.

TELENOVELA WATCH: The End of RELACIONES PELIGROSAS; Plus, UNA MAID EN MANHATTAN, UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR, EL TALISMÁN, EMPERATRIZ

A couple weeks ago, RELACIONES PELIGROSAS (weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Telemundo) announced it was in its final episodes (últimos capítulos).  Since then, rather than moving toward tying up loose ends, a rash of new subplots have been launched: Ana’s pregnancy with two possible fathers: her current squeeze Santiago or her ex-husband Gilberto; Gilberto’s attempted seduction of Teresa for her money; Teresa becoming guardian to an unwilling Elizabeth after her parents’ murders; Joaco framed for murder; JP’s brother hiring Monica to seduce JP; Patty’s mother and ex-fiancé Augusto (both completely new characters) coming out of nowhere to pressure her into marrying Augusto, who is apparently rich and at death’s door, but really just wants revenge for Patty humiliating him by leaving him at the altar.

TELENOVELA WATCH: OJO POR OJO and UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR Coming This Week; Plus, The Upfronts!

OJO POR OJO
The Telemundo telenovela OJO POR OJO (weeknights at 11 p.m. ET on mun2) finally makes its long-awaited U.S. debut on Monday, May 21st.

In the late summer of 2010, Telemundo first began airing television advertisements for this telenovela featuring three of the network’s biggest stars: Miguel Varoni and Gaby Espino, who were coming off the hit MÁS SABE EL DIABLO from earlier in the year, and Carmen Villalobos from SIN SENOS NO HAY PARAÍSO. The telenovela’s webpage and twitter account went live and all signs pointed toward an October premiere. And then, silence. The ads stopped running, the website and twitter account ceased to be updated, and the telenovela was shelved, at least in the U.S. – it aired in some Central and South American countries.