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 Entertainment | April 2007 
Telenovela Dramatizes Lessons for Immigrants
 Lupita Figueiredo - InsideBayArea.com
Oakland, CA — Welcome to Grand Caf, a coffee shop where immigrant women often meet and share their goals and aspirations while the shop owner, originally from Mexico, himself enters the discussion, attracted by the presence of Sylvia, a member of this group.
Antonio — that is his name — little by little is falling in love with Sylvia, who is beautiful, intelligent and ambitious; just what Antonio has been looking for.
If this sounds like a soap opera, indeed, it is. But not your regular morning soap, not even your usual Latin soap opera, because "Grand Caf," which is being made on a set in Oakland, is not in Spanish and does not exploit sexuality.
This is a telenovela with a purpose, conceived as a training tool by CEO, a local nonprofit that aims to create economic opportunities for immigrant and refugee women. The telenovela is in simple English that women in the program can understand.
Cultural aspects in the lives of women from China, India, Vietnam, Mexico and the Philippines will be explored, but the objective is to teach English and entrepreneurial skills.
"Women watch telenovelas and get easily addicted to the drama involved. We'll be using creative media to educate them instead of just entertaining," Farhana Huq, CEO's founder and director, said.
The first episode of "Grand Caf" was shot last week in Oakland at a cost of $100,000. The underwriter is Chevron Corp., which was looking for an innovative project and offered to sponsor it.
The cafeteria inside a Baptist church near Lake Merritt was converted into a production set, and both crew and actors diligently worked four days to produce a 30-minute episode in DVD format.
Latin soap operas, originally produced in Spanish, have captivated worldwide audiences and have been translated into Russian, Chinese and many other languages. Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela are among major exporters.
Until recently this drama genre usually centered on a romance between a pretty, poor woman and a handsome rich man. The villains interfere between the two, making their lives miserable, but at the end love prevails.
A new generation of producers and directors from Latin America has been trying to present less stereotypical content.
However, throughout the history of telenovelas, women have been presented as sexual objects in most of them, which also seems to be the case in telenovelas currently shown on Spanish language networks in the United States, critics say.
In the few instances where telenovelas have been produced to educate, such as "Vamos Juntos" (Let's Go Together) and "Acompeame" (Accompany Me) produced by Miguel Sabido and broadcast in Mexico in the late 1970s, several reports indicated an increase in birth control awareness and a renewed sense of positive parenting, main themes in the above-mentioned Latin soaps.
Its producers and actors expect "Grand Caf" to influence immigrant women in the Bay Area to learn English and consider starting a business.
Mireya Obregn, a Mexican actress and doctorate student at Stanford who plays the lovely Sylvia in the telenovela, said the purpose of the project has impressed her.
"Immigrant women, regardless of how much talent and drive they have, face enormous challenges, especially because, more often than not. immigrant women are by circumstances economically disadvantaged," Obregn said.
Actor Victor Ballesteros, who plays "Antonio," said, "I am most impressed by the professionalism shown around this project and I like the idea of providing more than entertainment value."
Director Marisa Aroy said, "The first 10 minutes are pure drama and storytelling. The remaining 20 minutes are educational."
For instance, the script includes concepts like networking. English learners will become familiar with its meaning and implication, but more importantly they will learn how to do it, said Aroy, whose parents and extended family came from the Philippines. As in every telenovela, not everything is sweet and lovely. "Grand Caf" producers must now find other sponsors to produce the remaining 17 episodes.
For more information visit http://www.ceowomen.org, email info@ceowomen.org, or call 836-3481. |
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