Perspectives in Health Magazine
The Magazine of the Pan American Health Organization
Volume 8, Number 2, 2003

Latin America's telenovelas have long captivated TV audiences with their overwrought stories of love and betrayal, sin and punishment, and triumph over adversity. But for public health advocates, they also are an ideal medium for transmitting positive messages about healthier living.

José Alfredo, a handsome young Mexican, has been confined to a wheelchair since an accident two years ago. But he hasn't let it get him down. He still plays basketball, he runs his own shoe store, and he recently married a beautiful woman. His motto is: "You're only defeated when you feel defeated." Julia, an Argentine housewife, is fed up with her husband's physical abuse. After 15 years, she summons the courage to report him to the police and demand a divorce, completely changing her life. Capitú, a young Brazilian woman, holds a condom in front of her partner and with a single gesture makes it clear that they'll make love using protection-or not at all.

They are all fictional characters, appearing in scenes from the Latin American soap operas Entre el amor y el odio (Between Love and Hate), Sin marido (Husbandless) and Lazos de Sangre (Blood Ties). Their stories, however, mirror the lives of real men and women and thus provide a powerful medium for transmitting positive messages on important issues of public health.

Soap operas, and their Latin American counterparts, known as telenovelas, are among television's most widely watched genres worldwide. "There are data from a number of countries on their impact, not just in commercial terms but also in terms of their cultural and social importance," says Nora Mazziotti, professor of communication sciences at the University of Buenos Aires and author of The Telenovela Industry.

The first telenovelas-which differ from U.S. soap operas in that each begins and ends within about a year's time-appeared in the 1960s, when a group of Cuban screenwriters led by Delia Fiallo began adapting radio theater stories for use on television. From the outset these stories, with themes taken from classical tragedy-betrayal, forbidden love, punishment -captivated television audiences throughout Latin America.

In the late 1980s, these Latin soap operas began to cross over beyond Spanish-speaking audiences in North and South America to viewers overseas. In China, for example, some 450 million viewers followed the Brazilian telenovela La esclava Isaura (Isaura, the Slave). Seven out of 10 Russians tuned in regularly to Mexico's Los ricos también lloran (The Rich Also Cry), and the Venezuelan series, Cristal-about a young small-town woman in the big city-ran seven seasons, with the final episode drawing some 11 million fans. Telenovelas' larger-than-life story lines may be exaggerated renditions of real-life dramas, but many viewers see their own lives reflected in those of their favorite stars. They identify themselves and others they know with various characters and are drawn in by the compelling twists and turns of overwrought plots. Thus, modeling a behavior they see on screen is almost natural.

No wonder then that beginning in the 1970s professional health communicators in Latin America decided to insert positive health and life-skills messages among the tears, betrayals and star-crossed love affairs. At first, the messages were basic, almost intuitive, such as "smoking is bad" or "you need an education to make something of yourself." Over time they have evolved toward deeper social themes, providing a subtle but effective guide for public opinion on sometimes controversial matters of public health while promoting a healthier and more ethical society.

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