Smutty soaps becoming smash hits in Mexico

Mexican soap operas are changing fast

MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- Outrageous and smutty story lines are such typical fare for daytime television dramas in the United States that regular watchers probably believe soap operas the world over offer lustful viewing.

So it might be surprising to learn that afternoon smut is just making its way to the airwaves in Mexico.

The public reaction is probably less surprising: People are loving trash TV.

For decades, the Mexican television ideal has been to produce a show that educates as well as entertains. Not any more.

Among the latest story lines to reach Mexican viewers: A married 50-year-old woman falls in love with a man 20 years her junior after her own husband dumps her for another woman. The jilted woman's best friend, meanwhile, dies of AIDS because, well, she slept around.

Mexican soaps
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"I think they're great," one soap opera viewer told CNN. "They show things we have never seen before on TV."

Soap opera producer Epigmenio Ibarra is spearheading the change in Mexico's daytime dramas. He says the break with tradition is exactly what appeals to viewers.

"We are dealing with an audience that have 40 years of seeing traditional novellas," Ibarra told CNN.

Ibarra

One of Ibarra's productions is "Mirada de Mujer," which centers on a Mexican woman who overcame traditional machismo to express her own individuality. The show has captured some of the highest ratings in the history of Mexican television.

"The classic soap opera used to try to put a hole in the screen of the TV to escape from reality," Ibarra said. "We are putting a mirror on the screen so the people can watch the reality on the screen."

Ibarra has introduced recently a story about a young Catholic priest who falls in love with a woman and is left to question how he will remain true to his religious vows.

Perhaps hitting a little too close to home in a Catholic country, that soap has angered some viewers. Some church groups have threatened to protest.

But the actors involved in the production insist they are contributing to a change in the nation's collective mentality.

"It is about forgetting old taboos and trying to inspire more openness in society, which helps the development of mankind," said actress Lorena Rojas.

Correspondent Harris Whitbeck contributed to this report.

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