45 minSeason 1 • Episode 137
LatestEsmeralda is a telenovela that was released by Televisa in 1997. It is a remake of a 1970 Venezuelan telenovela of that same name, and was itself remade in Brazil in 2004. Another version is Topacio from Venezuela in 1984. One of the most famous telenovela all the time.
Acting
Leticia Calderón's blind Esmeralda defined melodramatic commitment.
Writing
Delia Fiallo's template still gets recycled across continents.
Production
Peak Televisa glamour: mansions, tears, and impossible suffering.
Creator
Delia Fiallo
Leticia Calderón
Esmeralda Rosales-Peñarreal
Fernando Colunga
José Armando Peñarreal De Velasco
Ana Patricia Rojo
Georgina Pérez Montalvo
Dolores Salomón
Tula
Ignacio López Tarso
Melesio
Salvador Pineda
Dr. Lucio Malaver
Laura Zapata
Fátima Linares Viuda de Peñarreal
Gustavo Rojo
Dr. Bernardo Pérez-Montalvo
María Luisa Alcalá
Doña Socorro 'Socorrito'
Noé Murayama
Fermín
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This telenovela single-handedly kept Latin American grandmothers glued to their TVs for months and launched Fernando Colunga into decades of leading-man status.
The 1970 original was Venezuelan, but this Mexican version became so iconic that Brazil remade it AGAIN in 2004—proving Esmeralda's suffering transcends borders.
MX
