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Doña Bárbara (2008 TV series)

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Doña Bárbara
File:Donabarbaralogo009.jpg
Created byRómulo Gallegos
Developed byValentina Parraga
StarringGabriela Spanic
Christian Meier
Country of origin Colombia
 United States
Original languageSpanish
No. of episodes120
Production
Executive producersHugo León Ferrer
Brendan Fitzgerald
Production locationsBogotá, Colombia
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkTelemundo
Release2008 –
2009

Doña Bárbara (Lady Barbara) is a Spanish-language telenovela produced by the United States-based television network Telemundo, Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) and RTI Colombia. This limited-run series is set to debut in the third quarter of 2008.[1] Gabriela Spanic and Christian Meier are expected to star in this adaptation of the 1929 novel by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos.[2]

Set in the plains of Los Llanos, this melodrama features a courageous, beautiful and strong-willed woman who must rise above heartbreak, betrayal and tragedy. Her troubled past haunts her, as she confronts her own deep-seeded vulnerabilities in the face of an impossible love. She falls passionately for a dashing man and must face her memories head-on. She must fight to keep her secrets from destroying her chance of happiness, fulfillment and true love.[3] "The best stories feature strong women," says the show's English trailer. "This is the story that started it all.[4]

Story

This summary is based on Telemundo's May upfront presentation. Storylines may change dramatically by the time this series airs.

Bárbara is an attractive woman raised in the thick jungle by a band of Venezuelan smugglers in the jungle. She was madly in love with the handsome Asdrubal until tragedy smashed everything. When her beau is butchered by the same bandits who raped her, she is poisoned by a mad desire for vengeance against men.[5]

Bárbara seduces the wealthy landowner Lorenzo Barquero and steals his fortune. Grief-stricken, he descends into misery and alcoholism. Their destructive relationship produces a lovely daughter, Marisela, who is forced to live in despair with her tormented father.[6]

Fifteen years later, Lorenzo’s dashing cousin Santos Luzardo opens old wounds. This ambitious attorney from Caracas returns to claim ownership of the family land. He soon discovers Doña Bárbara controls the area with an iron glove, using sorcery and seduction to force her will on the locals.[7]

Santos refuses to surrender and fights to save his cousin and educate young Marisela. Bárbara falls in love with Santos while he falls for her daughter Marisela. Doña Bárbara must either accept defeat or she sacrifice her daughter to keep the man she loves.[8]

Production

Telemundo is expected to air the serial from Monday to Friday over about 26 weeks. As with most of its soap operas, the network will broadcast English subtitles as closed captions on CC3. Doña Bárbara is shot in Colombia and Hugo León Ferrer is executive producer. SPTI will distribute Bárbara in North and South America, while Telemundo International will handle distribution throughout Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australia and Asia.[9]

This is the third telenovela based on Rómulo Gallegos' heroine. Previous versions appeared in Venezuela in 1964 and in Peru in 1975. Universal Pictures, now part of the corporate family that includes Telemundo, co-produced a film version in 1998.[10]

Cast

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