Initial Thoughts on "La Piloto"

The Telenovela I chose to watch and analyze this semester is called "La Piloto." This telenovela follows Yolanda Cadena as she tries to achieve her dream of becoming a pilot, but instead becomes involved in transporting drugs and money across borders for the Lucio brothers. "La Piloto" is broadcasted on Univision. It is considered a contemporary telenovela as it is set in modern day. The telenovela fits into many genres we've discussed in class. The largest one it is a part of is the world of narcos because the main plotline involves transporting drugs and money across borders while evading the police and DEA. It also has a suspenseful and mysterious tone because of the plot lines revolving around transporting drugs.

The character of Yolanda is interesting because she is a fundamentally good person, but is willing to do anything to achieve her dream of becoming a pilot. Her biggest obstacle to this is getting the money to pay for flight school. Her willingness to do anything consistently leads her in getting caught up in the wrong situations. In my opinion, Yolanda represents the struggle of breaking the cycle of poverty. While saving some money, she constantly looks for the fastest way to make money which often results in her worsening her situation. She is emotionally scarred by witnessing the death of her father, which becomes Yolanda's primary motivation of becoming a pilot. Because of her father's untimely death, her mother descends into drinking and as a result becomes a non-present parent. I believe that the lack of parental presence in Yolanda's life is part of the reason why she continually makes stupid decisions that lead her into trouble.

The structure of "La Piloto" follows many of the universal characteristics of telenovelas. There is a couple, who meet and fall in love but are torn apart by the law. The viewers know immediately when the destined couple of Yolanda and Dave met as they exchange a long glance as they pass each other in the hallway. Their expressions convey a love at first sight that is hinted at for the beginning episodes. However, they are constantly torn apart due to Dave's involvement in the DEA and Yolanda's involvement with the Lucio brother's and their drug empire. As the first few episodes unfold, we are exposed to a love triangle between Yolanda, Dave, and John. Lastly, at the end of each episode, there is a cliffhanger that immediately draws the viewer into the next episode.

As someone who is fairly new to the telenovela world, I find myself becoming addicted to having to know what happens next. Upon first taking this class, I thought that Telenovelas would be as cliche and overdramatic as the soap operas I was used to seeing growing up. However, by watching even the first episode of "La Piloto" I found that telenovelas and soap operas couldn't be more different. I find the dramatic structure to be engaging and the writing to be creative and non-cliche. Overall, I've found the first few episodes to be interesting and worth watching.