Music Production in La Reina del Sur

There is so much that goes into the production of a telenovela that I did not notice. In all honesty, I do not know much about the production process in general. There is a long pipeline of communication that makes everything happen. What the viewer sees is the cast on television, but what makes everything happen is the production team that works the whole process.

There are rehearsals with the director on the floor and in the booth. Scenes are taped and reviewed, scripts are changed, scenes are shot out of order and then pieced together. Once this is all done, post-production begins. The post-production is what I notice most about the production process. As a viewer, I love the music aspect to the Telenovelas.

I have been watching “La Reina Del Sur” over the past couple of weeks, and the one thing that I have always noticed throughout the show is the music element. There are two songs that are played periodically throughout the show. One is the theme song and the other is the chorus of “Quédate.” There are other musical components, but these are the two songs that stand out the most.

Although I find the element of music so important, the post-production music aspects did not become extremely relevant to me until Teresa and Santiago met a couple episodes in. The first time Teresa accepted Santiago’s efforts to get to know her this song played. After that, “Quédate” played every time Santiago and Teresa have a moment of intimacy. It pushes the idea of Teresa and Santiago. The song is sung very passionately, and it demonstrates the passion between the two in a different way than just watching. The producers matched the emotions to the music. Teresa had a love, Güero, before Santiago, and she thought that she would never be able to love again. “Quédate” represents how Teresa feels about Santiago. It is a great addition to the production of the show because it continuously reminds the viewers that Teresa thought she could never love again, but Santiago changed her mind. It puts words to the thoughts that go through Teresa’s mind that the viewers cannot see.

The theme song of La Reina del Sur by Los Tigres Del Norte gives insight to what happens within the telenovela. It is a very catchy tune that sticks to La Reina del Sur. During the transitions, it plays a line from the song and says “la reina del sur, traficante muy famosa,” and continuously reminds you who Teresa is. The theme song never lets the viewers lose sight of the fact that Teresa Mendosa is the queen of the south of Spain when it comes to drug trafficking. It plays into the narconovela aspects because it addresses that Teresa is a drug trafficker, but in a tone that is not scary nor typically associated with drug trafficking. It keeps the viewer tuned in because the song is catchy, but also explains what is actually happening.

Like I mentioned above, there are so many things that play into the production of a telenovela. What is special about music is it is the one thing the viewers see as something the producers do. It is not something the characters do during their time on the screen. It is adds to the actions of the characters, but allows the viewers to know there is more going on behind the scenes.