Reinforced Stereotypes: El Senor de los Cielos

*This post may contain some spoilers for El Senor de los Cielos*

The topic of machismo and the exaggerated, individualistic male personality has been a subject in telenovelas for quite some time. Not only in telenovelas, but, of course, this stems from olden ideals from Latin America. Being raised in a Mexican household, though these ideals weren't directly taught, they were picked up through observation. The males noticed that they had to be overly masculine - in power at all times, overly cautious about their family and a sense of superiority to women. The women in the family, however, learned that this controlling behavior was okay and to be docile as possible. Due to being born in the United States, the fusion of Mexican-American culture and debates about gender equality diminished this olden idealism in myself.

While the behavior has taken a slight turn thanks to plenty of gender equality and feminist movements, this doesn't mean that the thought process has vanished, as illustrated in the narconovela El Senor de los Cielos.While some may blindly view the protagonist, Aurelio Casillas, as some dominating figure, the character illustrates and reinforces quite a few stereotypes in Latin American culture.

1. Aurelio's aggressive and controlling demeanor.

During the first season, while the Casillas family is being run off their ranch by the Robles family, Aurelio forces his family to evacuate - passing on his gun to his son, and ordering him to take care of the family while they fly to America. While this may seem normal to some, the act of ordering his son to take care of the family instead of the mother represents this demeaning thought process. The fact that a lethal weapon was even passed on, especially to the young son, represents the violent and aggressive nature of the mindset. 

2. The Dramatic Triangle Structure

Continuing off the first season, Aurelio also represents the stereotypical macho Latin American womanizer. Though the audience discovers that he is not married to the mother of his children Ximena, they also discover that he used to have affairs with a woman named Monica Robles. The triangle begins here, with Aurelio loving Ximena, Ximena loving Aurelio, and Monica hating Ximena, while loving Aurelio. Though it may sound a tad confusing, Aurelio continues to illustrate this sense of male dominion and even infidelity.

- Luis Contreras