Delia Fiallo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fiallo in 2012 | |
| Born | 4 July 1924 Havana, Cuba |
| Died | 29 June 2021 (aged 96) Coral Gables, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author, screenwriter[1][2] |
| Language | Spanish |
| Genre | Romance |
| Years active | 1960–1985 |
| Notable works |
|
| Spouse | Bernardo Pascual |
Delia Fiallo (4 July 1924 – 29 June 2021) was a Cuban author and screenwriter who lived in Miami, Florida. She was one of the most distinguished representatives of the contemporary romance novel, dabbling in various genres which appeared in her literary output.
Due to the contributions she made to the rise of the melodrama genre in the late 1970s and mid–1980s, she is considered to be the "mother of the Latin American telenovela".[4][5] By the late 1980s, her shows had over 100 millions viewers combined.[6]
Fiallo studied philosophy at the University of Havana, graduating in 1948.[7][6] She began writing radionovelas in Havana in 1949, making her first adaptation to a telenovela with Soraya, which was released in Cuba in 1957.[8][9] She left the country, together with her family, in 1966, for exile in Miami, where she would write most of her novels.
She lived for a time in Venezuela, to supervise productions of her works by Venevisión and later Radio Caracas Televisión.[10] Thanks to her compatriot Enrique Cuscó, she was able to contact the owners of the former, who broadcast her first telenovela in that country, 1967's Lucecita.[11]
Fiallo had not written an original telenovela since Cristal in 1985, since the last project she worked on, La Felicidad, was never completed and she decided to retire. At that time, she sold the rights to her works to Televisa. Their adaptations, as she had declared on several occasions, she had not liked.[11]
She married radio director Bernardo Pascual in 1952. They were married for 67 years, until he died in March 2019.[12] She was mother to five children, and had 13 grandchildren.
By Fiallo's account, she had not visited her native country Cuba, since she exiled nor Venezuela since the election of former President Hugo Chávez in 1998.[11]
Fiallo died in June 2021 at the age of 96, at her home in Coral Gables, Florida.[13][6]
The protagonist of the original radionovela is Angelina, a wicked woman who impersonates an invalid to retain her husband Gustavo, and finally, after being discovered, is devoid of truth. However, to meet the standards of telenovelas, in which the protagonist must be good, Fiallo was forced to introduce a new character into the first teleplay – Lucecita, an illegitimate peasant daughter of Angelina's father. She starts working as a maid in the house and has a love affair with Gustavo.
The story was intended to end after the death of Angelina in an accident, with Gustavo and Lucecita happily married with a daughter, but because of its success, Fiallo wrote an extension in which Gustavo is left with amnesia after an accident, and Angelina's nurse Mirtha (who had secretly been in love with him) takes him and the girl from the country to make him believe she is his wife. Meanwhile Lucecita, without losing hope of finding her husband and daughter, comes to serve at the house of the Aldamas, a family of miserable millionaires who regain their happiness through Lucecita. Five years later, Gustavo, Mirtha, and the girl return, and Lucecita starts working as a maid in their house to be near her daughter. Gustavo, still amnesiac, falls in love with Lucecita not knowing that she is actually his true wife. This version of the story is the one which has remained in all subsequent adaptations, all very successful.
Elena, a beautiful teacher, arrives at the mansion of an elegant judge to serve as governess. She works wonders, inspiring his children and changing the course of things, bringing true love through help and understanding.
Emilia, who lived in abundance for many years, is forced to live humbly through mismanagement and bad luck. Using her knowledge of English, she manages to support her family by performing translations. She finds love in the arms of a young man of good standing, and although her grandmother and sister do not support her, returns to her life of luxury.
A secretary to a successful businessman secretly loves her boss and gives him loyalty, understanding, and support. It comes as a great surprise when he feels the same way about her.
The daughter of a powerful family is exchanged at birth with a poor country orphan. She is blind but very beautiful, and holds proof of her origin and fortune in the form of emerald earrings.
A beautiful girl selling flowers meets a pianist who is actually a rich kid hiding a grudge against a woman he thinks murdered his father, and who turns out to be the lost aunt of María Teresa.
A stepmother gets rid of her husband's granddaughter, delivering her to a circus. Years later the circus comes back to town, bringing this woman who inspires crazy love in their two spoiled and rebellious twins.
A young girl lives traumatized after being raped by a man she later falls in love with – a somewhat strong story at the time.
Mariana is seen in the village as a future black widow because she has inexplicably bad luck with her suitors. What is actually happening is that her wicked stepfather is responsible for getting rid of them until her true love arrives to fight for Mariana.
A pretty girl, for reasons beyond her control, leaves her village for the city, becoming the maid of a wealthy family. She meets her true love, creating a passionate triangle that involves the whole family.
Always ready to overcome, though her mother was very unlucky in love and lives mired in poverty, Rafaela becomes a doctor and meets the love of her life, discovers she is the daughter of a wealthy doctor, and lives happily.
María Celeste grows up alone without the protection of a father or mother. She does not know that her mother lost her mind after being raped by the evil Leonidas Parra Montiel and wanders the village streets desperately searching for her daughter. The handsome Victor Manuel Galindez arrives, and falls in love with Maria Celeste. At the same time, Victor Manuel rescues a beautiful but strange woman from the sea.
Because of the irresponsibility of a man who cheated, Ligia Sandoval becomes a single mother and lives in a humble residential area with her godmother and a teenage sister. To everyone, Ligia's son is her younger brother. The male protagonist is Luis Gerardo, a young doctor devoted to research who has a fling with Lissette, who manages to bring him to the altar. The marriage is doomed from the beginning. He decides to divorce, but unfortunately a car accident blinds him and his wife.
Cristina, an orphan girl, leaves her humble village for Caracas and the house of her wicked aunt Luisa Zambrano and her cousins. She hopes to become a successful puppeteer in the orthopedic children's hospital, despite having a disability in one foot. She does not know she is the daughter of Ezequiel Zambrano, a powerful businessman who has been desperately searching for her for years. Zembrano takes her to meet the love of her life, the lawyer Alfredo Mendez who seeks vengeance for his past which haunts him day and night.
This story was brought to the screen for the first time when Venezuela had a law limiting the number of chapters in telenovelas. Its success caused a sequel to be planned but it was, in the end, not made, leaving the telenovela with an open and incomplete ending. In later versions the unpublished second part was added, telling the whole story.
This telenovela was presented, in its first screen version, in two parts with different titles – Leonela and Miedo al amor. In the later version, the two parts were adapted into one telenovela.
Cristal lives with her friends and dreams of becoming a model. She achieves this at a prominent fashion house, where she happens to find the love of her life in the arms of the owner's stepson. The owner turns out to be her mother, who has spent years searching for her since his paternal grandmother took her away.[16]
A "Goddess of Telenovelas" award was created in Fiallo's name at the 9th annual Summit of the Telenovela Industry in 2011.[18]
