How telenovelas influence us and our collective memory
By hola | Published
The telenovela is “a Latin American cultural phenomenon,” says German-Latina researcher Hannah Müssemann, that reaches entire households worldwide, winning over international audiences since the first radionovela broadcast nearly a century ago.
Not only are telenovelas popular, but they also often take on real historical moments and can have surprising influences on people’s memories and views of these events, says Müssemann. She is a Ph.D. candidate working at GUMELAB, a cooperative research group based in Berlin.
Müssemann is our guest on the latest episode of our new podcast, “Artistas in the Capital.”
In the episode, Müsseman talks about how the telenovela genre has evolved. A key phrase is “telenovela de la memoria,” which directly translates to “telenovela of memory.” Along with discussing how these programs are known to falsely shape people’s memories of historic moments and figures, Müssemann also highlights the impact these telenovelas have on political views and how their effects can be different for people living in their home country compared to those living abroad.
“It’s all about the discussion of critical media consumption,” Müsseman says.
About “Artistas in the Capital”
“Artistas in the Capital” is a monthly conversation with local artists, authors, dancers, entrepreneurs and researchers, ranging widely from the local community to the universality of art. Each episode sheds light on important topics and provides a platform for lifting up artists, writers and other D.C. Latino creatives.
The interviews were conducted by interns in Hola Cultura’s Storytelling Program for Experiential Learning (SPEL). SPEL is dedicated to bringing together D.C. high school and college interns with fellows and mentors for story lab sessions and workshops that prepare them for their futures through the production of accurate digital media published on the Hola Cultura website.
If you want to hear more about the impact of telenovelas in the Latin American diaspora in the United States, don’t miss the second episode of “Artistas in the Capital” with Hannah Müssemann!
— Story by María Fernanda Gómez
— Edited by Michelle Benitez
Meet our “Artistas
in the Capital”
podcast team…
Host Norma Sorto
Equipped with her microphone and Adobe Audition, Norma Sorto is the host of Hola Cultura’s latest audio production, “Artistas in the Capital.”
Growing up in an immigrant household hearing her family’s stories of how they came to the United States encouraged Sorto to pursue a career in journalism.
A former intern at Hola Cultura, Sorto holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and Electronic Media & Film from Towson University in Maryland. The Hyattsville resident joined Hola Cultura in 2021, the summer before graduating from college, and worked in an oral history team that interviewed young immigrants.
That project, says Sorto, involved a lot of “storytelling [and] interviewing people. But at the same time [it includes] … transcribing and making sure you’re telling the story as it is and … that the people you’re interviewing are comfortable sharing their story.”
Last fall, Sorto returned to help edit “Undocu-Life,” the podcast based on the same 2021 oral history interviews.
Sorto’s first on-air experiences were in college. Even now, as the host of “Artistas in the Capital,” she says she’s still learning.
It’s a “fun, creative project that I love doing,” Sorto says. “It’s so great that these artists are getting exposure, because a lot of people don’t know about them.”
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