My girlfriend is Colombian and she loves LOVES this show! She did say it was different than the original version but she doesn't care because it's so funny. 

funny is funny no matter what....I understand where Fabian Sanabria  is coming from because its almost what I thought about queer as folk when its was Americanized but...since its in a different country with a different tempo...I say just let it be, both versions have something to offer...why not be a fan of both and hell...maybe make a mesh up of the two on you tube for fun...just my two cents.

Oh... I saw one of the first versions of Ugly Betty... They aired it in Brazil a couple years ago and sometimes Iwatched for a while. As a soap opera it was pretty silly and over the top… or maybe I was just picky... I didn't liked that much.

Anyways, I like this geeky Devil-Wears-Prada-alike version. Although some of my friends don't, but that's mostly because they expected the same thing they saw on national TV - in English - and not another version of the story.

To me, it's like watching X-Men 1, 2 and 3: a new Betty... but faster, stronger and gayer! in a new universe :D

Betty la Fea was on here in Chile and my ex made me start watching Ugly Betty (online) bcuz she loved it. At first I didn't like it because it was nothing like the show, they merged some characters and completely changed the storyline. In the Spanish version Betty was successful and eventually became the boss of EcoModa i think it was called and hooked up with her boss and became 'beautiful'. Anyway yeah, it doesn't have anything to do with the soap.. except that there's a girl with glasses and braces named Betty and she works at a fashion place. But the show on its own is really great, I love it and all its gayness <3

I saw the original colombian version when I lived in Spain and it was kind of funny because it was so exagerated. And I didn't want to watch the american version at first because I don't really get why americans have to make their own versions of every foreign show (Queer as folk, The Office etc.) But then I saw an episode of Ugly Betty and it's really funny and now I'm hooked. It's really nothing like the original, there's a lot more comedy in this one and it's a real high quality show, not a soapopera. I love Betty now.

The first episode of Ugly Betty was very much alike Yo Soy Betty La Fea, in the colombian original, Betty actually did most of her boss' work and he taking the credits, her boss and his best friend also picked on Betty's uglyness, and there was a secretary that wanted Betty's boss, very much alike Ugly Betty in the first episode, but what I like about the US version is that it is different but still keeping the similarities of the colombian version. I like the fact that Betty's love interest is not Daniel, but rather a geeky guy like her, at least for now. The colombian version didn't have the issues of the boss' family, and I don't remenber a character in the colombian version like Willehmina.... Betty did have lots of friends inside the offices of Ecomoda, in the US version Betty actually has a one friend  (the blonde scottish woman), and now Daniel, whom she actually protects and care.

Betty La Fea did have a make up transformation by the end of the soap opera and  her character also grew up...yes the boss and Betty end up together....but I don't see that happening for now in Ugly Betty (with Daniel that is)

I liked the colombian version, and the US is very entertaiment...and I enjoy the fact that its not just a remake of the colombian version. The cast is great, and I belive that America Ferrara did deserves all those recognitions.

we have a german version of ugly betty that was on german tv, but I didn't watch it. the german version actually was on before the american and I think it is still on.

 I have to say that I love ugly betty, LUCKILY we get it in english as well, you can switch the language. in german, it's only have as good, so I just watch it in english. I am pretty sure that the german version was really successful, however, the american version was not successful at all in germany, actually they stoped airing it mid-season 1. however, the austrian tv-station finished airing the first season, I'm not sure what their plans are for the next season. but we are usually one year behind scheadule on all tv-shows, so they might air it next year or so....

"Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from." ~ Jodie Foster

I'm Peruvian, so I watched Betty la Fea first (it's one of my all time favourite soaps) but I don't see anything wrong with the US adaptation. I admit, though, when I watched the first episode of UB, I did expect it to be an exact replica of the Colombian version, with equivalent characters to those in the original, and so my first reaction was "This is so not 'Betty la Fea'!" and felt kind of disappointed. But then I realized this wasn't intended to be like the Mexican version (that one IS an exact replica) and was just based loosely on it and they were, essentially, two different shows with similar premises. So once I got past that, I started to enjoy UB for what it was, a US comedy series as opposed to a Latin telenovela, and that's when I started to love it. It makes me sad to know that Colombians aren't too fond of this show, while I just love the fact that the original story has trascended its original genre.

First, I don't have cable, dish, etc. Second, I never watch tv. When I was growing up we didn't get to watch tv. My dad thinks tv and sugar are the two most evil things in the world. My mom is now addicted to tv and Little Debbies. I digress. I love watching Ugly Betty. It is so funny. I love Judith Light's character. Judith a great comedian. Another show, I watch is Pushing Dasies. I was a HUGH Wonderfalls fan. That was the best show and pow it was gone. I am so glad Ugly Betty is doing so great. America Ferrera is wonderful. I love the film Real Women Have Curves.  These two shows and The Best Lesbian Week Ever and the entertainment highlights of my week.

I`m from Chile so i watched "yo soy betty la fea", this show was a hit in all latinamerica but i didn`t like it so much cause it was kind of bored(too many characters), it had to many episodes, it was daily and for more than a year, too much for me. this week i saw an episode of ugly betty and I like it alot, it is really funny and America is more than good, she deserves all the awards. but definitely, the versions are differents and everyone has to decide what is the best for each one.

I'm Colombian...I was born and raised there etc, etc, etc. It's not hard to understand why Colombians LIVING IN Colombia don't like Ugly Betty. I think it is a great show but it has sort of appropriated something that belonged to the people of Colombia. Culturally the jokes are not the same and they shouldn't be. Growing up English-language shows translated to Spanish were rather bad because there are a lot of colloquialisms and very specific cultural references that just don't translate. There were very few successful shows 90210, Night Ryder, and Baywatch (and they were bad in their own way, but were popular). The thing is that those weren't comedies... (at least they weren't marketed that way), so they stayed. But comedies, nope.

You have to take into consideration the setting. In this country Ugly Betty is down right revolutionary. A Latina woman of a certain (normal) size, whose character's last name is "Suarez" headlining a hit show on ABC? Yeah, pretty hot. In this country this is amazing and great. But in Colombia ethnicity/race works differently. Colombians LIVING IN COLOMBIA don't understand why Ugly Betty is such a triumph for Latinos living in the US simply because they don't have the cultural framework to place it. To them (and I'm saying "them" because I don't live there anymore), it's just another watered-down gringo show that stole their concept, whether it was produced by a Latina or not.

Any hoo, I think ABC could care less whether Colombians living in Colombia like it or not. The show makes them money and it's extremely popular, and it works here.

And, yes, One Hundred Years of Solitude in English just didn't do it for me. But that is not to say that it wasn't enjoyable for other people.

I've seen "Yo Soy Betty La Fea", "La Fea Mas Bella" and 'Ugly Betty"

Each had their own way of telling the story. I have to admit that I liked each of them on their own.

I try not to compare the three and enjoy them for what they are.

Each one has its own value because relates to the culture around it. So Ugly Betty has a lot more american things that will not make any sense when translated into Spanish. And "Yo soy Betty La fea" would not mean the same if it was translated into English. There are few versions of the original colombian soap Opera, one of the versions is done in Spain, with the same premises, but of course different actors, language and circumstances. There are MANY shows that do n't make sense when played or dubbed into another language for another country. And as for comparing reading a book, as a bilingual person, I've noticed that there are things that are lost in translation, from English to Spanish and viceversa. As much as the translator can do a good job getting the translation right, there's always something missing, and that happens the same in TV shows.

lesbian without borders

I've seen the Colombian version first many years ago. Actually, I didn't particularly like it, cause I'm not that into soap operas. I do, however, like Ugly Betty, because it's different - as you said - and it's a different kind of humor. I don't think you can quite compare them... I was actually excited to get to see Ugly Betty on TV (we're just in the middle of the first season here!) cause America Ferrera is cute! hehehe...

called "Yo Soy Bea" and the American version too, and, I suppose because I'm American, I prefer that one. Spain's series, copied after the Colombian one, is kinda lame, NOT FUNNY, and I guess I echo everyone's sentiments when I say that they are, (aside from a few general, and glaring plot and character similarities) simply different. The daytime soap vs. hollywood-made series is obviously something that is going to be at the root of the differences, not the fact that one is in English and one in Spanish.

Culture is different. Humor is different, and very few comedies can cross that cultural line. Sure, I watch The Simpsons here in Spain, and it is quite funny, but a reference to any b-list American actor/writer/singer/politician/etc. is going to fly over the heads of most. That said, it doesn't mean you shouldn't be allowed to take something and make it your own. I never heard the producers of "Ugly Betty" say their version was "better" than the original. Why can't we all just get along?

Oh, and regarding that quote about 100 Years of Solitude...imagine we took that opinion and applied it to everything in our lives? We'd be stuck in our own little countries, with our closed little minds and our small little communities. Sorry for my rant....but the more you know!!! (as those after school commercials went...)

I always watched Ugly Betty with faint bemusement. Possibly because it was one of those shows that aired during my Internet time and I couldn't evenly split my attention between the computer and the TV. Then I started rehearsals for a musical on the same night and if I'm bad at watching TV, I'm even worse at watching tapes. :/

I am from Colombia and watched “Yo Soy Betty La Fea”. It was very funny but very specific to our culture and traditions. It was intended to make fun and somehow expose the influence that social classes have in our country.

I have also watched some episodes of Ugly Betty and I can see its value and its contribution to bringing attention to important issues such as immigration and culture differences.

There is nothing wrong with taking one good concept (in this case a soup opera) and applying it to as many issues as possible if it brings some clarity and awareness to other ways polarized and perhaps overlooked situations.

Ugly Betty gives humor to elements that cause conflict in this country the same way that “Yo Soy Betty La Fea” gave humor to elements that cause conflict in mine. At the end, it is easier to face and deal with something if we talk or even laugh about it.

So I say let’s make more Ugly Betties and expose all the things that separate us and divide us. Maybe with a smile in our faces we will be more willing to open up and embrace each other. As it is meant to be!!

 

lol yea and the rest of us got hooked on it. i remember my sister cooking some french fries during the commmercials then totally forgot about it when it was back on. the pan was on fire as we frantically extinguished it. the ceiling was all black lol.. it was crazy back then. My sister like the US version too, i think theyre both amusing. 

I don't see what the commotion is about.  When another country or another remake of any show or movie is done, there are always going to be criticism.  The American producers/writers of Ugly Betty made it their own show.  Let it stand on its own merit instead of the comparison.

Who can deny that the story is funny, poignant, sweet and Betty's moral high ground never fails to anchor the show with its heart.

I love all the characters on the show in their own right and America Ferrara is fantastic!

You go America!  I love you!

Ugly Betty is not "an outcast among her own people." Her people are here and we pretty much all love her. 

I`m peruvian too and i watched the colombian soap betty la fea and i liked it a lot, it was fun and well written and i `m watching now ugly betty  and i like it too, they are not the same and that`s what i like about it, they both have their own personality

 

i love amelie