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“Ugly Betty”: an outcast among her own people

How can anyone not love Ugly Betty? Strange as it seems, Freep.com reports that Colombians are not too fond of the American version of their country’s show, Yo Soy Betty la Fea. They see the U.S. show as a lame imitation of the original. Fabian Sanabria of Universidad Nacional doesn’t mince words in stating his feelings toward Ugly Betty.

“Watching the gringo version would be like reading 100 Years of Solitude in English. It makes no sense.”
Hmm. I read One Hundred Years of Solitude in English and it made perfect sense to me. At least it did after I got past the Buendía family lineage.

In any case, Sony Entertainment Television, which operates the Latin American cable channel airing

Ugly Betty, isn’t too concerned. The show is a hit in other countries, including Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. And it will have Spanish subtitles that let translators make the jokes more relevant to Latin American viewers. America Ferrera‘s hotness, however, needs no translation. Ugly Betty actually differs quite a bit from Yo Soy Betty la Fea, especially in its attitude. Betty la Fea was a daily soap opera (Betty’s dad is hooked on the Mexican version, La Fea Más Bella), whereas the American version is a weekly comedy. And although the concept of the geeky girl working in the fashion industry is the same, the two Bettys are not. In fact, Ferrera based her character on the very British Bridget Jones more than the main character in Betty la Fea. Hey, maybe one of the other Betty actresses will be inspired by Bridget’s admirer, Rebecca. Wherever the inspiration came from, Ferrera certainly seems to be getting Betty right. She just won the best actress award at the Family Television Awards to add to her Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG awards. Ferrera also seems to be getting her own life right. She recently told Monsters & Critics that the paparazzi don’t bother following her because her life is not all that interesting.

“Paparazzi will sit outside my house to see where I’m going, then when they see I’m on my way to work they’ll be like, ‘This is boring,’ then drive off.”
Silly paparazzi. I, for one, would happily follow Ferrera – or Betty – anywhere. Any readers from Colombia out there who would like to comment? I’d love to get your opinion. Have any other international readers seen Ugly Betty? I’d love your opinion, too. In fact, I’d love opinions from everybody. Let’s have an Ugly Betty opinion marathon. Hey, we have to do something to get us to the weekend.

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