*Please note, this post contains some spoilers.
Greeting, explorers! Your reaction to our first three journeys was great, and you provided us with a lot of new information, (some of it was and will be integrated if possible,) so once we actually finish with these intro articles, and just before we go into our weekly format, I’ll consult the BLT chart once more to see which country is in the lead. Some friendly competition! In the mean time, we’ve got places to see, locals to meet.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I travel, I like to see how the other half lives. Not the glamorous touristy area, but where the regular people are. Their houses, their struggles. I wanna know it all, like some sort of an Ariel on her first time ashore. Let’s go be where the people are! (We’re going to explore the wild jungles of soap soon, but this soap is in the subgenre of neighbor-related shows, in a lack of a better term.)
Today, we’re starting with Argentina’s Vecinos en Guerra (or, if you prefer, Neighbors at War). Meet Agustina and Valeria.
Our heroines, as we learned tend to happen quite often, didn’t like each other all that much at the beginning. Or, to be more accurate, Agustina didn’t like Valeria, and she had a good reason not to. Valeria had some sort of a history with Lucas, who is Paloma’s boyfriend. Confused and wondering who the hell is Paloma? Why, she’s Agustina’s best friend. Oh, the tangled web that is the world of soap! Let’s use a diagram.
Paloma and Lucas are living together and are about to have a baby, and who decides to drop by unannounced and live with them for a while? You guessed it, Valeria.
Paloma isn’t too happy nor is she fond of Valeria. Agustina, being Paloma’s best friend, follows her footsteps of un-fondness. Then, she starts to randomly hang out with Valeria, and things shift to friendship, and eventually, to gayness.
It wasn’t an easy ride. For both women it’s a first, and Valeria all but fled the scene emotionally when Agustina finally kissed her. She was also-well, in lack of a better word-a dick for a while. A major dick even (salute!), but eventually she came around.
Through this arc we also get to experience Agustina’s coming out story which is quite beautiful. Watching the following videos, you’d never guess that the main story of the show has nothing to do with these two. They are, in fact, reoccurring characters. A playlist of their entire relationship (with subtitles!) can be found here, thanks to MissAndieV.
The show aired on Telefe, but is sadly not with us anymore. It ended last year, so be on the lookout for a DVD release!
Speaking of not with us anymore, here’s something with a Mediterranean twist. Dyo Meres Mono (Just Two Days) is a drama that aired in Greece between 2006—2007.
The characters in question are Viky, and Katerina. They had a crazy little love story that ended with a break, a one night stand during said break, followed by an unexpected pregnancy, and a reunion. Yes, Viky had to go all Ross and stop Katerina at the airport, but at the end they decided to raise the child together, so, that’s OK, right? (No phalanges were hurt in the making of this article.)
My personal suspicion is that they never kissed on screen (but that’s OK, because hugging is just like kissing someone with your arms, right?). I can’t confirm that suspicion, sadly. I can, however, give you video 1, 2 and 3 so you’ll get the very broad picture.
Now you already know the drill: Take out your notepads. I’m gonna give you some notes for future exploration!
Aquí no hay quien viva (Spain) also got a Greek remake called I Polykatoikia. Aqui had three lesbian characters, and happened in an apartment complex. As a matter of fact, both shows had lesbian characters, but Aqui actually explored a relationship (Bea and Ana).
The UK’s Boy Meets Girl just started filming. The show will explore the relationship between Leo and Judy, who is an older woman and also happens to be transgender. The show will air on BBC2.
Check back next week for another edition of Foreign Affairs. In the meantime, you can find me on Tumblr or Twitter.
