“Santa Evita” in Star +: The Trend for Biographical Stories

It was on July 26 that the streaming platform Star + premiered on its platform the miniseries “Santa Evita”, based on the novel by Tomás Eloy Martínez, which portrays the biographical history of the first Argentine lady Eva Perón. The series takes up the historical facts about the death of the first lady at the age of 33 and the fate of her embalmed body. Also, this month comes to Prime Video the series "News of a kidnapping" based on the homonymous novel by Gabriel García Márquez, which portrays the kidnapping of journalists and members of the family of political figures at the hands of Pablo Escobar.

We can see this tendency of streaming platforms to adapt this type of stories, where important historical figures and facts prevail. But why does this trend arise? What need does it respond to? In this article we carry out an analysis of this trend, to bring to the small screen the lives of historical figures from politics, drug trafficking and the artistic world, as well as historical events that impacted Latin America.

Reality Surpasses Fiction

Since the premiere of "Narcos", which followed the life of drug trafficking characters in Colombia and later in Mexico, streaming platforms have opted to make biographical series of people who impacted history. This trend responds to the need of an audience to know in depth the personal life of these characters beyond what is known by the actions they carried out. It is taking the viewer to know the reasons that led them to be who they were.

The issue of drug trafficking is, without a doubt, one of those that has been mostly portrayed by different platforms. From our perspective, we believe that this response to a historical and social need. It is undeniable that the issue of drug trafficking has significantly hit Latin American countries, bringing with it a war and all the social, political, economic consequences, etc., that this has represented over many years.

In this same sense, we can see a tendency for stories based on real events backed by documents from literature or journalism, such as "News of a kidnapping” and "Santa Evita". The theme that reality, many times, surpasses fiction is the biggest attraction. On the one hand, we have great stories that were taken to literature and the importance that this represents in terms of its dissemination, from the way of telling the stories to the journalistic investigation that was carried out. And on the other hand, we have the historical fact. The importance of telling stories that currently continue to have repercussions in the context of Latin America.

Also read:"News of a kidnapping": Film adaptations of García Márquez's work

On the other hand, this same trend has permeated figures from the artistic world who are or are defined as emblematic for their films or the musical legacy they have left. For example, the Luis Miguel series that allowed us to learn details about the artist that no one knew. This tendency to delve into these characters in order to humanize them. Another clear example of this is the production of the Vix + platform that has launched the "Maria Felix" bioseries, which has generated some interest.

Finally, these stories are born from the need of a Latin American public to know their history. In this sense, to see their identity, culture, and milestones reflected on the screen. More and more platforms will join this trend, due to the success that these types of stories have already achieved. In addition, the format that the series allows, helps to give greater development and depth to the characters. We'll see what other stories come up later.