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La Reina del Sur (TV series)

La Reina del Sur (lit. 'The Queen of the South') is a Spanish-language telenovela based on a novel of the same name by Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte. It premiered on 28 February 2011. The first season is produced by the American television network Telemundo in conjunction with the Antena 3 network and RTI Producciones, while the second and third seasons are co-produced by Telemundo Global Studios and Netflix. The series depicts the rise of Teresa Mendoza (Kate del Castillo), a young woman from Mexico who becomes the most powerful drug trafficker in southern Spain.

With a $10 million budget it is the second most expensive telenovela ever produced by Telemundo, the first being El Señor de los Cielos. An English language remake, Queen of the South, premiered in June 2016 on USA Network, starring Alice Braga.

The series has been renewed for a second season that premiered on 22 April 2019. On 16 July 2020, Telemundo announced that the series was renewed for a third season. The third season aired from 18 October 2022 to 16 January 2023.

Synopsis

Season 1 (2011)

The series is the television adaptation of the literary work of the same name of Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte. It is the chronicle of the rise to power of a Mexican woman within the world of international drug trafficking. Teresa Mendoza begins her adventure as a humble young woman in love with a pilot employed by the Mexican cartels. When they execute her boyfriend, Teresa flees, desperate to avoid the same fate. Her escape takes her to the south of Spain where she tries to start a new life. However, she is once again immersed in the world of narcotics trafficking, and for a second time, she suffers the death of a beloved man. After several blows, Teresa decides to take the reins of her destiny and becomes the head of her own organization. This is done with the help of a woman she meets in prison, who decides to share her fortune with Teresa. Through strategic alliances and a strong sense for business, Teresa "La Mexicana" begins to control an intercontinental drug distribution business. However, her great success is accompanied by a high personal price, and Teresa's happiness and heart are tested.

Season 2 (2019)

The second season of La Reina del Sur follows the life of Teresa Mendoza eight years after the events of the first-season finale. Isolating herself from the rest of the world, Teresa now lives an idyllic life in Italian Tuscany, but the kidnapping of her daughter forces her to go back to the underworld and reintroduces herself into drug trafficking. To save her daughter, Teresa needs to confront her old enemies once more and face her past that she tried to leave behind.

Season 3 (2022–23)

After four years in prison in the United States for the deaths of three DEA agents, Teresa Mendoza escapes but will have to face a world full of conspiracy, risking her life in order to clear her name and reunite with her daughter Sofía.

Episodes

Cast

Main

Kate del Castillo as Teresa Mendoza
Humberto Zurita as Epifanio Vargas
Rafael Amaya as Raimundo Dávila Parra "El Güero" (season 1)
Iván Sánchez as Santiago López Fisterra "El Gallego" (season 1)
Cristina Urgel as Patricia O'Farrell (season 1)
Alberto Jiménez as Oleg Yasikov (season 1)
Miguel de Miguel as Teo Aljarafe (season 1; guest season 2)
Gabriel Porras as Roberto Márquez "El Gato Fierros" (season 1)
Salvador Zerboni as Ramiro Vargas "El Ratas" (season 1)
Nacho Fresneda as Dris Larbi (season 1)
Mónica Estarreado as Fátima Mansur (season 1)
Alejandro Calva as César Güemes "Batman"
Cuca Escribano as Sheila
Dagoberto Gama as Potequim Gálvez "El Pote" (season 1)
Christian Tappan as Willy Rangel (seasons 1–2)
Eduardo Velasco as Coronel Abdelkader Chaib (seasons 1–2)
Alfonso Vallejo as Manolo Céspedes (season 1)
Pablo Castañón as Lalo Veiga (season 1)
Miguel Ángel Blanco as Siso Pernas (seasons 1–2)
Lorena Santos as Soraya (season 1)
Sara Maldonado as Verónica Cortés / Guadalupe Romero (season 1)
Carmen Navarro as Marcela "La Conejo" (seasons 1–2)
Santiago Meléndez as Saturnino "Nino" Juárez (season 1)
Juan José Arjona as Pablo Flores (seasons 1–2)
Raoul Bova as Francesco Belmondo "Lupo" (season 2)
Paola Núñez as Manuela Cortés (season 2)
Mark Tacher as Alejandro Alcalá (season 2)
Flavio Medina as Zurdo Villa (season 2)
Luisa Gavasa as Cayetana Segovia de Aljarafe (season 2)
Antonio Gil as Oleg Yasikov (seasons 2–3)
Kika Edgar as Genoveva Alcalá (seasons 2–3)
Lincoln Palomeque as Faustino Sánchez Godoy (seasons 2–3; guest season 1)
Patricia Reyes Spíndola as Carmen Martínez (season 2)
Carmen Flores as Charo (season 2)
Emmanuel Orenday as Danilo Márquez (seasons 2–3)
Alejandro Speitzer as Ray Dávila (season 2)
Tiago Correa as Jonathan Peres (season 2; recurring season 3)
Sara Vidorreta as Rocío Aljarafe (season 2; recurring season 3)
Ágata Clares as Paloma Aljarafe (seasons 2–3)
Abdelali El Aziz as Ahmed (season 2; guest season 1)
Isabella Sierra as Sofía Mendoza (seasons 2–3)
Pêpê Rapazote as Pablo Landero (seasons 3)
Ed Trucco as Ernie Palmero (seasons 3)
Horacio Garcia Rojas as Charlie Velazquez (seasons 3)
Beth Chamberlin as Jane Kozar (seasons 3)
Sofia Lama as Susana Guzmán (seasons 3)

Remake

An English language remake, titled Queen of the South, premiered in June 2016 on USA Network, starring Alice Braga.

Ratings

Awards and nominations

Source material

Pérez-Reverte, author of the novel The Queen of the South, has said that a great source of inspiration were Mexican drug ballads, country-polka songs that tell the stories about real life Mexican drug lords.

One of the real life characters that inspired the novel is Sandra Ávila Beltrán, known as the Queen of the Pacific, famous for being one of the first female drug traffickers to reach the level of "Boss" in the Mexican cartels, a place usually reserved for men.