Verano del '98 is an Argentine telenovela intended for teenagers, broadcast by Telefe from January 26, 1998 until November 24, 2000. Allegedly planned as way to cover a programming gap for the summer of 1998, it became such a hit that it ended lasting three consecutive seasons. After the series aired Telefe came under fire as it became apparent that Verano del '98 was a thinly veiled copy of the popular American teen drama Dawson's Creek, which also started airing around the same time. Gustavo Yankelevich, Telefe's chief artistic director, admitted having attended an early screening of Dawson's Creek in 1997 but thought Sony had lost interest in the project and decided to use it as inspiration when developing Verano del '98. Sony and Telefe settled out of court.
Series overview This series takes place in the fictional town of Costa Esperanza.
Cast Herrera Family Violeta Herrera (Agustina Cherri) Violeta is 16 years old. She is the daughter of Raúl and Elvira, she is the sister of Juan, Lucio and Jazmín, she is the mother of Teresa and she is the aunt of Juana. She dresses in bright colors and is always in a good mood. She works for Franco in the Morena. She will be in a constant "fight-reconciliation" with Mauro. She gets pregnant, until Germán makes her lose her pregnancy. She goes through a strong depression that separates her from Mauro. She meets Octavio. She marries Octavio forced by her mother to forget Mauro. But despite this she has an encounter with Mauro, becoming pregnant again. Sara, Octavio's mother, makes everyone believe that the baby she is expecting is from Octavio, but the truth comes to light and Violeta divorces from Octavio, to return with Mauro. She marries Mauro, they have their daughter Teresa and they are going to live in Chile. Juan Herrera (Juan Ponce de León) He is the oldest son of Raúl and Elvira, he is the older brother of Violeta, Lucio and Jazmín, he is the father of Juana and he is the uncle of Teresa. Juan is the man of the house. He is a womanizer. He works at a record shop that Sofía buys, who he will fall in love with. At the beginning he begins a secret relationship with her because of the age difference. Sofía leaves him when her children discover her relationship with him. He meet Paula who he falls in love and marries her. But then Paula is sick with leukemia and her family takes her to Cuba to combat her illness, but despite the attempts she ends up dying. After the death of his wife, Juan restarts his relationship with Sofía which again does not prosper, and he decides to leave Costa Esperanza to the South. He meets Amanda, a girl who is physically equal to Paula. This relationship is quite complicated from the beginning due to the problems of the past that surround it. Juan in the middle has an affair with Yoko, but finally ends with his true love, Amanda, with whom he marries, they adopt a baby, called Juana and go on tour after he got a musical contract. Lucio Herrera (Ezequiel Castaño) He is the son of Raúl, he is the brother of Juan and Violeta and he is the uncle of Teresa and Juana. Lucio is the son of Violeta and Juan's father but not of the same mother. He will arrive in Costa Esperanza with his father on a visit and will decide to stay there with his brother, sister and Elvira. He is adopted by Elvira. He will become Nicolás best friend. He has a brief relationship with Yoko. He has a short relationship with Clara. He has a relationship with Lola and asks her to marry him. He separates from Lola and has a brief relationship with Renata. He goes to live in Miami, Florida. Raúl Herrera (Mario Alarcón) He is the husband of Elvira, he is the father of Juan, Lucio and Violeta and he is the grandfather of Juana and Teresa. He abandoned Elvira and his children for many years and returns years later when his children are grown up. He ends up dying from an illness. Elvira de Herrera (Susana Ortiz) She is the wife of Raúl, she is the mother of Juan, Violeta and Jazmín, she is the adoptive mother of Lucio and she is the grandmother of Juana and Teresa. Her husband and father of her children, Raúl, abandoned them a long time ago and since then she fell into a deep depression. She adopts Lucio. When Octavio sets her house on fire, she is in the street with Lucio, so she ends up working as a maid in the house of the López Echagüe. She becomes the mayor of Costa Esperanza. Jazmín Herrera (Carolina Santangelo) She is the younger sister of the family. She is adopted. She is in love with Benjamín.
Vázquez Family Emilio Vázquez (Tincho Zabala) He is the founder of Costa Esperanza. He is the husband of Victoria, he is the father of Marlene, he is the grandfather of Clara, Benjamín, Connie and Yoko and he is the great-grandfather of Luquitas. He is a fair, sensible, honest and a very respected man in the town. He does not get along with his daughter Marlene, then they reconcile. He leaves the city to go to Buenos Aires to meet his beloved Victoria. Clara Vázquez (Dolores Fonzi) She is the granddaughter of Don Emilio and Victoria, she is the sister of Benjamín, she is the niece of Marlene and she is the cousin of Connie, Yoko and Luquitas. She is manipulator and calculator, but above all she cares about her family. She was Tomás first girlfriend and then Mauro. To retain Mauro she becomes Germán's ally, pretending a pregnancy to marry Mauro. She killed Teresa by mistake. The murder of Teresa led her to claim herself. She helped Darío by saving the life of one of his children. She has a short relationship with Lucio. She ends up marrying Darío and goes to live with Darío and the twins to Buenos Aires. Benjamín Vázquez (Tomás Fonzi) He is the grandson of Don Emilio and Victoria, he is Clara's brother, he is the nephew of Marlene and the cousin of Yoko, Connie and Luquitas. He is funny, immature, above all noble. He falls in love with Renata. He is Nicolás, Lucio and Tadeo best friend. He was shy, but then he is a heartbreaker. He became a womanizer reason in which his relationship with Renata ends, disappointed to have no future with the woman of his life. He returns to Buenos Aires with his grandparents. Catalina Yoko Valdés Vázquez (Celeste Cid) She daughter of Marlene and Manuel, she is the granddaughter of Don Emilio and Victoria, she is the mother of Luquitas, she is the sister of Connie and the cousin of Clara and Benjamín. She is shy, intelligent, but then she becomes outgoing. She has a brief relationship with Lucio. She becomes Nicolás girlfriend, she ends with him when she falls in love with Juan and has a brief romance and her first time with him, separating him from Amanda, but the relationship ends badly because of the age difference. She returns with Nicolás with whom she falls madly in love with but she cheats on him with Lucas, with whom she has a baby. She ends up marrying Nicolás. Victoria de Vázquez (Chany Mallo) She is the wife of Emilio, she is the mother of Marlene, she is the grandmother of Clara, Benjamín, Connie and Yoko and she is the great-grandmother of Luquitas. She goes to Buenos Aires to take care of her sick sister. She returns and has a relationship with Anselmo. Catalina Marlene Vázquez (Graciela Tenenbaum) She is the daughter of Don Emilio and Victoria, she is the mother of Connie and Yoko, she is the aunt of Clara and Benjamín and she is the grandmother of Luquitas. She does not get along with her father but they end up reconciling. She is outgoing, and who always goes straight ahead, a little crazy, always nice that ends up making the family happy. She falls in love with Federico. She starts a relationship with a Chef. Marilyn "Connie" Vázquez (Romina Ricci) Her name is Marilyn, but she calls herself Connie. She is the daughter of Marlene, she is the granddaughter of Don Emilio and Victoria, she is the sister of Yoko, she is the cousin of Clara and Benjamín and she is the aunt of Luquitas. She is a photographer and worked for a newspaper in Costa Esperanza. She is strong in character, always going straight. She fell in love with Tomás. She had a brief relationship with Damián and Pedro. She ends up marrying Ricky and they stay in the custody of Brisa.
Ibarra Family Federico Ibarra (Horacio Peña) He is the husband of Isabel and he is the father of Tomás. He is the doctor and director of the clinic of Costa Esperanza. After his separation, he meets Marlene with whom he begins a relationship. After being a discord between Daniela and Tomás, he goes on a trip to Canada and at the time of his return he goes to Buenos Aires and returns with Isabel. He goes to live in Canada. Isabel de Ibarra (Alicia Zanca) She is the mother of Tomás and the wife of Federico. She is a television producer. She separates from her husband after being unfaithful to her husband and moves to Buenos Aires. She returns to look for Tomás when he is paralyzed, takes him to live with her but finally she lives alone there and asks Federico for half of the house having to sell it to give her the money. Tomás Ibarra (Nahuel Mutti) Tomás is 17 years old. He is the son of Federico and Isabel, he is the cousin of Paula and Agustín. He lives in Costa Esperanza since he was born. He is a bit childish, but he is also very noble and brave. He will fall in love at first sight with Clara, but little by little he will realize that he is truly in love with Josefina. He falls in love with Connie. When he becomes paralyzed he falls in love with Daniela and marries her and she becomes pregnant but loses the baby. With the return of Josefina in Africa they are back together and he asks her to marry him. After Josefina's death he stayed in charge of Brisa and meets Ada who he ends up in love with, but their relationship thrives since she has psychological disorders and becomes addicted to the pills and Tomás ends up admitting her in a rehabilitation clinic. He goes to live in Canada. Paula Ibarra (Jazmín Stuart) She is the sister of Agustín, she is the niece of Federico and she is the cousin of Tomás. She arrives in Costa Esperanza with her brother to live at her uncle's house. She falls in love with Juan and marries him. She gets leukemia and dies. Agustín Ibarra (Pablo Palacios) He is the brother of Paula, he is the nephew of Federico and he is the cousin of Tomás. He arrives in Costa Esperanza with his sister to live at his uncle's house. He start dating Teresa.
Villanueva Family Germán Villanueva (Mario Pasik) He is the husband of Sofía, he is the father of Mauro, Teresa and Brisa, he is the uncle of Celina, he is the great-uncle of Álex and he is the grandfather of Malena, Agustín and Teresa. Germán is a wealthy businessman. He is a liar man, scammer, gangster and becomes a murderer, for a long time he cheated on Sofía, his wife with Dolores. He had a secret relationship with her for years, but always under the name of Sergio and got her pregnant. His family decides to settle in Costa Esperanza, as a result he discovers the deception of Sofía and the fatherhood of Brisa. He feigns his death to continue tormenting Franco and Dolores, posing as him to kill Sabrina because she has a video that shows him shooting Dolores in the middle of her marriage. When they escape, he returns home. Before returning, he makes an alliance with Clara in which she kept it a secret that it was he who impersonated Franco and he steals one of Teresa's children to give it to her and that she has Mauro by her side. When everything is discovered, Alicia leaves him in ruin making bad investments. Then he meets Amparo, while recovering his fortune and he marries her, he begins to mistreat and beat her. He is killed by Don Leandro.