(), usually shortened to Cuéntame and also known in English as Remember When, is a Spanish prime-time television historical drama series that originally ran on La 1 of Televisión Española for twenty-three seasons, from 13 September 2001 to 29 November 2023. It recounts the experiences of a middle-class family, the Alcántaras (), during the years of Francisco Franco's rule, the transition to democracy, and the current democracy.Remember When official synopsis
Cuéntame cómo pasó received critical acclaim throughout most of its run and received numerous national and international awards, making it the most awarded series in the history of Spanish television. With twenty-three seasons, 413 episodes and nine unnumbered special episodes it is also the longest running scripted primetime Spanish series in the history of television. It was the most expensive Spanish series to produce for many seasons, and taking into account its total cost, it is the costliest Spanish series of all time.
With a stable cast led by Imanol Arias and Ana Duato as Antonio Alcántara and Mercedes Fernández, more than three thousand performers have appeared in the series. It has also spawned foreign adaptations in Italy, Portugal, Argentina, and Greece.
Production Development Cuéntame cómo pasó was conceived by producer with the idea of reviewing the near past from the present. He was joined by Eduardo Ladrón de Guevara and Patrick Buckley to write the first scripts and the series bible in 1993. They offered the project to all the television networks in Spain for eight years, which continually rejected it because it talked about Francoism, until Televisión Española (TVE) finally picked it up. To produce the series for TVE they created the production company Grupo Ganga.
The first episode was broadcast on 13 September 2001. The series begins in April 1968 with the arrival of television to the house of the Alcántaras just in time to watch the victory of Massiel at the Eurovision Song Contest.Cuéntame cómo pasó - Episode 1: The return of the fugitive (In Spanish) The story reflects the changes in Spain from that day on recounting the family's experiences and the impact that television had. Through situations, characters, and attitudes of the era, the series evokes a wistful reminiscence of those times. The Alcántaras' story is narrated in flashback from an indefinite present. The narration sometimes goes back even further to show the youth of the characters. Season twenty-one is the first and only time the series shows that present, with the characters facing 1992 and their thirty years older selves facing COVID-19 pandemic alternately.
Initially the series was to be titled Nuestro Ayer, but it finally was titled Cuéntame. This name comes from the 1960s well-known song used as the series opening theme. In March 2002, during the first season, the title was changed to Cuéntame cómo pasó because Cuéntame was already registered.Cuéntame changes its name due copyright problems (In Spanish)
The series also celebrates the first twenty-five years since Spain's transition to democracy, and its didactic spirit is clearly evident in some of the episodes. In themed special episodes it includes documentary interviews with historical figures of the era speaking about how they experienced important historic events like the assassination of then Prime Minister Luis Carrero BlancoCuéntame cómo pasó - Episode 113: Carrero Blanco Special. The beginning of the end (In Spanish) or the death of Francisco Franco.Cuéntame cómo pasó - Episode 152: Special. And after Franco, what? (In Spanish)
It was the most expensive Spanish series to produce during much of its run. The most expensive season was season thirteen, which cost €903,440 on average per episode, followed by season twelve (€852,989), and season fourteen (€830,286). The 280 numbered episodes from episode fifteen of season eight to the end of the series had a cost of just over €730,000 on average per episode, with a total cost of €204,711,125. The 27% of that total cost (some €54.9 million) was dedicated to paying the cast, and another 26% was dedicated to paying the technical staff. Taking into account its total cost, it is the Spanish series that has cost the most of all time.
In March 2020, TVE and Grupo Ganga announced that, after its twentieth season, it would be renewed for two more seasons, with the storyline moving firmly into the 1990s. On 16 February 2023, TVE green-lighted the production of season twenty-three that closed the series with the storyline ending in 2001.
Production team Cuéntame cómo pasó was a production of Televisión Española and Grupo Ganga, and had the participation of Amazon Prime Video in its last four seasons. Miguel Ángel Bernardeau was the executive producer of the series for its entirety. Each episode was entrusted to one or two scriptwriters, unlike what was common in Spain where a group of scriptwriters used to work on an episode at the same time. More than thirty writers had contributed to the series. The most prolific were Eduardo Ladrón de Guevara, Sonia Sánchez, Jacobo Delgado, Alberto Macías, , Patrick Buckley, and Joaquín Oristrell. Other writers who have written some of the episodes include , Ángeles González-Sinde, , and Yolanda García Serrano.
The series's most prolific directors were Agustín Crespi and Antonio Cano. Other directors who have directed some of the episodes include , , Sergio Cabrera, , Manuel Gómez Pereira, Gracia Querejeta, and . The series cinematographer was Tote Trenas.
Casting
Since the first moment the producers were clear about Imanol Arias for the role of Antonio, the father of the family. The role of Mercedes, the mother of the family, was initially intended for Adriana Ozores, but Ana Duato (who was going to play the role of a visiting cousin), finally ended up with the role. María Galiana was selected for the role of Herminia, the grandmother, when the producer saw her in the 1999 film Alone. To choose the three children they did a casting, with the selection of the youngest being the most difficult of them. They chose Irene Visedo to play Inés, Pablo Rivero to play Toni, and Ricardo Gómez to play Carlos. For the initial supporting roles they selected well-known established actors such as Fernando Fernán Gómez, Tony Leblanc, José Sancho, Enrique San Francisco, Juan Echanove, and Alicia Hermida (who was also the director of interpretation), as well as new actors.
The series has maintained a stable cast during its long run, with the same performer always playing the same role in the main timeline, even in sporadic roles. There have only been a few important cast changes, most notably the replacement of Inés, who is played by for five seasons in Visedo's absence, and the replacement by older performers of María (Alcantaras' fourth child, who arrived to the family taking advantage of Duato's real pregnancy) and the grandchildren due to the characters growing old faster than the performers. The main roles have been also played by other performers representing younger and older versions of the character in earlier and later timelines, including Arias' own son (Daniel Arias) and Duato's own daughter (María Bernardeau) playing the younger versions of Antonio and Mercedes. Those characters whose performer died were not recast. Arias and Duato are the only performers who appear in every episode.
Filming
Seasons one and two were filmed at the Barajas studios in Madrid. Starting with season three, the series was filmed at Grupo Ganga's studios in Pinto (Madrid), where an outdoor set represented the streets of fictional San Genaro, the Madrid neighborhood where the Alcántara family resides, and where the sound stages with the interior sets were located. The filming also made extensive use of real locations in Madrid and its surroundings conveniently dressed up to represent the era. They also filmed on location in Barcelona, Benidorm, Brussels, Ibiza, Lisbon, London, Moscow, Paris, Rome, and Tangier among others.
The filming of the exterior scenes located in fictitious Sagrillas, the hometown of the family, was carried out mainly in Arahuetes (Segovia), with some scenes filmed in its surrounding towns. A house in the main square of Arahuetes acts as Herminia's house and a house in another part of the village acts as that of Pura's (Antonio's mother). Their interior sets were built in the studios in Pinto with the others. The filming of the scenes in the family's vineyard and winery was carried out on an estate in Bargas (Toledo).
The series has recreated many historical events in which the Alcántaras have been involved, for which purpose-built full-scale period sets, real locations, or CGI techniques were used for filming. The series also uses dream sequences extensively to show the characters' desires, fears, and inner thoughts.
In post-production, the footage filmed was given a chromatic range based on grey and sepia similar to an old faded color photograph, which gives the series its characteristic early look. This was done to reflect the memory of the oppression of the time, and it gradually transitioned to a more colorful palette as the story progressed and the oppression disappeared. Initially shot in fullscreen, they switched to widescreen when the plot overtook Franco's death. It was also one of the first Spanish series filmed in High Definition, for which they used the HDCAM format, even before TVE (which still used the Digital Betacam format) could broadcast in HD.
Theme song and title sequence The opening theme song used in the title sequence, and that gives the series its name, is the 1968 song "", written by José Luis Armenteros, and made famous by the pop band Fórmula V back then. The song underwent eleven different arrangements and musical styles over the years and is performed by well-known singers. The first version is sung by Ana Belén and David San José and is used in the first nine seasons. The second version is sung by and is used in season ten. The third version is sung by Rosario Flores, titled her ninth studio album, and is used in season eleven. The fourth version is sung by , former member of the rock band Tequila, and is used in season twelve. The fifth version is sung by Estrella Morente and is used in season thirteen. The sixth version is sung by Miguel Bosé and is used in season fourteen. The seventh version is sung by the rock band Los Secretos and is used in seasons fifteen and sixteen. The eighth version is sung by Miguel Ríos and is used in seasons seventeen, eighteen and nineteen. The ninth version is sung by Ana Torroja and is used in season twenty. The tenth version is sung by Rozalén and is used in season twenty-one. The eleventh version is sung by Raphael and is used in season twenty-two. The first version, sung by Ana Belén and David San José, is used again in season twenty-three.
Plot Origins