Bolívar, una lucha admirable (English: Bolívar, an admirable fight), or simply Bolívar, is a Colombian Spanish-language historical drama television series created by Juana Uribe, based on the life of Venezuelan liberator Simón Bolívar. The series stars Luis Gerónimo Abreu as Bolívar as an adult, José Ramón Barreto as Bolívar as a young man, Irene Esser as Bolívar's wife María Teresa del Toro, and Shany Nadan as his lover Manuela Sáenz. Maximiliano Gómez stars as Bolívar as a child. It was released on Netflix worldwide, except for Colombia, on 21 June 2019, followed by its debut in Colombia on Caracol Televisión on 18 September 2019.
The show is made up of 60 episodes that document the events of Bolívar's life from the age of seven until his death, primarily focusing on his formation as the liberator of several South American countries and his romantic engagements. However, the cast and crew also describe the show as an attempt to remove the veil of heroism covering the man and re-humanize him.
It was popular in Latin America, but the telenovela style and format alienated international viewers. Before its release, the show was publicly criticized by Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, with commenters believing he was concerned that a less legendary image of Bolívar would further reduce his popular support.
Plot The series features the life of Simón Bolívar in three stages, all played by different actors.
Book 1 In his youth, Simón enjoys all the luxuries of a criollo life until his mother, then grandfather, die, leaving his future in the hands of his lecherous uncle Carlos, who also terrorizes the Bolívar slaves with the connivance of the corrupt judge Rivera. Simón, an active child, finds it hard to respond to traditional tutelage and is put under the care of a free-thinker, Simón Rodríguez, watching as the Spanish crown punishes dissenters. As he ages into young adulthood, he initially joins the military, but finds more success as a statesman, and travels to Spain to both further his education and seek the title afforded his name.
Book 2 Arriving in Spain, Simón moves in with two of his wayward uncles while he is taught by a tutor. He fails to win back the family's noble title from the Court, but impresses the Queen, who orders Rivera's removal as judge and his replacement by Felipe, who enters into an illicit affair with Simón's sister Maria Antonio. Simón meets María Teresa del Toro and marries her after a overcoming opposition from her father and a jealous suitor. Upon arriving in Venezuela, María Teresa helps out at Simón's hacienda and is well regarded by the slaves; however, she dies after contracting yellow fever while purchasing back Simón's house slave Matea. Simón vows he will live in her spirit and never marry again.
Simón travels to Paris to drown his sorrows and is reunited with Simón Rodríguez, while his uncle Carlos dies destitute in Venezuela. Simón is encouraged to recover by his friends, and ultimately enrages Napoleon's adopted son enough to have himself firmly barred from the city; he returns to Venezuela to meet with the Caracas junta trying to govern Venezuela and propose a movement to independence. However, his efforts are thwarted by the vain Francisco de Miranda, leading to the Spanish reconquering Venezuela, but not before Simón has Miranda captured by the Spanish in revenge for the latter attempting to negotiate a last-minute surrender. Simón reestablishes himself in New Granada and leads a second campaign to liberate Venezuela, but is thwarted again by political jealousies and flees to Jamaica as the Spanish return.
In Ecuador, a young Manuela Sáenz gets into trouble at her convent. As she grows up, she is scarred after witnessing the Quito Revolution, but resolves to support the independence movement. Her father Simón arranges for her to be taken in by a sympathetic uncle who is also a priest. Manuela ends up sleeping with a Royalist soldier who takes advantage of her political views and pretends to be a revolutionary. The resulting scandal leads to Manuela being taken in by her stepmother, who teaches her how to act with caution. Manuela reluctantly accepts an offer of marriage from an English doctor, James Thorne, and the two move to Lima.
Book 3 An adult Simón returns to Venezuela and camps out in the Llanos aided by Generals José Antonio Páez, and Francisco de Paula Santander as well as a force of British Legionnaires that include Colonel Daniel O'Leary, who becomes Simón's loyal chronicler. Simón fails to convince Páez to accompany him on his campaign to liberate New Granada, but the latter agrees to send some of his best soldiers under Jose Rondon to accompany Simón and Santander. After a grueling march through the Andes, Simón defeats the Spanish at Vargas Swamp and Boyaca before liberating Bogota. As he sets off towards Peru, Simón appoints Santander as vice president to rule on his behalf in Colombia, but Santander's struggles to establish law and order in the new Gran Colombia come into conflict with Simón's constant demands for resources to remove the Spanish from South America altogether.
Manuela returns to Quito and helps out Simón's forces in the Battle of Pichincha. She catches Simón's attention at a ball, sparking a long-term romance that culminates with her being Simón's constant companion despite opposition from James, Lima's high society, and Colonel José María Córdoba. With the Spanish defeat at the Battle of Ayacucho, Simón returns to Bogota, followed afterwards by Manuela. Their relationship is interrupted by Simón's continuing conflict with Santander and his supporters, culminating in the Septembrine Conspiracy in which Simón, with Manuela's help, narrowly survives a plot to assassinate him by Santander's supporters. Despite Santander being exiled as punishment, Simón is worn out by the ongoing political conflict, his failing health, and the death of Córdoba. He resigns shortly afterwards and prepares to go into exile abroad as Gran Colombia breaks apart, only to die in Santa Marta as Manuela grieves at being unable to accompany him.
Cast and characters An extensive cast list was published in July 2019 by Peruvian outlet El Comercio. In March 2018, Caracol announced members of the cast.
Luis Gerónimo Abreu as Simón Bolívar José Ramón Barreto as Young Simón Maximiliano Gómez as Child Simón as Manuela Sáenz Rosmeri Marval as María Antonia Bolívar Palacios Erick Rodríguez as Pablo Clemente Palacios Adrián Makala as José Palacios (mayordomo) Irene Esser as María Teresa Rodríguez del Toro y Alaysa Mauro Donetti as Feliciano Palacios de Aguirre y Ariztía-Sojo y Gil de Arratia Álvaro Bayona as Carlos Palacios y Blanco Juan Ángel as Bernardino del Toro Alayza Nohely Arteaga as María de la Concepción Palacios y Blanco Bryan Ruiz as Juan Vicente Bolívar Leónidas Urbina as José Antonio Páez Hans Martínez as Francisco de Paula Santander Juan Fernando Sánchez as José María Córdova Jefferson Quiñones as Dionisio Bolívar Adolfo Murillo as Child Dionisio Mauricio Mejía as Juan José Rondón Ed Hughes as Daniel Florencio O'Leary Juan Carlos Ortega as General James Rooke Abril Schreiber as Pepita Adelaida Buscato as Lucía Carlos Gutiérrez as Joaquín Montesinos Bárbara Perea as Hipólita Bolívar Margoth Velásquez as Tomasa Jorge Sánchez as Luis Tinoco Ana Harlem as Matea Bolívar
Juan de Xaraba as José Patricio de Rivera Pablo Soler as Secretario Oídor Laura Leyton as Juana Nepomucena Giroly Gutiérrez as Doctor Virgilio Trespalacios Pedro Roda as Soldado Ponte Esperanza Rivas as Mirta María Carlos Andrés Ramírez as Antonio Nariño Manuel Vallejo as Víctor Félix Antequera as Francisco de Miranda José María Galeano as Felipe Martínez
Production Development The show was one of Colombia's most expensive to produce ever, with its producers describing it as the "most ambitious series in the history of Colombian television." It was created by Caracol and co-produced with Netflix, which has a global distribution deal for the series; Netflix has previously distributed several Caracol shows, including The Girl, The Queen of Flow, Undercover Law, and Surviving Escobar: Alias JJ. The show is not dubbed into English, unlike other Spanish-language media on Netflix, but has subtitles in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
According to Semana, Caracol did not use deadlines when creating the series, instead letting their teams work to make the show as good as it could be. Additionally, as the landmark series produced for the company's 50th anniversary and the bicentennial of independence, it was reportedly given "unequaled scrutiny". The producers considered many influences and potential creatives for the show, looking at the best of Colombian telenovelas like Yo soy Betty, la fea, and talent including screenwriter Julio Jimenez and actor Diego Álvarez. Ultimately, Juana Uribe was chosen to be showrunner and head writer. Uribe then brought on two historians, a researcher, and three writers "who had read practically every biography in existence" about Bolívar. Rather than a straight telenovela, the show has been described as an historical biography or period drama, as well.
As a period drama, the show used costume design to present the period accurately; the hats worn by Manuela have been described as exact to the different locales she inhabits, as well as period. Shany Nadan also commented that because of the different views on personal appearance at the time, "it did not matter if [she] showed up with rumpled hair" to film, as that is how it would have been in reality.
Casting and characterization
On 7 March 2018, José Ramón Barreto and Irene Esser were confirmed as protagonists of the first part of the story. Luis Gerónimo Abreu was confirmed for the second part, along with Shany Nadan to depict Manuela Sáenz. Of the three actors to play Bolívar, only one is not Venezuelan: the Colombian actor Maximiliano Gómez. About 400 actors are used in the series, with 6,000 extras.
The storytelling intention during the conception of the series was discussed by Abreu in interviews. According to BBC Mundo, the show "intersperses the story of the young and orphaned Bolívar and the angry, idealistic and passionate Bolívar"; in his interview, Abreu said that the creative team did this because they "wanted to humanize him, with his defects and his mistakes, [...] Because Bolívar was not a bronze superhero like the statues, but a human being, rather small and modest, who without superpowers became a superhero of flesh and blood."
To create the character, Abreu, Barreto, and the writers and directors had meetings where they built their version of Bolívar. They designed him in a way to bring him down to a realistic level rather than be the hero taught in history classes, because, according to Abreu, Venezuelan people think "he was a superhero or that he had a space hammer or that a radioactive spider bit him", referring to popular Marvel Comics superheroes. Barreto explains this further, saying that while he felt honored to play the hero he grew up with, he also hoped that the series would allow people to interrogate Bolívar's life and "question for themselves the cult that has been given to 'the military, the boots, the leaders'." Barreto says he hopes for this because of the nation's political crisis, saying that Venezuela in 2019 "doesn't need a liberator [...] We need 30 million liberators, a population who become aware of the historical moment we are in and who do not wait for a liberator. That would be a mistake. We need to mature as a society so as not to repeat those historical errors."