Esmeralda (1997)

**"Esmeralda"** is a Mexican telenovela produced by Salvador Mejía and directed by Beatriz Sheridan for Televisa. It's a remake of a 1971 Venezuelan telenovela by the same name. It aired from May 5 to November 28, 1997 and it concluded with 137 episodes. The main stars are Leticia Calderón and Fernando Colunga.

## Synopsis

Rodolfo Peñareal is obsessed with having a male child. After many miscarriages, his wife Blanca is pregnant again. One night, a girl is born, but they believe that she was born dead.

In the same town, in another, more humble house, a boy is born, but his mother dies during labor. The midwife Dominga and Blanca's nanny Crisanta, with their best intention and with the aim to calm down Rodolfo, decide to exchange the children.

Blanca puts a pair of emerald earrings on her supposedly dead baby so that she is buried with them. Once the exchange is done, the midwife Dominga, discovers that the girl is not dead, but now it is too late to right the wrong.

In this way, the boy that was born in a miserable hut sees his first light in the opulence of a big house, while the sweet little girl who was entitled to a golden crib, gives her first steps among ramshackle walls and misery.

Esmeralda, the Peñareal's baby girl, was born blind, but the kindness of her heart provides her the light to be happy and the illusion to believe that someday she will meet love. Her eyes are the "eyes of love".

Time passes and the destiny of both of the children, Esmeralda and José Armando, comes across as they instantly fall in love. However, the obsession, the wish, the family interests, the false love of a woman and the Peñareal's pride to make their lineage prevail, destroy any noble feeling.

Esmeralda and José Armando are the victims in this sea of resentment that, little by little, submerges them into the darkness of indifference.

## Trivia

* The actor Noé Murayama was part of the cast of the telenovela from the beginning playing the character of Fermín, the gravedigger of the town and Esmeralda's great friend and counselor. Unfortunately, his work in this telenovela was inconclusive because, as a result of liver problems, Noé Murayama died on August 22, 1997 at Santelena Hospital in Mexico, D.F. when the telenovela was in the recording phase and the death of his character was not planned.
* After the death of the actor, the symbol † could be seen in the opening credits when his name appeared and his absence was justified by saying that Fermin was ill. To replace him, actor Raúl Padilla "Chóforo" joined the cast playing a new character, "El Trolebús", a man from the city who became friends with Melesio and who was in charge of helping Fermín in his work. In the last episode of the telenovela, the character of Fermín died off-screen and Esmeralda was seen next to his grave, remembering it as a tribute to Murayama.
* Actress Dina de Marco, who played the role of Blanca's nanny Crisanta also had health problems since she had cancer. She had to depart the show briefly to treat her ailment. To justify her departure, her character received news of a niece who was going to have a baby and asked her to spend a few days with her to accompany her. When she was ready to continue her work, Dina returned to the filming, professionally fulfilling her work until the end. 'Esmeralda' was her last acting job since she died on June 17, 1998.

## See also

* 'Esmeralda', 1970 Venezuelan telenovela, starring Lupita Ferrer and José Bardina.
* 'Topacio', 1984 Venezuelan telenovela, starring Grecia Colmenares and Victor Cámara.
* 'Esmeralda', 2004 Brazilian telenovela, starring Bianca Castanho and Claudio Lins.
* 'Sin tu mirada', 2017 Mexican telenovela, starring Claudia Martín and Osvaldo de León.