Esmeralda is a Mexican telenovela produced by Salvador Mejía for Televisa in 1997. It is a remake of the 1970 Venezuelan telenovela of the same name, written by Delia Fiallo.
It stars Leticia Calderón, Fernando Colunga, Enrique Lizalde, Laura Zapata, Salvador Pineda and Ignacio López Tarso.
On Monday, May 5, 1997, Canal de las Estrellas started broadcasting Esmeralda weekdays at 8:00pm, replacing Mujer, casos de la vida real. The last episode was broadcast on Friday, November 14, 1997 with Desencuentro replacing it the following Monday.
It was the first collaboration between Fernando Colunga and Juan Pablo Gamboa, who would both later work in La usurpadora (1998), which is also a production of Mejia.
In the United States, it was first broadcast on Univision from December 15, 1997 to July 9, 1998.
In 1998 it was named Best Telenovela of the Year by the TVyNovelas Awards.
Contents
Plot
Rodolfo Peñarreal (Enrique Lizalde) is obsessed with having a son. After several miscarriages, his wife, Blanca (Raquel Morell), becomes pregnant again. One night, a baby girl is born, but it is believed she was stillborn.
In the same town, but in a more humble home, a baby boy is born, but his mother dies during childbirth. The midwife and Crisanta (Dina de Marco), Blanca's nanny, with the best intentions and hoping to appease Rodolfo, decide to switch the babies.
While Blanca is unconscious, Crisanta gives the midwife a pair of emerald earrings, forcing her to forget what happened that night. Once the exchange has been made, the midwife, Dominga (Raquel Olmedo), realizes that the baby girl is not dead, but it is now too late to correct the mistake.
Thus, the boy born in a miserable shack sees his first light in the opulence of a grand house, while the beautiful girl, born with a silver spoon in her mouth, takes her first steps amidst dilapidated walls and misery.
Esmeralda (Leticia Calderón), the Peñarreal baby girl, was born blind, but the kindness of her heart grants her the light to be happy and the hope that one day she will find love. Her eyes are "the eyes of love".
Time passes, and the destinies of both children, Esmeralda and José Armando (Fernando Colunga), intertwine when they fall in love at first sight. However, obsession, desire, family interests, a woman's false love, and the Peñarreal family's pride in upholding their lineage destroy every noble feeling.
Esmeralda and José Armando will be the victims in this sea of resentment, which little by little submerges them in the darkness of heartbreak.
Cast
Main cast
Leticia Calderón as Esmeralda
Fernando Colunga as José Armando
Enrique Lizalde as Rodolfo
Laura Zapata as Fátima
Salvador Pineda as Lucio
Ignacio López Tarso as Melesio
Supporting cast
Gustavo Rojo as Bernardo
Irán Eory as Sister Piedad
Noé Murayama as Fermín
Elsa Cárdenas as Hortensia
Raúl Padilla "Chóforo" as Troleibús
Nicky Mondellini as Dr. Muñoz
Dina de Marco as Crisanta
Elsa Navarrete as Aurora
Esther Rinaldi as Florecita
Rosita Pelayo as Hilda
Juan Carlos Serrán / Rafael Amador as Dionisio
Juan Pablo Gamboa as Álvaro
María Luisa Alcalá as Socorro
Alejandro Ruiz as Adrián
Nora Salinas as Graciela
Rafael del Villar as Sebastián
Sergio Jurado as Estrada
Raquel Morell as Blanca
Raquel Pankowsky as Juana
Raquel Olmedo as Dominga
Ana Patricia Rojo as Georgfina
Guest star
Horacio Vera as Ciriaco
International broadcast
Argentina: Telefe
Australia: Seven Network (2000)
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Mreža Plus
Brazil: SBT (2000; 2025 re-run)
Bulgaria: Nova (1999), 7 dni (2002 re-run)
Chile: Mega, La Red (re-run)
Colombia: Canal 1
Croatia: HRT 1 (1998), Doma TV (re-run)
Dominican Republic: Telemicro
Ecuador: Gamavisión
Equatorial Guinea: TVGE (2009)
Ghana: TV3 (2000)
Greece: Star Channel (1999)
Hungary: RTL (1998), Story TV (re-run), Izaura TV (2 reruns: 2025, 2026)
India: StarPlus
Indonesia: SCTV (1998; 3 re-runs: 1999, 2001, 2004); MDTV (2026 re-run); one unofficial television series adaptation (Diva, RCTI, 2008)
Israel: Viva
Italy: Lady Channel, Rete 4 (re-run), Telenorba (re-run)
Lebanon: LBCI (1999; 2007 re-run)
Macedonia: MRT
Malaysia: TV3 (1998), Astro Bella (2012 re-run)