TNT Latin America’s Hasta Que Te Conocí tells the story of famous Mexican singer Juan Gabriel, who lifted himself from a life of poverty and abandonment to become a Latin American legend.

After a life of ups and downs, Alberto Aguilero Valadez evolved into El Divo de Juárez, renaming himself Juan Gabriel and becoming one of the most beloved musical figures in Latin America. The life story of the Mexican singer, songwriter, composer and record producer is told in the new show Hasta Que Te Conocí (Until I Met You), named after one of his most famous songs and starring Julián Román in the title role. The 13-episode limited series premieres with a double-episode on Monday, April 18, on TNT Latin America, and will continue to air Mondays between 9 p.m. and midnight, depending on the country.

Hasta Que Te Conocí was produced by Gabriel himself, in conjunction with Disney Media Distribution Latin America and Somos Productions. The series also will be available via TNT GO for live streaming, binge-viewing and catch-up watching. Telemundo in the U.S. and TV Azteca Mexico have plans to air the series later this year.

Leonardo Aranguibel, production director for Disney Media Distribution, The Walt Disney Company Latin America, says the reason the company decided to coproduce the biopic was to “tell real stories of struggles against adversity, of the efforts of everyday heroes to overcome obstacles.” Indeed, that’s what Juan Gabriel’s life is all about, “a wonderful example of this determination to succeed despite difficulties,” he adds.

José Leyton, creative director at TNT, says the campaign’s goal was to inform viewers that a show was premiering that told the life story of Gabriel, “who is not only a legend in Mexico, but also in many Latin American countries,” he says.

The campaign’s challenge was to create compelling pieces that would attract both the artist’s fans as well as people who had never heard of him. TNT decided to present the content as something “serious, interesting and real,” continues Leyton.

The first teasers were released during this year’s Grammy Awards, “taking advantage of the visibility a live event provides, since it tends to bring in people who don’t necessarily watch TNT every day,” says Leyton.

The pieces are meant to evoke similar emotions to those that Gabriel experienced as he struggled to escape his circumstances and make his music. The pains of the past “are part of the world introduced by Juan Gabriel, they are ideas that appear in his work and in his life,” says Leyton “but there is also success and happiness.”

This is what the series is about—the moments and people that influenced Gabriel and inspired him to cross borders, to “go beyond a musical genre, an industry, and become what he is today, a phenomenon of our culture,” says Leyton.

The promos also take viewers through the ups and downs of the artist’s fame, with his own, fictional, voice leading the narration.

In the show, Gabriel links performing with the feeling of being reborn, saying things such as: “Being born is like being asleep and waking up” and “whenever I go out on stage, I feel I am reborn.” Along these lines, a beating heart can be heard in the background as Gabriel prepares to take the stage.

But Gabriel’s entire life isn’t been spent on stage, and some of the promos highlight the dark times in his life, like when he was wrongfully imprisoned.

“For an artist everything is inspiration, even the worst moments, even the worst places.” The narrators’ voice speaks over stark scenes lit with chiaroscuro lighting, revealing a dank and dirty prison.

The longer pieces, such as the trailer below, focus on the artist’s beginnings as a young musician and his journey to success and fame. The longform promo feels more relaxed and includes more introspective and existential comments from the artist, who describes how he turned his early difficulties into inspiration, with the stage as the final destination and reward.

“There’s always a reason why,” concludes the narrator, showing the protagonist backlit on a smoky stage with that heartbeat always beating in the background.

TNT’s Leyton says the network tweaked the show’s original title logo, created by Disney, just to make it clearer for online viewers. TNT kept the original cream lettering against a blue-green background.

“We decided to simplify it because in an end page there’s only five seconds of reading,” he says. “The only thing we did was adjust some elements for easy screen reading” with Disney’s approval.

Other pieces were created using material recorded in Mexico City during filming: exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews that give the campaign “a different dimension.”

While the show is airing, TNT plans to promote every chapter and tease advances in the plot. All of the pieces are airing on TNT and other Turner channels in a cross-platform promotion.

Across social networks, such as Facebook, TNT’s social media team says “we have been focusing on highlighting the most significant moments in the career of Juan Gabriel, including fragments of his songs and popularly known quotes.”

Says Disney’s Aranguibel: “We are convinced that Hasta Que Te Conocí will touch Latin American and US Hispanic audiences, because of its extraordinary production, its close attention to detail and its fabulous cast and performances.”

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

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