La Piloto: The Start of Something Great



La Piloto: The Start of Something Great
This story possesses many of the characteristics of a classic telenovela such as opposing socioeconomic backgrounds, personal biases among characters, complicated relationships, and major plot twists that leave you wanting more! In the telenovela “La Piloto”, we follow the story of a beautiful, young woman named Yolanda Cadena whose main goal in life is to become a Pilot. Within the first few episodes we already see many obstacles in her path as she begins this journey, a main one being that she is not a man. It is made very clear early on that women are not meant to be pilots in this time and place. She is told this multiple times by clerks at flight schools, current pilots, and even her own loved ones. Multiple times she is told to give up on this dream and to put her strengths and talents elsewhere but she is not discouraged. Another obstacle faced by our main character is her distrust in people, men in particular. Within the first episodes we see her get taken advantage of by multiple men who believe they can overpower her, yet in the face of their perverted views, Yolanda grows into a strong, clever woman who now knows how to defend herself both physically and emotionally. Yolanda struggles keeping a job due to this behavior of her superiors which leaves her feeling very unsafe and unsure in her own life. Eventually Yolanda finds herself becoming a courier for a drug trafficking ring while working as a flight attendant, which opens up the story of this telenovela in many ways. One of which is the development of tricky friendships. Multiple other characters are introduced that already hint at the demise of our favorite characters, such as Zulima who trapped Yolanda into this world of drugs in the first place.

While this is a very contemporary telenovela, we can still see very prominent details of classic telenovelas. A major one being a love triangle and an internal struggle of right versus wrong. Our main character, Yolanda, is initially observed developing romantic feelings toward another flight attendant whose real name is Dave. However, Yolanda is unaware that Dave is an undercover DEA agent trying to capture notorious drug lord, John Lucio. It just so happens that John Lucio is the leader of the drug trafficking ring that Yolanda has been roped into working for. Within the first few episodes we also see a connection form between John and Yolanda as he promises to teach her to become a pilot and they begin to spend much more time together. So in this scenario, a love triangle is not as prevalent as a battle for Yolanda’s heart between these two men instead. I can only assume that we will see an internal struggle within Yolanda as well, as she contemplates what is right and wrong in her own life. The men in this story come from completely different sides of the spectrum so it can be assumed that this will become a challenge for Yolanda. I very much look forward to continuing this telenovela and watching how it further develops its characters and plot in new and exciting ways.

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