Tropes in La Esclava Blanca

The telenovela "La Esclava Blanca" focuses on a young white girl named Victoria who is raised by escaped slaves on a Palenque near Santa Marta, Columbia. The time period ranges throughout the early to mid-1800s, and focuses on the romance between Miguel, a biracial slave, unaware that his master is his father, and Victoria, as she attempts to find her family again after the destruction of the Palenque. "La Esclava Blanca" can hardly be labeled as a traditional or "Rosa" telenovela, even as the setting might see the perfect women as virginal and submissive to her husband. Victoria is presented very clearly as a strong, independent young woman; even as a girl, she is seen defying her parents’ wishes and venturing into the forest with Miguel in search of others who look like her. She may look like a traditional Cinderella, as she is beautiful and poor, but unlike the protagonist of a rosa telenovela, she does not play victim to her circumstances and instead draws up a plan to be with her family again. Even though the telenovela is quite contemporary and develops its characters in a very modern way, it still holds true to some tropes seen in rosa telenovelas.

After the Palenque is destroyed, Victoria is sent to Spain where she spends the next ten years in a nunnery, learning the ways of Christianity. When she learns a slave owner in Santa Marta requires a wife, she poses as the high-class lady as a way of reuniting with her family and Miguel.  Here we see the classic obstacles separating the lovers, as they do not recognize each other. It is frustrating for the viewer to see how close the two characters get to each other, but they have no idea who they are looking at because of the amount of time that has passed. Another obstacle is Victoria's false identity as a lady from Spain and she cannot blow her cover as the man she is betrothed would want her dead if he knew who she really was.

Another trope portrayed in the telenovela is the despecho, or at least a version of it. Traditionally, the despecho would take place in a bar, however, Miguel's despecho, in which he laments his memories of Victoria, see him around a bonfire with the other slaves, drinking watered down alcohol, and complaining to his friends while a woman sings a working song. This take on the despecho shows how even though the time period and setting are very different, the act of getting drunk with friends to the sound of music remains constant, and helps viewers relate to the characters’ sorrows. 

Even though "La Esclava Blanca" is most definitely a "de Ruptura" telenovela, the evil mother-in-law character is still prevalent within the show. Adela, the mother of the slave owner whom Victoria is to marry, is seen as a nasty and evil woman. Adela is extremely elitist, in that she will only accept a wife for her son if she is from Spain, as she sees this as the only correct place a lady can be raised, and American born women differ from her values too much. She is also seen being demeaning to Eugenia, the wife of one of her son's business partners, because her skin is too dark and she thinks she may have some "black blood" in her. The betrothal of her son to Victoria is ironic, however, because Victoria was born in Columbia, making her American, the very thing Adela would never want for her son.