La reina (the queen) is back.
The third season of Telemundo’s hit series “La Reina del Sur” premiered Tuesday, reuniting the world with Teresa Mendoza (Kate del Castillo), the antiheroine at the center of a drug-trafficking empire she inherited amid tragedy in the show’s first episode. “La Reina” broke records for Telemundo when it premiered in 2011 (and led to an English-language adaptation that ended its five-season run last year). It also marked an international breakout for del Castillo, a veteran Mexican American actress.
Teresa, who went to prison in the United States at the end of last season, travels across Latin America in the latest installment, finding herself at Peru’s Machu Picchu; Bolivia’s sprawling salt flat, Salar de Uyuni; and Santa Marta in Colombia.
Del Castillo talked to The Washington Post about what to expect from the country-hopping new season, feeling protective over Teresa and how “La Reina” influenced the increasingly international TV landscape.
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(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Q: Where does the new season find Teresa, and what has her evolution been like since the first two seasons?
A: She’s stronger than ever physically, but also mentally, because she spent four years in confinement in this jail in the United States. A woman like Teresa Mendoza, being isolated for so long, it just increases her thirst for revenge, for justice. It’s still the same “Queen of the South” — “La Reina del Sur”— but now we have different writers; we’re going to different places in Latin America. Latin America is going to be shown like you’ve never seen it before.
Q: The third season takes viewers to several different countries and into various Indigenous communities that were involved in the production. Was there a place that you liked the most? And was there anything that you learned interacting with all those different people?
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A: That’s why I love what I do. My career has given me so much and has taken me to places that I might have never gone by myself. The second season, we went to Russia, Romania, Italy, but now, for me, it was even better because now it was time to have “La Reina del Sur” in Suramérica [South America]. We hired actors from every single one of those places. So, the Mexicans are real Mexicans, the Argentinians are real Argentinians and so on.
Q: Throughout the pandemic, Netflix generated a lot of buzz around non-English titles. Do you see “La Reina” as a precursor to that given how popular it has been worldwide?
A: Personally, I like to keep it real. So I don’t like listening [to a show] in another language — I’d rather read subtitles. And the good thing about [“La Reina”] is that you can listen to it now however you want. For me, it’s very important because now Americans, they are getting used to reading subtitles. It’s great because now they are much more open to watching shows — from Latin America, from Europe, from Asia — and I think that’s awesome. Everything is changing and everything is getting much better for all of us, I think.
Q: Do you think that has led to more opportunities for Latino actors in general?
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A: Absolutely. I mean, there’s so much work right now. When I first got to the United States, Americans they didn’t hire me because they wouldn’t like to hear my accent. So I spent a lot of money, you know, on accent coaches and this and that. And now everything has changed. And I’m very happy because now I can work much more with my own accent.
Q: You’ve also talked about the expectation, especially in Hollywood, that Latinos look a certain way on-screen when in fact they are all races, hair colors, eye colors. Is that changing as well?
Share this articleShareA: Not as fast as I would like. Yes, they all talk about inclusion. But still, I receive scripts all the time with so many stereotypes and I’m getting tired of it. I actually am very tired of it. And that’s why I created my own production company, so I can just do whatever I want instead of having to teach the industry about who we are. You know, it’s about time. … It’s just ignorance, pure ignorance. And I think it needs to change. But it’s not. So we have to bear with that. And we have, as Latinos, to let the people who are doing these narratives learn a little bit more about who we are.
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Q: “La Reina” is so popular and important to so any people. Has anyone approached you and said something about the show that has stuck with you?
A: Oh, my God. So many people, they say beautiful things — especially about the character, about Teresa Mendoza being this woman that has to go through so much. And she’s a survivor and she was a victim, but she doesn’t victimize herself. All these things make this character unique and approachable, and that’s why people relate so much with her, because she’s real. She’s an antiheroine, full of defects; she’s flawed in so many ways. That’s what I like about her. And I wish we could see more characters like her in American television, in [the] mainstream. For us Latinas it’s great because she’s not sexualized in any way — she’s just smart because she’s smart.
Q: How collaborative is the show? Are there opportunities to ask for things in terms of character development or even music? How much input do you have?
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A: Yes, and I’m very grateful because Telemundo and Marcos Santana, who is the showrunner, they listen to me. And I love it because they know that I know the character inside out. So I give them tips. I read every single episode before they are approved and they listen to my notes. I really defend [Teresa] in so many ways because this is such a unique character that I don’t want her to do things that she wouldn’t do. Sometimes the writers want her to do things just to add something cool. And I say “yes, but not that” or “yes, that.” So it’s a fine line also, for me to talk to them and that they listen to me, but also not finding myself too protective of her. But I just can’t help it.
Q: Not to put you on the spot, but do you have any examples?
A: At the end of the second season, they wanted me to [end up] with this guy, like a beautiful family. No, that’s not Teresa. All the men in her life die. So, sorry, that cannot be the ending. Because she does not need a man to be happy. She has her daughter and that’s it. That’s one of the things, as a woman, that I would defend, especially a character like Teresa. Those little things, they listen to me, thank God.
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