Juliantina is the couple from the show Amar A Muerte which was a one season Mexican Telenovela. The couple in this storyline are Valentina and Juliana.
Val is a wealthy socialite. When we first meet her she is studying to be a journalist, has the boyfriend she is expected to have and has just lost her father. She is in mourning and tries to cope with the grief by drinking and partying.
The youngest of three siblings, Val has always been the baby of the family and the one most dependant on her father, especially since her mother’s death when she was a child. With his sudden and unexpected death at his wedding Val is left reeling with no one to turn to.
Juliana is a girl on the run from a drug cartel. She and Lupe, her mother, are newly arrived in Mexico after fleeing from the US. They are fleeing after Juliana’s hitman father stole money from the cartel, was then imprisoned and electrocuted. The cartel, though, is convinced that Lupe and Juliana know where the money is.
On a side note, Juliana’s father’s death was not necessarily a bad thing. He was a violent man who was not very nice to his family.
That’s the backstory that you get to discover as the episodes roll on. Now we get to the good stuff.
Juls first sees Val as they pass one another on the street. Val is crying and having an argument with Lucho, her boyfriend. Juls watches as Val and Lucho have an argument and Lucho leaves with a huff. Juls then follows Val into the park and they have an adorable meeting. It turns out that Juls is exactly what Val needs in her life and the two become fast friends and eventually more. Through a series of somewhere around 20 hours of scenes Juliana and Valentina go through the highs and lows of discovering real love, having to come out and telling the world to stuff itself because they just want to be together.
It’s a dramatic romance if ever I saw one which means there is a break up but let me assure you that they do end up together in the end, no matter how bleak it seems for a while.
But, this is a telenovela, which means the main plot (which is a minor part of the Juliantina scenes) is that of death taking a hand in destiny and giving characters in the show a helping hand by switching their souls when they die. So expect some fun revelations of the mystical kind as the show progresses.
The Technical Side
It has a decent production quality. I appreciated how good the cinematography and sound were for a made for TV short run show.
My Favourite Parts
The chemistry between the actresses is phenomenal. The fact that they got a happy ending makes me a super chuffed viewer and I adored that their story was done with a lot of care.
Heads Up
The show is Mexican and therefore Spanish. The link I provide, though, does have english subtitles. Also worth noting is that the scenes in the link are only those of the Juliantina couple so you can watch and enjoy them without the other storylines.
This is a note for lesbian viewers and this part does contain spoilers so skip to the next part if you don’t want things to be spoilt for you. Juls and Val both sleep with guys at different points in the show. There is kissing and then the morning after kind of wake up in bed, so you don’t see anything super graphic but for those here for the lesbian vibes it can be a bit of thing. Both scenes are important for the character arcs though and they are not a couple at the time when either happens.
There are threats of violence and verbal threats of rape to both Juls and Val from cartel members. It doesn’t go beyond verbal threats though.
The Conclusion
This is some of the best television representation of a contemporary lesbian romance around. If you love stories about coming of age, finding out that your one true love is actually not who you thought it would be and battling the odds to finally be together then this is the show for you.
Excellent, real moments, wonderful chemistry and incredibly sweet moments make this one of my favourite shows.
Don’t let the heads up deter you, it’s such an excellent show. It’s so good in fact that Monica and I did a 39 episode podcast where we watched and discussed the show. You can catch the podcast here but watch the show first so you know what we are chatting about.
Watch Juliantina here
Bits and Bobs
- Director: Pavel Vazquez, Carlos Cock, Alejandro Lozano
- Executive Producer: Carlos Bardasano
- Writers: Carlos Eloy Castro, Leonardo Padrón
- Actors: Macarena Achaga, Bárbara López
- Number Of Seasons: 1
If you enjoyed Juliantina then read this book
Note: No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
