Reporter Maria Caamaño looks into the newly released “Rebelde” reboot and how it compares to the original.
Maria: On January 5th, 2022, “Rebelde” fans finally got their long awaited reboot of the internationally successful Mexican telenovela – 16 years after the original’s end.
Maria: The Mexican reboot teen drama series is based on the telenovela of the same name aired from 2004 to 2006.
Maria: The original “Rebelde”, which was based off of the Argentinian telenovela “Rebelde Way”, was an international success – with the cast forming a pop group that topped the charts in the early 2000s. The group, who were known as RBD, released nine studio albums, received Latin Grammy nominations, sold out various concert venues and sold over 15 million records worldwide.
Maria: The group disbanded in 2009, but according to the Washington Post, their fans have stayed active throughout the years with a virtual concert and reunion and their music being added to streaming services like Spotify.
Maria: The new reboot – similarly to the original – centers on students at the Elite Way School part of the Music Excellence Program, who form a band to compete in the school’s famous Battle of the Bands.
Maria: It has also maintained certain elements from the original, such as the secret society La Logia’s return to EWS as well as the original cast and characters coming back to be a part of the reboot.
Maria: Weinberg first-year Denise Sanchez believes that the reboot’s been highly awaited because of the original’s success.
Denise: “Rebelde” was like such an iconic show and like it has so, so many fans from like all over Latin America. And since it got so much attention and so much popularity within these past few years, I feel like a lot of people have tried to remake this show in different ways. And I feel like Netflix kind of wanted to bring it back and introduce it to new audiences.
Denise: I haven’t watched it completely, but so far…I mean I guess it’s like really interesting. I do think that there are moments that I’m just like, “Uhh…” I mean, it’s like whatever. It’s not gonna be like the original. But, I mean I like how it’s a little bit more diverse. Or they’re trying to make it a little bit more diverse and inclusive. But I don’t think it like lives up to the original.
Maria: The series has received praise for its attempts at being more inclusive than the original, through its incorporation of more LGBTQ+ storylines and a more racially diverse cast.
Maria: Now to be completely honest, I have never watched the original “Rebelde”, but was very curious as to what the reboot would be like. So I convinced my roommates to binge watch it with me and see what the hype was about.
Maria: Despite not being able to catch nods to the original, the plot was easy to understand for someone who had never seen the first version. The series took the classic twists and turns of a telenovela, but at the end of the day what stood out to me the most was the music.
Maria: The reboot, like the original version, came out with its own original soundtrack including their more modern take on RBD classics, American pop songs, popular reggaeton anthems, and their own new tracks that dip their toes into genres like trap. The original song “Pensando en ti” was released ahead of the reboot to build up excitement – and succeeded.
Maria: One of my roommates, Natalia Camino, also found that the music was what brought together both the old and new fans of “Rebelde”.
Natalia: Something else I really liked was their modern takes on really popular songs, as well as some covers of the original songs as well. I think it’s a like way to like bring together Gen Z and the Millennials. Just bringing us all together under this cultural phenomena that is Rebelde and I think that’s really cool. I think “Pensando en ti”, which is an original song they made for the show, is really good. Like I listen to it on my free time. Not just from the show. I think some of their covers are also really good. So yeah. I like the music in general.
Maria: On January 9th, 2022, the series was renewed for a second season. And you best believe I’ll be watching.
Maria: For WNUR News, this has been Maria Caamaño.
