I’m looking for a scene that I saw one night in a Spanish soap opera (telenovela) on TV in 1987. It aired on one of New York’s UHF Spanish channels, probably channel 41 (“Univision”; WXTV), or channel 47 (“Telemundo”; WNJU).
I won’t bother describing the scene, as it is virtually impossible for anyone here to identify something so obscure, so instead, my question is, how would I go about finding the name of this soap opera? Is there a resource or archive somewhere?
I’ve searched the websites of channel 41 and 47 (among others), but they don’t go back as far as 1987.
I did, however, manage to find the following list of telenovelas for that year. But after searching on YouTube, they’re not what I’m looking for, and some of them are not available to watch at all. (so, even if my soap is listed here, I won’t know which one it is):
Another issue that complicates my search is the fact that the soap opera I’m looking for may not even be from 1987. It might’ve been produced in 1986, or 1985, or even a bit earlier (though I can tell it’s from the 80s, not earlier than that).
Come to think of it, is there a way to inexpensively procure TV guide listings for NY for the year 1987, 1986, and 1985? That would likely be the easiest way to identify what I’m looking for (I literally just had this idea now!).
Was your telenovela from Mexico? (Back in those years the most popular telenovelas from Mexico would be shown years later in many countries). If it was so, there’s the chance that it may appear listed in some newspaper from those years.
It’s a little tricky, but in case your telenovela is a Mexican one it’s sure that is listed in the corresponding section.
The telenovela is either Mexican or Venezuelan, if I had to guess. Too bad that newspaper site is only in Spanish. Wish there was an English option, but I'll do my best to figure it out. Thanks. But there's another issue, unfortunately. I saw this soap opera in NY, so even if I manage to decipher the Spanish on that website, it won't show what was airing in New York in 1987, only in Mexico, I presume.
OK. I meant that, if the telenovela was Mexican, it must appear listed on the TV schedule in that newspaper’s site. Mexican telenovelas were exported to many countries, one of them the USA. If they were shown at the same time in both countries or even if it was delayed for the USA it must appear listed there.
I’ll try to explain how to use the site and where to find the tv lists:
Click on “Navegación Directa”, then, set the date: Año/year; mes/month; Día/day. Let’s say you set 1987, 08 (month), 11 (day). There’s no need to look for every single day 'cause it was almost the same everyday for telenovelas. Next to the first page of the paper there are the pages by number. The TV schedule ALWAYS appeared at the bottom in the SECOND page in the Classified Ads section. That’s the job, because the number of pages was always different. In this case is page 26.
At left, Canal 2 was the channel that showed most of the current telenovelas at the time. Here goes from 17:05 until 22:00, except the comedy hour at 20:00. Canal 4 would show re runs (in this case I recognize titles like Ana Del Aire, La Gata, Cristal, Lucía Sombra and El Maleficio). The other channels would show few or no telenovelas at all, in this case you can see Profesión Señora and other, listed only as “telenovela” in channel Once. It’s tricky, but 100% reliable.
I didn’t watch no telenovelas but they were part of our popular culture back in those days. El Maleficio, Rosa Salvaje, Cuna de Lobos, were very popular.
Thanks for the info and help you provided. Much appreciated. I was able to find the TV listings by scrolling through the pages, one by one. I'm going to dedicate some time to write down all the telenovelas listed, and see if I can find them on YouTube. Then, assuming I find the right one, the real work of identifying the scene I'm looking for will start. Also, a couple of days ago, I ordered TV Guides (NY edition) for 1987 and 1988. When they arrive, I'm going to sift through them and do the same. Hopefully, this multi-pronged strategy will bear some fruit.
You're welcome. There's no need to go page by page, just try to find the Classified ads section's first page, and then go to the next, where the TV listing always appeared. It is usually the last section. From those newspaper's TV listings, I would focus in Canal 2 (the first at the left), because that's where current telenovelas were shown. You'll find titles like Quinceañera or El Pecado de Oyuki. I hope you'll find it.
The telenovela is either Mexican or Venezuelan, if I had to guess. Too bad that newspaper site is only in Spanish. Wish there was an English option, but I'll do my best to figure it out. Thanks. But there's another issue, unfortunately. I saw this soap opera in NY, so even if I manage to decipher the Spanish on that website, it won't show what was airing in New York in 1987, only in Mexico, I presume.
– SceneSeeker