Las músicas de Betty, la fea

The Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea (1999–2001) had unprecedented and outstanding diffusion all over the world, both in its original form and through the manifold national adaptations that sprang forth throughout the 2000s, making it the most successful telenovela in history. Although the phenomenon has attracted scholarly attention, the role of music in the trajectories and transformations of this telenovela has largely been overlooked. Yet the soundtrack design and music were fundamental elements at the core of Betty’s successful worldwide circulation. The series’ soundtrack—its opening theme, source music, and popular songs—was mobilized in Yo soy Betty, la fea and in its manifold adaptations to habilitate the international circulation and local adaptation of the series, to address local audiences, to fashion the basic plot, to define the series’ aesthetics, and to adjust Betty’s ugliness-otherness to the different sociocultural realities and media contexts in which it was produced and consumed. Popular songs also participated in the promotion and commercialization of the series while extending the telenovela’s world beyond its televisual context.