Heroic and hot

Passion, honour and devotion make the men of telenovelas worth fighting for on DStv screens.

- GENEVIEVE TERBLANCHE

In telenovelas, he is a Galan, a “heart-throb”. This should be a man who is handsome enough to make even an Iron Rose weak at the knees, and charming enough to sweep the most diabolical of divas off those spiked heels. The ideal Galan should be someone worth fighting over and making enemies for, otherwise you – a gorgeous, passionate woman – just look silly. He can be rich or poor, but he must be unafraid to love and have a creative touch when it comes to expressing what is in his heart. This is not a world where romance is icky girl stuff. Alas for the divas though, while a Galan aims to be true to his “One”, he is sometimes tricked into believing that his heart has been misled and then she’ll have to go out there and win him back. You can’t have a telenovela without a Galan. Here are some of our favourites…

IRON ROSE

Season 2 of Mexican telenovela Iron Rose (originally called La Doña, 2016) brought a fascinating new player into the world of determined diva Altagracia (Aracely Arambula) – León Contreras (Carlos Ponce), a noble police officer who was made to look the fool at Altagracia’s trial. And wow, did that sting! “He knows he is not perfect, but this incident hurts because he realises that there is corruption among his coworkers,” says Carlos. “He’s a family man who loves what he does. A protector. He does things by the book.”