Juliantina: Love Transcends

By: Gabriela Alaniz

When Amar a Muerte premiered in late 2018, it was just another Mexican telenovela. It wasn’t until the unexpected kiss between Juliana Valdés and Valentina Carvajal happened that things really exploded on social media and it has become the talk of the international LGBT community ever since. But what could be the big deal about a kiss between two women? Simple. Amar a Muerte is produced by and for a Mexican audience, a culture that has been historically homophobic and unsupportive of the LGBT community.

The story between Juliana and Valentina, also know as Juliantina to their fans, began as a friendship. Valentina (Macarena Achaga) is the daughter of a rich media mogul, spiraling into depression and alcoholism after her father’s murder. In stark contrast to her, Juliana (Bárbara López) is the daughter of a sicario (hitman), currently on the run from the cartel that employed her father. She and her mom are new to Mexico City and penniless. These two young women come from completely different worlds, yet a chance encounter in the park brings them crashing into each other. The two become fast friends. Their chemistry and connection jumping out at the viewers from their first moment together on screen.

While Valentina is struggling with depression, constantly fighting with her boyfriend Lucho, dealing with her older sister’s feud with their stepmother Lucia and all other kinds of typical telenovela drama, she finds herself drawn to Juliana, where she finds solace and understanding. Juliana finds the same connection and support in Valentina, even as she and her mother, Lupita (Jessica Mas), try to hide from her father’s enemies, and struggle to make ends meet waiting tables and selling lottery tickets.

At first both girls think they have just found a best friend, someone to connect with when the outside world doesn’t see or understand you. A person who will support you through tough times, make you laugh with their joy, and take your problems on as their own. But with each passing moment, their hand holding, hugs, and physical affection lingers longer than it should. Their affection morphs, each girl completely unaware of the change, until the other girl is all that they can think about. But coming from a society who sees same-sex romances as a sin, neither girl really knows what is going on. Their attractions and emotions for each other catch them by surprise.

When Lupita is kidnapped by the cartel, Valentina does everything she can to support Juliana. While trying to get away from the outside world, Valentina and Juliana spend the day in the pool at Valentina’s house. It’s here, a place far from all the drama of their lives, that these two women share their first kiss. It’s tentative and nervous. Slow. Soft. Each girl reaching towards the unknown and unfamiliar, but inevitable moment of their lips meeting each other. This is something that has been building up to since their first meeting. It’s in this moment, in the confirmation of the mutal attraction between the young women, that caused an uproar with viewers.

Finally LGBT audiences were getting a slow burn romance between two women. Finally viewers were seeing a sapphic couple receive the same treatment and development as the heterosexual couples on the show. This is what has set “Juliantina” apart from other romances between women. The kiss wasn’t a ratings ploy. It wasn’t a strategy to satisfy some diversity quota. And it wasn’t something hyped and later forgotten by the writers. The romance between Juliana and Valentina was and is a well-developed, natural progression between friends who fall in love. And given that their kiss appeared in episode forty-one, the audience got thirty episodes of development and story between the two characters (the girls met in episode eleven). The viewers got it all: mutual pinning, stolen glances, lingering touches, unconditional support and friendship, and the long expected, but no less electric, first kiss. This was the slow burn romance between female friends that audience had yearned for, but never found on television.

For a few episodes we, the viewer, got to experience the sweetness, purity and simple joy of falling in love. Through Valentina and Juliana, we see the softness of first love. Every touch. Every lingering glance. And every look of longing is given its moment. And through the progression of their romance, the girls are allowed to discuss and work through any doubts, uncertainties and general questions about what this means for them as people. It doesn’t take long for Valentina and Juliana to take the next step in their relationship. The first time they sleep together is treated with the same softness and care as the rest of their relationship. Over and over Valentina asks Juliana for consent, making sure the younger girl knows that nothing will happen unless she wants it to happen. Through each held gaze, trembling hand and shy gesture, the chemistry between the two actresses is burning off the screen. (It’s important to note that in the broadcast episode of their first time, the scene that aired only showed the girls slowly undressing each other and then cuts to the morning after in bed together. After it was revealed in an interview that the scene that was filmed was longer, fans’ outcry about censorship of the scene on Twitter forced the network to release the original edit of the scene on their official site.)

Unfortunately for the love birds, reality comes crashing down when the two are later caught by Valentina’s ex-boyfriend Lucho and his best friend Sergio, who out them to Valentina’s family and friends. In a jealous fit, Lucho tries to physically attack Valentina and Juliana which leaves both girls shaken. When Eva Carvajal confronts her younger sister, demanding she no longer see the other girl, Valentina stands her ground. She defends her feelings for Juliana as being real and beautiful. But clearly all Eva is worried about is the family’s reputation when the others find out. Eva goes as far as confronting Juliana, calling her a gold digger. And like Valentina, Juliana defends her love for the youngest Carvajal. When Valentina’s school friends find out, they take to social media to mock and bully Valentina. While taken aback by the reaction, Valentina stands tall against the hateful words. The society’s homophobia is like a bucket of cold water for the two girls. Being with each other will not be easy, but being authentic to one’s self never is.

It’s important to point out that though the two girls have to fight against the homophobia of their family and friends, the show also makes it a point to say that same-sex relationships are not wrong. When Valentina’s father learns of the relationship between the girls, his first reaction is to reject the possibility of his daughter being gay. How could she be? She’s had boyfriends before. It takes his best friend to point out that it didn’t matter how many guys she had dated before, she clearly wasn’t interested in them. And it was perfectly normal for her to be interested in woman. When Juliana’s mother catches them kissing, she rejects her daughter. Going as far as asking what she did wrong to cause her to sin like this, driving a wedge between the mother and daughter. It takes continuous talks by Panchito, Lupita’s childhood friend, of the normality and decency of same-sex relationships to get Lupita to change her attitude. Panchito covers all possible homophobic arguments: Maybe it’s a fad? Same-sex relationships are natural and have always existed; It’s Immoral. Nope. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Mexico since 2010 and the world hasn’t ended because of it; But what will people say? They will say nothing because we all know or are related to people who are gay; But they can’t actually lead happy lives? Yes they can. All you have to do is love and support them. Stop judging love.

The writers are very conscious of the homophobic views within Mexico’s (and Latin America’s) very religious and conservative culture. They go out of their way to counter any argument that society could bring up to denounce or reject the relationship between Juliana and Valentina. Telling the young women’s love story is as much about entertainment as it is raising social awareness and acceptance of same-sex love.

Offscreen co-stars Bárbara López and Macarena Achaga continually support their characters’ love and the LGBT community. In interview after interview, the young women explained that they approached the fictitious relationship as they would any other love story. People fall in love the same way, no matter the gender or sexual orientation. Love is a universal human experience and that should be celebrate and respected. Cause love is love. Always. What has caught them by surprise is the outpouring of love and appreciation from viewers from all over the world. International LGBT fans have opened heir hearts to the Spanish-language show and actresses, thanking them for their honest and heartfelt performances; For bringing to life characters they could identify with and live a true-love soulmates kind of story through Juliantina.

As the fandom has grown exponentially since the character’s first kiss, the most unexpected thing has been the openness and gratitude which López and Achaga have embraced their fans. If you are in the fandom, you follow the girls on Twitter and Instagram waiting for what they will post that day. Behind the scenes photos and videos? Juliantina in bed selfie? Check. Shout outs to the fans for their support? Check. A special video for the fans of them in character, confirming their love as a rather difficult and angsty episode aired? Check. The young actresses are as appreciative of the fans as the fans are of them.

All in all, Amar A Muerte has been the biggest surprise for LGBT viewers. Never in a million years would any of us have thought that a Mexican telenovela, from a conservative religious society, would be the show that would fulfill our wildest dreams of a slow burn love story between female best friends who unexpectedly fall in love. A love story where the characters are given the same care and respect as heterosexual romances. As Juliana and Valentina pinky promise to stay true to their love no matter the obstacles that come before them, we too promise to stay with this amazing and earnest love story until the very end. Amar A Muerte airs its finale on March 3rd.