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Set in the world of beauty pageants in the ‘80s, “Señorita 89” is a period thriller that raises thought provoking questions. The series, which premiered on February 27th on the streaming service Pantaya, stars a cast of talented actors and questions the controversial industry of beauty pageants during a time where gender norms were harsher than they are today.
The series is set in Mexico and follows 32 beauty pageant contestants desperate to win the crown. The finalists for Miss Mexico 1989 all meet at La Encantada, a secluded and beautiful estate where they’ll spend the next three months, undergoing a rigorous training program determined to polish the women and find a winner at all costs. Plastic surgery, rigorous diets, and all sorts of manipulation are on the table.
Directed by Argentine filmmaker Lucia Puenzo and produced by “Spencer” director Pablo Larrain, the series tackles gender and power through a topic that a lot of people know and love. Beauty pageants are important in places all over the world, but in South America their impact is huge; to be a beauty pageant contestant is a dream for many young women, something that could provide them with fame and financial security.
“We realized very quickly that beauty was really an excuse to talk about other things that interested us. The reality is the beauty pageant universe has been part of a media conglomerate in every country in Latin America,” said Puenzo in an interview with Forbes. “And for these media conglomerates, beauty pageants were a way to infuse glamour while using young women for other things. This political thriller looks at issues that would scandalize us today, but were 100 percent accepted at the time. We expose the brutal truth of how the entertainment world treated the bodies of young women.”
“Señorita 89” stars Bárbara López, Ximena Romo, Ianis Guerrero and more. The first two episodes are available to stream in the all Spanish streaming service Pantaya.