By Bethonie Butler
La reina (the queen) is back.
The third season of Telemundo’s hit series “Queen of the South” ("La Reina del Sur") premiered recently reuniting the world with Teresa Mendoza (Kate del Castillo), the antiheroine at the centre of a drug-trafficking empire she inherited amid tragedy in the show’s first episode.
"La Reina" broke records for Telemundo when it premiered in 2011 (and led to an English-language adaptation that ended its five-season run last year).
It also marked an international breakout for Del Castillo, a veteran Mexican American actress.
Teresa, who went to prison in the US at the end of last season, travels across Latin America in the latest instalment, finding herself at Peru’s Machu Picchu; Bolivi’'s sprawling salt flat, Salar de Uyuni; and Santa Marta in Colombia.
Del Castillo talked to The Washington Post about what to expect from the country-hopping new season, feeling protective over Teresa and how "La Reina" influenced the increasingly international TV landscape.
She said: “She’s stronger than ever physically, but also mentally, because she spent four years in confinement in this jail in the United States. A woman like Teresa Mendoza, being isolated for so long, it just increases her thirst for revenge, for justice.
“It’s still the same ‘Queen of the South’ – ‘La Reina del Sur’ – but now we have different writers; we're going to different places in Latin America. Latin America is going to be shown like you've never seen it before.”
Reflecting on her character’s journey, she shared: “That’s why I love what I do. My career has given me so much and has taken me to places that I might have never gone by myself.
“The second season, we went to Russia, Romania, Italy, but now, for me, it was even better because now it was time to have ‘La Reina del Sur’ in Suramérica (South America).
“We hired actors from every single one of those places. So, the Mexicans are real Mexicans, the Argentinians are real Argentinians and so on.”
With streaming platforms exposing viewers to content from different countries, subtitles have become the new norm.
She added: “Personally, I like to keep it real. So I don’t like listening (to a show) in another language – I'd rather read subtitles. And the good thing about ("La Reina") is that you can listen to it now however you want.
“For me, it’s very important because now Americans, they are getting used to reading subtitles. It’s great because now they are much more open to watching shows – from Latin America, from Europe, from Asia – and I think that’s awesome.
“Everything is changing and everything is getting much better for all of us, I think.
“There’s so much work right now. When I first got to the United States, Americans they didn’t hire me because they wouldn’t like to hear my accent.
“So I spent a lot of money, you know, on accent coaches and this and that. And now everything has changed. And I’m very happy because now I can work much more with my own accent.”
Are the roles rolling in thick and fast?
“Not as fast as I would like. Yes, they all talk about inclusion. But still, I receive scripts all the time with so many stereotypes and I’m getting tired of it. I actually am very tired of it.
“And that’s why I created my own production company, so I can just do whatever I want instead of having to teach the industry about who we are.
“You know, it’s about time… It’s just ignorance, pure ignorance. And I think it needs to change. But it’s not. So we have to bear with that. And we have, as Latinos, to let the people who are doing these narratives learn a little bit more about who we are.”
On her character striking a chord with audiences across the globe, she laughed: “Oh, my God. So many people, they say beautiful things, especially about the character, about Teresa Mendoza being this woman that has to go through so much.
“And she’s a survivor and she was a victim, but she doesn’t victimise herself. All these things make this character unique and approachable, and that’s why people relate so much with her, because she’s real.
“She's an antiheroine, full of defects; she’s flawed in so many ways. That’s what I like about her. And I wish we could see more characters like her in American television, in (the) mainstream.
“For us, Latinas, it’s great because she's not sexualised in any way – she’s just smart because she’s smart.”
Del Castillo added: “Yes, and I’m very grateful because Telemundo and Marcos Santana, who is the showrunner, they listen to me. And I love it because they know that I know the character inside out.
“So I give them tips. I read every single episode before they are approved and they listen to my notes. I really defend (Teresa) in so many ways because this is such a unique character that I don’t want her to do things that she wouldn’t do.
“Sometimes the writers want her to do things just to add something cool. And I say ‘yes, but not that’ or ‘yes, that’. So, it’s a fine line also, for me to talk to them and that they listen to me, but also not finding myself too protective of her. But I just can’t help it.
“At the end of the second season, they wanted me to (end up) with this guy, like a beautiful family. No, that’s not Teresa. All the men in her life die. So, sorry, that cannot be the ending.
“Because she does not need a man to be happy. She has her daughter and that’s it. That’s one of the things, as a woman, that I would defend, especially a character like Teresa. Those little things, they listen to me, thank God.”