Aracely Arámbula Talks About Vix+ Thriller ‘La Rebelión’ And Its Female Empowerment Message

Once upon a time, Spanish-language telenovelas and series focused on enticing female audiences with rose-colored, happily-ever after storylines in which the heroines overcame adversity and usually ended up with their soulmates. And they avoided taboo topics. Well, no more.

The new ViX+ original series La Rebelión (The Rebellion), revolving around four strong women characters, tackles sensitive issues such as toxic relationships, mental health, generational traumas, marital relationships, social class conflicts and female empowerment.

The series stars Aracely Arámbula (La Madrastra, La Doña) as Monica, Daniela Vega (Érase una vez… pero ya no, Una Mujer Fantástica) as Jana, Ana Serradilla (La Viuda Negra, Rubirosa) as Alejandra and Adriana Paz (Perdida, Vis a vis) as Ivonne. They’re four high school friends whose lives haven’t quite turned out as they had dreamed.

After some introspection, feeling unappreciated and unsatisfied with their current situations, the friends all decide to abandon their lives, rebelling against their marriages to start anew. That’s where the show gets its title, which was originally La Rebelión de las Esposas (The Wives’ Rebellion). But they never imagined their journey of self-discovery would involve them in a murder.

“It’s a story that is told in a shorter time frame, but with a lot of suspense, a lot of drama and real-life issues,” says telenovela star Arámbula. “I don’t feel repressed or rebellious, but I like to play these characters that allow me to live those stories. I really like how Monica takes the lead in revisiting with her friends what they wanted to do in life and how things unfold.”

While there is an element of suspense, the series explores second chances, how women are valued and perceived, and female empowerment, something Arámbula appreciates.

“I have had the fortune of making two very important and strong career roles. I really enjoyed portraying Altagracia Sandoval – a very empowered woman – in La doña,” the actress says about her character on the Telemundo series where she was a ruthless businesswoman seeking revenge.

“I really enjoyed doing it because there’s a tendency for women’s roles to be those that repress them, making them suffer and cry. I prefer to play empowered characters over those that are submissive and cry. The other role is from the telenovela La Madrastra. I chose this character because she is a woman who takes control of her life, who faces reality and who fights until justice is done, but she also has hope.”

La Madrastra is currently airing on Univision. La Rebelión is Arámbula’s first streaming series.

“I really wanted to enter this world of series on digital platforms, which are opening more possibilities of telling different stories and reaching broader audiences in many countries,” she says. “I love doing telenovelas, but I love tackling characters from real life, where you can bring this message that opens women’s eyes to the reality that how we live today is very different from 20 years ago.”

La Rebelión was originally a Pantaya project, absorbed into TelevisaUnivision’s subscription-based premium tier ViX+, following its acquisition by the company. The series can be seen in the U.S. and Latin America.

The six-episode series was directed by Iñaki Peñafiel (Express, The Cook of Castamar) and Chava Cartas (MexZombies, Mirreyes vs Godinez) and written by Adriana Pelusi (Control Z). It also features performances by Alex De La Madrid (Monarca, El Señor de los Cielos), Arap Bethke (Amores Permitidos, Buscando a Frida), Macarena García (Las de la última fila), Erik Guecha (Dale Gas) and Blanca Guerra (Los Pecados de Bárbara).

The series premiered its first two episodes on November 17. A new episode drops every Thursday. The finale is December 15.