I looked forward to seeing it with my sister who, like me, happens to laugh just like Betty in what I can only describe as a peculiar mix between a choking spell and a creaking door. I was 13 years old when I first saw Yo Soy Betty, La Fea. Luckily, Betty has a loving family and supportive friends, including her work clique – also known as “el cuartel de las feas” – and an eccentric best friend, Nicolás. In her time working for Ecomoda, a renowned textile company based in Bogotá, she is manipulated by her boss Armando and his friend Mario is emotionally abused by her boss’ fiancée, Marcela Valencia, and her friend Patricia and is bullied non-stop for her appearance. She has facial hair, glasses, and braces, and wears loose-fitting clothing that wouldn’t typically be seen as fashionable. The story centers around Betty, a kind, smart, and funny woman who is not considered attractive per her society’s standards. Betty) and Jorge Enrique Abello as Armando Mendoza. It stars Ana María Orozco as Beatriz Pinzón Solano (a.k.a. Yo Soy Betty, La Fea– or “ Ugly Betty” as it’s known in English –premiered in Colombia in 1999. Feeling too weak and foggy for anything else, I binge-watched a ridiculous number of episodes in a single day and embarked on a nostalgic journey where I reconnected with the story’s humor and quirkiness, but also with the issues it knowingly and unknowingly spotlights. A few weeks ago, while convalescing from Covid in my mother-in-law’s home in Colombia, I re-watched Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, the famed Colombian soap opera that I’d originally come across two decades ago in Costa Rica, my home country.
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