There are many examples of adaptations of stories from our own communities made by people who aren’t Latine. The House of the Spirits isn’t the only one. But it is, perhaps, one of the most well-known. There’s a 1994 movie starring Meryl Streep, Winona Ryder, and Jeremy Irons. All great actors. None of them part of our communities.
Now, Prime Video is bringing us another The House of the Spirits (La casa de los espíritus), this time in Spanish. During the Mexico premiere of the show, we had a chance to talk to the cast and showrunners about the importance of letting Latines tell their own stories and how their own experiences with the book.
For Javiera Balmaceda Pascal, who serves as the head of content for Amazon Prime Video Latin America, telling authentic stories is her north star. “As the head of the studio for Latin America, this is my central focus; it is the most important thing. It’s what I am here to do, or rather, what the studio is here to do: showcase the richness of Latin American history. And what better way to do that than to have these stories told by Latinos themselves?” she told us. “Audiences today are very intelligent, and they can instantly sniff out any insincerity.”
“I believe the key lies in telling Latin American stories through the eyes of Latinos,” she added. “And specifically, I think The House of the Spirits gives us that very opportunity to demonstrate Latin American talent, talent from across the entire Ibero-American region, without sacrificing that authenticity.”
Alfonso Herrera, who plays Esteban Trueba, had her own story to support this. “I was working on a TV series in the United States. My therapist is from the US, and we were discussing family matters. And when a pivotal topic came up, something that made her say: “Okay, stop. Hold on. That thing you just said? Say it in Spanish.””
“I was really struck by the fact that she asked me to do that. So, I asked her, “Why in Spanish?” She replied, “Because when you say that in your native tongue, it creates a powerful resonance within your conscious mind, and the healing process is much more profound.”
I believe this concept applies directly to The House of the Spirits. It’s a story written by a Latin American author while in exile in Venezuela; a story written as a love letter to her grandfather, who was on the verge of passing away. When that story is told in Spanish, performed by Ibero-American actors whose native language *is* Spanish, and filmed in the very homeland of Isabel Allende, I believe it possesses a far greater power and resonance.”
Everyone in the cast had a story with the book that made telling this story the right way important. Dolores Fonzi, who plays a middle-aged version of Clara del Valle, read it young. “I was 17 when the book came out. It was the very first full-length novel that I really dove into and actually finished.”
But it wasn’t just about nostalgia for her. “It’s an iconic book, not just in the global sense that we all know, but in my own life. It revealed a narrative that felt very intimate, very much about repression, and the *how* of it all, you know? The violence, and the *way* it happened. But I loved it.”
Fernanda Castillo, who plays Férula Trueba, agreed. “When I read it, I remember being really struck by all these different positions that women hold. And there are women who, over time, come to understand that we are all one. That the struggle of one is the struggle of all. That the violence of one is the violence of all.”
Now, they’re all trying to bring that story to an audience that, perhaps, is finally ready to delve into Latin America’s ugly past, from the perspective of its own people.
The first three episodes of The House of the Spirits are available to stream on Prime Video.