Cuéntame cómo pasó

Cuéntame cómo pasó (Spanish, 'Tell me how it happened'), usually shortened to Cuéntame and also known in English as Remember When, is a Spanish prime-time television drama series which has been broadcast on La 1 of Televisión Española since 2001. It recounts the experiences of a middle-class family, the Alcántaras (Spanish: Los Alcántara), during the last years of the rule of Francisco Franco and the Spanish transition to democracy.[1]

This article is about the Spanish TV series. For Argentinian series, see Cuéntame cómo pasó (Argentina).
Cuéntame cómo pasó
Also known asCuéntame
Remember When
GenreDrama, Historical, Comedy
Created byMiguel Ángel Bernardeau
Written byEduardo Ladrón de Guevara
Alberto Macías
Joaquín Oristrell
StarringImanol Arias
Ana Duato
Ricardo Gómez
María Galiana
Pablo Rivero
Irene Visedo
Paula Gallego
José Sancho
Juan Echanove
Ana Arias
Lluvia Rojo
Elena Rivera
Narrated byCarlos Hipólito
Opening themeCuéntame
Country of originSpain
Original languageSpanish
No. of seasons21 (+ 1 confirmed)
No. of episodes389 + 5 unnumbered
Production
Executive producerMiguel Ángel Bernardeau
Production locationsMadrid
Arahuetes (Segovia) as Sagrillas (Albacete)
Running time60–90 mins
Production companyGrupo Ganga Producciones for Televisión Española
Release
Original networkLa 1, TVE Internacional
Original release13 September 2001 (2001-09-13) –
present
External links
Website
Production website

Cuéntame cómo pasó has received critical acclaim throughout most of its run and has received numerous national and international awards making it the most awarded series in the history of television in Spain. With 21 seasons, 389 episodes and 5 unnumbered special episodes it is also the longest running scripted prime-time Spanish series in the history of television.[2]

Development

Cuéntame cómo pasó was created to celebrate the first 25 years since Spain's transition to democracy, and its didactic spirit is clearly evident in some of the episodes. In special themed episodes it includes documentary interviews with historical figures of the era speaking about how they experienced important historic acts like the assassination of then Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco[3] or the death of Francisco Franco.[4]

Initially the series was to be titled Nuestro Ayer, but it finally was titled Cuéntame. This name comes from the famous song Cuéntame by the Spanish 1960s pop band Fórmula V that is used as the series opening theme. In March 2002, during the first season, the title was changed to Cuéntame cómo pasó because Cuéntame was already registered.[5]

The first episode was broadcast on 13 September 2001. The series begins in April 1968 with the arrival of television to the house of the Alcántaras just in time to watch the victory of Massiel at the Eurovision Song Contest.[6] The story reflects the changes in Spain beginning that day. Through situations, characters, and attitudes of the era, the series evokes a wistful reminiscence of those times. In this respect it can be compared to the series The Wonder Years, which did the same thing for US history.

In March 2020, TVE and Grupo Ganga announced that the series, after its 20th season, would be renewed for two more seasons, with the storyline moving firmly into the 1990s.[7]

21st season marks the first time that the series breaks its premise of narrating the past from the present to show the present. The events in both times are shown for the first time, with the characters facing 1992 and the COVID-19 pandemic alternately.[8]

International versions

The series has been adapted in Portugal by RTP as Conta-me como foi starring Miguel Guilherme and Rita Blanco,[9] in Italy by RAI as Raccontami with Massimo Ghini and Lunetta Savino,[10] in Argentina by Televisión Pública Argentina as Cuéntame cómo pasó with Nicolás Cabré and Malena Solda[11] and in Greece by ERT as Τα Καλύτερά μας Χρόνια with Meletis Elias and Katerina Papoutsaki.[12]

Awards

Cuéntame cómo pasó has received critical acclaim throughout most of its run and has received numerous national and international awards, including the first National Television Award awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 2009,[13] two Premios Ondas (the International Television Award in 2002[14] and for Best National Television Series in 2003[15]), three New York Latin ACE Awards (for Best Scenic Program in Television in 2008[16] and Special Awards for Imanol Arias in 2009[17] and Ana Duato in 2010[18]) and a Silver Bird Prize in the Seoul International Drama Awards as the runner-up for Best Drama Series in 2007.[19] It was also nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series in 2003.[20] The series, its cast and its technical staff have received more than a hundred awards overall.[21]

In other media

A short clip from the series' first episode was shown at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London among clips of famous British television programmes, music videos and films as part of "Frankie and June say...thanks Tim" sequence.[22]

Plot

Antonio Alcántara (Imanol Arias) and Mercedes Fernández (Ana Duato) are a married couple that have emigrated in the 1960s from Sagrillas, a (fictional) small village in the province of Albacete, to San Genaro, a (also fictional) working-class suburb in Madrid, along with her mother Herminia (María Galiana) and their three children, Inés (Irene Visedo), Toni (Pablo Rivero) and Carlos (Ricardo Gómez) seeking a better life away from the hardships of an impoverished countryside. Antonio works as an office boy at the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters in the mornings and at Don Pablo's (José Sancho) printing house in the afternoons. Mercedes and Herminia make trousers for a department store at home while doing the housekeeping. Inés works at Nieves' (Rosario Pardo) hair salon across the street along with Pili (Lluvia Rojo), Toni is starting a master's degree in Law making him the first Alcántara going to university and Carlos spends his school days with his best friends Josete (Santiago Crespo) and Luis (Manuel Dios). With great effort and hard work they are able to purchase in installments their first television set, their first washing machine, their first car (a SEAT 800) and even spend their first vacations at Benidorm where they see the sea for the first time.

As time goes by, Antonio leaves his jobs at the Ministry and the printing house to work for Don Pablo in other business. One of them, the building company Construcciones Nueva York ends up being a big fraud planned by Don Pablo and his partners in order to run off with the money and blame Antonio. Antonio is taken to court, the truth is revealed in the trial and finally Don Pablo is accused and imprisoned. After this, he starts working in other printing house, Gráficas Usillos, business that he eventually purchases and renames to Alcántara Rotopress. He runs for the first free democratic general election after Franco in the list of UCD for the Congress of Deputies for the Albacete constituency. He does not get the seat but he is directly appointed by Adolfo Suárez, General Director of Agrarian Production of the Ministry of Agriculture under the Second Suárez Cabinet, a position located at the same office of which he was a subordinate years ago. With his new position and with the printing house running well, the family is able to move their residence from the humble San Genaro to the upper class Salamanca neighbourhood. He sells the printing house, is removed from the position in the Ministry and he starts a flags and banners factory named Estandartes y Banderas alongside his best friend Desi (Roberto Cairo). When the Banco de Granada, the bank where Antonio and Mercedes have all their savings and the mortgage of the Salamanca neighbourhood apartment, declares bankruptcy, their financial situation becomes incredibly difficult and they have to move back to San Genaro, selling at a loss their luxurious apartment in order to cover their debts. After this, he starts an olive oil distributor with his brother Miguel (Juan Echanove), but their business is ruined when they are falsely accused of causing the toxic oil syndrome. Antonio has also problems with gambling, his health gets worse when he develops angina and he has an affair that puts his marriage in serious danger. With the money recovered from the Banco de Granada years after its bankruptcy, and the lands the family has in Sagrillas, they open up the vineyard and winery Bodega Alcántara Fernández e Hijos and they run the business until a devastating fire destroys the winery. He starts a travel agency named Viajes Milano and he even gets the licence to drive coaches.

Mercedes, tired of sewing trousers, starts to design and sell her own outfits. The sales go well, so she teams up with Nieves to open a boutique named Meyni in the hair salon premises, hiring Pili as shop assistant and using the back room as an atelier. As the business prospers, Don Pablo decides to invest his money in it, and the clothing production is moved to a fully equipped dressmaking factory at Don Pablo's premises, hiring a team of dressmakers and even hiring Antonio and Desi as salesmen. Meyni reaches its peak of success when they run a fashion show in front of Carmen Polo, but the company does not outlast the economic crisis and they have finally to close the factory. After Nieves' departure, Mercedes joins together with Pili and they reconvert the boutique into a unisex hair salon. After giving birth to María, the Alcántaras' fourth child, she decides to finish her secondary school studies and even completes a master's degree in Economics. She also works for some time as a real estate agent. She suffers a health scare when she is diagnosed with breast cancer and has a mastectomy. With her experience in design and in the fashion industry she starts a firm to make swimwear for women with a mastectomy and once completely recovered she is one of the first women in Spain passing a breast reconstruction. In the family winery she takes care of the bookkeeping. To help battered women in a shelter she teaches them sewing first and she transforms the sewing workshop into a firm to make clothing for women of all sizes later.

Inés, after breaking up with her lifelong boyfriend, travels to London with Nieves. There she falls in love with Mike (William Miller) and she decides not to come back. When they break up, she returns and she starts an acting career with the help of Eugenio (Pere Ponce), the new San Genaro parish young priest. When Mike appears in Madrid looking for her, she decides to follow him to Ibiza to live in a hippie commune. Antonio and Mercedes try by all means to take her back but she doesn't return until she gets disappointed of her life there. Back in Madrid she helps Eugenio with the social events in the parish. They spend so many time together that they finally fall in love with each other. Eugenio passes a secularization and they get married. Inés continues with her acting career and she accidentally gets connected with a member of the terrorist group ETA for which she gets arrested and imprisoned. When released, waiting to be taken to court and being pregnant, she and Eugenio decide to escape to France, where their son Antonio Oriol is born and where they break up. Later she moves to Argentina with Oriol. She is able to return to Spain after the amnesty is promulgated. Once in Madrid she gets into La Movida Madrileña nightlife and she gets into drugs, while Oriol lives with Eugenio in Cuenca. When the family becomes aware of her addiction, they take her to Sagrillas and help her to get clean. After this, her acting career starts to take off, having the leading role in several movies and stage plays. When Eugenio dies in a car accident, Inés takes Oriol to live with her. In the family winery she helps Antonio with the foreign orders. She has a relationship with Marcos (Carlos Cuevas) for some time. While teaching drama in an academy she falls in love with Belén (Beatriz Argüello).

Toni finishes his master's degree while getting into trouble, along with his young love Marta (Anna Allen), actively protesting against the Régime. After university, he does his compulsory military service and starts working as a journalist in the newspaper Pueblo. There he meets Juana (Cristina Alcázar), his fellow photographer, whom he falls in love with and finally gets married in Gibraltar. In the meantime, he quits his job at the newspaper when he is hired by Antonio to manage a magazine he is launching and to run his printing house. Later, he leaves those jobs to join a firm of labor lawyers. His marriage does not last long and Juana leaves him. After the separation and losing his job, he moves to Rome from where he returns immediately after he finds out about Mercedes' illness. Back in Madrid he starts working in a radio station. Two years after their breakup, he runs into Juana who is accompanied by a little boy named Santiago (Víctor Garrido). Juana later reveals that she was pregnant when she left him, and that Santiago is his son. While radio broadcasting live from the Congress of Deputies the vote to elect Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo as the country's new Prime Minister, he lives the 23-F attempt coup d'état from inside. He moves to London, where Juana is living, to be near his son for some time. Back in Madrid he starts working as an investigative journalist, and puts his life in risk investigating several shady complots. Fearing for his life and wanting to avoid putting his family in danger, he flies to London. When accepting a position in Televisión Española's news service, he dares to return to Madrid with his new fiancée Deborah (Paloma Bloyd), and he becomes a Telediario news anchor first and an Informe Semanal reporter later. Toni and Deborah get married, she gets pregnant and they have a daughter named Sol.

Carlos spends his childhood going to school and playing in a vacant lot with Josete and Luis. He drives Antonio, Mercedes and Herminia crazy because he is a restless child. When he is in high school, Karina (Elena Rivera) and her mother move into the apartment next door. He gets into reading and writing and he wins a prize with a short story he writes. He starts dating Karina but the relationship has its ups and downs. Instead of starting a degree upon finishing high school, he decides to do his compulsory military service. There he meets Marcelo (Nao Albet). After service, he starts a master's degree in Business Management in a private school, but he does not finish the first year. He opens a nightclub and he is accused of drugs smuggling. As he does not want to betray his business partner, that is the one who is smuggling, he is arrested and imprisoned. In prison he is attacked and almost dies, but is released when found to be innocent. After prison, he continues to write and he even publishes his first novel. He is also in a long sporadic relationship with Julia (Claudia Traisac), his summer love from Sagrillas. When finding Luis in a bad way, he takes him to Sagrillas and helps him to recover, while taking care of the winery. When recovered, Luis takes over the winery's everyday management. Josete and Marcelo join them in Sagrillas and all them help Carlos to start a rural tourism small lodging named La Casa de Doña Pura as it is set at the former cottage of his deceased grandmother Pura (Terele Pávez). Karina marries another man and, after a one-night stand with Carlos, gets pregnant. She gives birth to a baby, Olivia, although it is not clear if she is Carlos' daughter or not, and when her husband finds out about the infidelity, they break up. Carlos takes care of her and the baby and, finally, he proposes and they get married. After some time working as a motorcycle courier he starts working in an advertising agency. Karina accepts a position in New York, Carlos follows her and there he starts to write down his family's story from the beginning.

The Alcántaras' story is narrated from an indefinite present by an adult Carlos (voiced by Carlos Hipólito). Their story is directly and indirectly affected by the events and the social, economical and political changes occurring in Spain since the late 1960s until the early 1990s. The Alcántaras are also direct and indirect witness of the historic acts occurring those days, including, among many others, when Antonio, Mercedes, Carlos and Miguel witness the car bombing that assassinates Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco, when Toni chronicles the Portuguese Carnation Revolution from Lisbon, when all the family queue for hours for Franco's funeral chapel, when Carlos, Karina and Josete get trapped in the Alcalá 20 nightclub fire, when Antonio and Mercedes take part in the famous game show Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez, when all the family leave El Descanso restaurant just when it suffers a terrorist attack, when Antonio proudly attends, at the Royal Palace, to the solemn signature of the agreement for which Spain and Portugal joined the European Economic Community, when Inés, Marcos and Oriol come out of the Hipercor bombing unscathed, when Toni reports live from Berlin the fall of the Wall and when Toni and his cameraman are kidnapped in Iraq during the Gulf War.

Cast and characters

List indicator(s)

This section shows characters who have appeared in the series.

  • An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the season, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
  •  O indicates an older version of the character.
  •  V indicates a voice-only role.
  •  Y indicates a younger version of the character.
  • Z indicates that the character didn't talk and was not seen close-up.

Alcántara Family
Character Portrayed by Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Antonio Alcántara Barbadillo Imanol Arias Main
Mercedes Fernández López Ana Duato Main
Herminia López Vidal María Galiana Main
Carlos Alcántara Fernández Ricardo Gómez Main
Carlos Hipólito MainV O M.O
Antonio Alcántara Fernández ("Toni") Pablo Rivero Main
Inés Alcántara Fernández Irene Visedo Main Main
Marieta Orozco G.Z
Pilar Punzano Main
María Alcántara Fernández Esmeralda García Recurring Main
Celine Peña Recurring
Paula Gallego Recurring Main G.Y
Carmen Climent Main
Silvia Abascal M.O
Purificación Barbadillo Sánchez Terele Pávez Recurring Guest
Miguel Alcántara Barbadillo Juan Echanove Guest Recurring Main
Marie Chantal Anne Marie Rosier Guest Guest Guest Guest
Françoise Alcántara Patricia Figón Guest
Aida Folch Recurring Main Guest
Francisca Ramos Fernández ("Paquita") Ana Arias Recurring Main
Eugenio Domingo Subirats Pere Ponce Recurring Main Rec. Guest Guest
Antonio Oriol Domingo Alcántara Hugo Várgues Rec.
Javier Lorenzo Recurring
Borja Fano R.O
Juana Andrade Cristina Alcázar Recurring Main Guest Rec. Recurring
Santiago Alcántara Andrade Víctor Garrido Recurring
Jan Cornet R.O
Deborah Stern Paloma Bloyd Rec. Main
Sol Alcántara Stern Carlota Rec.
María Caridad Saavedra Martín ("Karina") Elena Rivera Recurring Main Recurring Main
Marcos García de Blas Carlos Cuevas Rec. Main Rec.
Jorge Carlos Serrano-Clark Rec.
Martxelo Rubio R.O
Alba Paula Morago Rec.

Friends and acquaintances

Friends and acquaintances appearing in more than 100 episodes.

Character Portrayed by Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
José Quijo Jiménez ("Josete") Santiago Crespo Recurring Main Recurring
Ramón Pascual Manolo Cal Recurring Main Recurring
María del Pilar Villuendas García ("Pili") Lluvia Rojo Recurring Main Recurring
Desiderio Quijo ("Desi") Roberto Cairo Recurring Main Recurring
Clara Jiménez Silvia Espigado Rec. Guest Recurring Main Recurring
Valentina Rojas Alicia Hermida Main Guest Guest
Luis Gómez Bermúdez Manuel Dios Recurring Guest Guest Recurring Guest Rec.
Froilán Cardeñosa Mora Antonio Canal Guest Recurring Main Recurring Guest
Pablo Ramírez Sañudo José Sancho Main
Celestino Álvarez ("Tinín") Enrique San Francisco Main
Josefa García Peláez ("Josefina") Pepa Sarsa Recurring
Eladio Contreras Prieto ("Cervan") Tony Leblanc Main
Nieves Carranza Rosario Pardo Main Guest Recurring

Episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired Ratings Setting
First airedLast aired ViewersShare
1 33 13 September 2001 4 July 2002 5,519,000 33.7% 2 April 1968 – 3 August 1969 [23]
2 14 26 September 2002 26 December 2002 6,419,000 37.6% 15 August 1969 – 1 January 1970 [24]
3 13 3 April 2003 10 July 2003 6,746,000 42.0% 31 March 1970 – 21 July 1970 [25]
4 14 25 September 2003 1 January 2004 6,727,000 39.0% 8 September 1970 – 1 January 1971 [26]
5 13 15 April 2004 22 July 2004 5,788,000 35.3% 10 May 1971 – 12 July 1971 [27]
6 14 18 November 2004 24 February 2005 5,830,000 32.5% 27 October 1972 – 18 March 1973 [28]
7 17 22 September 2005 12 January 2006 4,969,000 28.2% 23 September 1973 – 6 January 1974 [29]
8 21 14 September 2006 8 February 2007 4,746,000 26.7% 25 April 1974 – 12 March 1975 [30]
9 22 13 September 2007 14 February 2008 3,746,000 21.0% 30 April 1975 – 7 February 1976 [31]
10 19 28 August 2008 25 December 2008 4,281,000 24.1% 16 April 1976 – 1 January 1977 [32]
11 16 3 September 2009 17 December 2009 4,074,000 22.2% 12 March 1977 – 26 December 1977 [33]
12 18 11 November 2010 17 March 2011 4,724,000 23.8% 7 June 1978 – 31 May 1979 [34]
13 18 15 September 2011 2 February 2012 4,547,000 22.7% 30 August 1979 – 11 February 1981 [35]
14 20 3 January 2013 23 May 2013 4,101,000 20.5% 23 February 1981 – February 1982 [36]
15 19 16 January 2014 5 June 2014 3,758,000 18.5% 2 July 1982 – 8 March 1983 [37]
16 19 8 January 2015 21 May 2015 3,125,000 16.1% 5 April 1983 – 21 December 1983 [38]
17 19 7 January 2016 19 May 2016 3,209,000 17.2% 5 January 1984 – 16 March 1985 [39]
18 19 12 January 2017 25 May 2017 2,928,000 17.1% 11 April 1985 – 20 October 1986 [40]
19 9 25 January 2018 22 March 2018 2,968,000 18.0% 18 January 1987 – 19 June 1987 [41]
10 13 September 2018 29 November 2018 2,341,000 15.5% June 1987 – 13 September 1988
20 10 21 March 2019 30 May 2019 2,211,000 14.2% 30 October 1988 – 6 March 1990 [42]
11 2 January 2020 19 March 2020 2,189,000 14.4% 22 December 1990 – September 1991
21 20 14 January 2021 7 February 1992 – ... [43]
March 2020 – ...
Total 389 13 September 2001 2 April 1968 – ...

The series has also 5 additional unnumbered special episodes not counted in the official episodes numeration. Season 3 and season 20 finish and season 7, season 8 and the second part of season 19 start with one of those unnumbered special episodes each.

References
  1. Remember When official synopsis
  2. Cuéntame cómo pasó has become the longest running prime-time weekly television series in Spain (In Spanish)
  3. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Episode 113: Carrero Blanco Special. The beginning of the end (In Spanish)
  4. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Episode 152: Special. And after Franco, what? (In Spanish)
  5. Cuéntame changes its name due copyright problems (In Spanish)
  6. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Episode 1: The return of the fugitive (In Spanish)
  7. Cuéntame cómo pasó renews for two more seasons (In Spanish)
  8. Puig, Francesc (13 January 2021). "'Cuéntame': From 1992 nostalgia to 2020 pandemia". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  9. Conta-me como Foi official synopsis (In Portuguese)
  10. Raccontami, the Italian Cuéntame (In Spanish)
  11. Argentinian Cuéntame cómo pasó official synopsis (In Spanish)
  12. Τα καλύτερά μας χρόνια official synopsis
  13. "Order CUL/3583/2009, 23 December, of the Ministry of Culture for which is awarded the 2009 National Television Award" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). 2 January 2010. p. 496. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  14. "2002 Premios Ondas winners list". Premios Ondas (in Spanish). Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  15. "2003 Premios Ondas winners list". Premios Ondas (in Spanish). Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  16. 2008 New York Latin ACE Awards winners list
  17. 2009 New York Latin ACE Awards winners list
  18. 2010 New York Latin ACE Awards winners list
  19. "2007 Seoul International Drama Awards winners list". Seoul International Drama Awards. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  20. 2003 International Emmy Award winners list
  21. Cuéntame cómo pasó full list of awards
  22. Cuéntame cómo pasó appears in the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony (In Spanish)
  23. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 1 (In Spanish)
  24. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 2 (In Spanish)
  25. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 3 (In Spanish)
  26. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 4 (In Spanish)
  27. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 5 (In Spanish)
  28. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 6 (In Spanish)
  29. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 7 (In Spanish)
  30. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 8 (In Spanish)
  31. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 9 (In Spanish)
  32. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 10 (In Spanish)
  33. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 11 (In Spanish)
  34. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 12 (In Spanish)
  35. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 13 (In Spanish)
  36. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 14 (In Spanish)
  37. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 15 (In Spanish)
  38. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 16 (In Spanish)
  39. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 17 (In Spanish)
  40. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 18 (In Spanish)
  41. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 19 (In Spanish)
  42. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 20 (In Spanish)
  43. Cuéntame cómo pasó - Season 21 (In Spanish)

Further reading
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