Streaming platforms are reviving Latin American literature

Latin American literature is experiencing a second youth through successful film adaptations and series on streaming platforms, several decades after it conquered readers around the world. Films based on classic novels such as One Century of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquez, The Wanderings of the Fool by Mario Vargas Llosa and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende are already available or are about to be released on Netflix, Prime Video and Vix. Among these adaptations is that of the comic strip Mafalda, the famous Argentine girl created by Quino, which will be transformed into an animated series directed by Juan Jose Campanella, winner of the Oscar for El secreto de sus ojos (2009).

• Why are these works so sought after?

According to Francisco Ramos, vice president for Latin America at Netflix, it is not only the literary fame of these writings that makes them attractive, but also their captivating stories, which deeply reflect the culture of the countries of origin: "They are very beautiful stories, which tell very interesting things about the culture of these countries." Works such as One Hundred Years of Solitude or Pedro Paramo contain distinctive elements of "Colombianity" or "Mexicanity," which give them authenticity and allow them to be recognized globally.

• Streaming, an expanding market

The demand for new content is greater than ever. A 2024 Digital TV Research report estimates that the number of subscribers to streaming platforms in Latin America will grow by 50% by 2029, reaching 165 million households. This trend is driving massive investments in original content. For example, Netflix recently announced a $1 billion investment in productions made in Mexico over the next four years, thus strengthening the development of the Latin American audiovisual industry.

• Large-scale adaptations and major investments

Among the most ambitious projects is the series One Hundred Years of Solitude, which debuted in the last month of last year and quickly ranked in the top 3 in the world for non-English-speaking series. For this production, the team rebuilt four life-size versions of the fictional city of Macondo near Ibague, Colombia. Also in April, Netflix will release The Eternaut, an adaptation of the cult science fiction comic from the 1950s, which depicts an alien invasion in the form of a deadly snowfall that destroys almost all life on Earth. The series will star Ricardo Darín, one of the most acclaimed Argentine actors. In this context, Latin American literature is once again becoming a global phenomenon, this time on screens around the world.