El clon
El Clon (English: The Clone) is a Spanish-language telenovela produced by the U.S. network Telemundo in co-production with Colombia's Caracol Televisión and Brazil's Rede Globo, which premiered on February 15, 2010, and concluded on October 29, 2010, spanning 137 episodes.[1] It is an adaptation of the Brazilian telenovela O Clone, originally created by Glória Perez and aired by Rede Globo from October 1, 2001, to June 15, 2002.[2] The series follows the forbidden romance between Jade, a young Moroccan Muslim woman who relocates to Miami after becoming orphaned, and Lucas, an American man from a privileged family, whose relationship is severed by familial and religious opposition rooted in Islamic traditions.[2] Years later, the narrative incorporates human cloning when Lucas's scientist godfather creates a genetic duplicate of him named Daniel following the death of Lucas's brother, introducing conflicts over identity, ethics, and rekindled affections.[1] Protagonized by Sandra Echeverría as Jade and Mauricio Ochmann as both Lucas and Daniel, with supporting roles by Saúl Lisazo, Gabriela Spanic, and Roberto Moll, the telenovela examines intercultural tensions, the rigidity of conservative Muslim customs against Western individualism, and speculative biotechnology.[1] The production garnered viewership in Latin America and among Spanish-speaking audiences in the U.S., noted for its dramatic fusion of soap opera tropes with portrayals of belly dancing, Quranic references, and cloning science, though the remake diverged in casting and some plot emphases from the original.[2]Origins and Development
Adaptation from O Clone
El Clon is a Spanish-language remake of the Brazilian telenovela O Clone, created by Glória Perez and produced by Rede Globo for its original run of 221 episodes from October 1, 2001, to June 15, 2002.[3] The adaptation retained the core storyline centered on a forbidden romance between a young Brazilian man and a Moroccan Muslim woman, intertwined with themes of human cloning, cultural clashes between Western and Islamic traditions, and familial pressures.[4] This narrative framework, which drew international attention for its exploration of scientific ethics and religious conservatism, was preserved to appeal to Hispanic audiences while updating elements for contemporary production standards.[5] The remake emerged from a co-production agreement between Telemundo Studios and Globo TV International, announced on May 12, 2008, specifically to revive O Clone for the U.S. Latino market.[6] Production began in Colombia under Telemundo Studios, incorporating the original screenwriter Glória Perez and director Jayme Monjardim to ensure fidelity to the source material's script and vision.[6] Unlike the Brazilian original, which was filmed primarily in Rio de Janeiro and Morocco, the adaptation utilized locations in Bogotá and Girardot, Colombia, with additional scenes shot in Fez, Morocco, to replicate key cultural settings.[7] Airing on Telemundo starting February 15, 2010, El Clon consisted of 183 episodes, a reduction from the original's length to fit the network's scheduling demands.[8][1] The version featured a predominantly Latin American cast, including Mexican actress Sandra Echeverría as Jade and Argentine actor Saúl Lisazo as Lucas, replacing Brazilian leads Giovanna Antonelli and Murilo Benício, to enhance accessibility for Spanish-speaking viewers.[8] While no major plot alterations were publicly detailed by the production team, the remake emphasized visual and performative updates, such as modernized dialogue and production techniques, without deviating from Perez's foundational emphasis on causal tensions between personal desires and societal norms.[5]Pre-production and scripting
The scripting for El Clon was developed as an adaptation of the original Brazilian telenovela O Clone, penned by Glória Perez and aired on Rede Globo from October 1, 2001, to June 15, 2002.[9] The Spanish-language version's screenplay was handled by Roberto Stopello and Sandra Velasco, who translated and localized the narrative while retaining core elements like the forbidden romance between protagonists Lucas and Jade, alongside themes of cloning and cultural clashes.[10] Glória Perez provided oversight and explicitly approved the adaptation process to ensure fidelity to her vision, as confirmed in pre-launch discussions.[9] Pre-production efforts commenced in earnest by mid-2009, coinciding with Telemundo's co-production agreement with Rede Globo and RTI Producciones.[11] Key activities included casting photo sessions and logistical planning documented as early as October 6, 2009, to prepare for filming in high definition across locations in Colombia, Brazil, and simulated Moroccan sets.[12] Initial development talks had surfaced by May 2008, when Telemundo executives outlined ambitions for the remake to surpass the original's international impact, focusing on expanded market appeal in Hispanic audiences.[9] This phase emphasized script refinements to incorporate contemporary sensibilities while preserving Perez's emphasis on ethical dilemmas surrounding human cloning and intercultural tensions.[2]Production Details
Casting process
The production team for Telemundo's El Clon, led by executive producer Hugo León Ferrer and RTI Televisión, selected Mauricio Ochmann to portray the dual roles of Lucas Ferrer and his clone Osvaldo Daniel, capitalizing on the actor's recent lead performance in the network's Victorinos (2009).[2] Sandra Echeverría was cast as the female protagonist Jade Mebarak, following her role in Marina (2006), with the pairing announced in February 2010 as a reunion of the two Mexican actors to leverage established on-screen chemistry for the remake's central romance.[13] Supporting roles were filled by seasoned performers including Saúl Lisazo as Leonardo Ferrer, Roberto Moll as the scientist Augusto Albieri, and Colombian actress Andrea López as the antagonist Said's wife, emphasizing a multinational cast to reflect the story's cultural clashes between Latin American, Moroccan, and Muslim elements.[14] Echeverría later described the role as arriving after a three-year wait for a suitable project post-Marina, indicating direct offers from Telemundo rather than open auditions for leads, a common practice in telenovela remakes prioritizing proven talent over extensive casting calls.[15] This approach ensured efficient pre-production alignment with the Brazilian original's dynamics while adapting for Hispanic viewers.Filming locations and techniques
Principal filming for El Clon took place primarily in Colombia, where production company RTI constructed an expansive scenic city in Girardot, Cundinamarca, to replicate Moroccan architecture and Miami urban environments, allowing for efficient control over multiple settings.[16][17] Bogotá served as a base for additional interior and exterior shots, substituting for various narrative locales including parts of Fez and Miami.[18] To capture authentic cultural elements of the story's Moroccan backdrop, key exterior and establishing shots were filmed on location in Fez, Morocco, emphasizing the medina's labyrinthine streets and traditional riads for scenes involving Jade's family and Islamic customs.[5] Supplementary footage was shot in other Middle Eastern sites to enhance the exoticism of Ali's heritage and the plot's cultural clashes.[16] Miami exteriors, particularly South Beach sequences depicting Lucas's world and romantic encounters, were recorded directly in Florida to leverage the area's distinctive Art Deco architecture and oceanfront for realism.[19] The production blended these location shoots with studio work in Colombia, using constructed sets for interiors like the Ferrer mansion and Albieri's lab, minimizing logistical challenges while maintaining narrative continuity across continents.[17] Techniques emphasized practical location authenticity over heavy digital effects, with cloning elements handled through narrative exposition, split-screen compositing for basic interactions, and actor performances rather than advanced CGI, aligning with telenovela conventions of cost-effective storytelling focused on drama and dialogue.[1] This approach preserved the remake's fidelity to the original Brazilian series' multi-camera setup for fluid scene transitions and ensemble blocking.Plot Summary
El Clon centers on the improbable romance between Lucas Ferrer, a young man from a privileged Miami family, and Jade Al-Salim, a Moroccan Muslim woman raised in the United States. Following the death of Jade's mother in the early 1980s, her uncle Ali relocates her to Morocco to immerse her in traditional Islamic family life and culture, away from Western influences. There, Lucas, vacationing with his family, encounters Jade, sparking an intense attraction fraught with barriers posed by her religion, customs, and arranged marriage prospects.[2][20] The narrative advances through the couple's separation, driven by Jade's adherence to familial and religious obligations, including her marriage to Said, a devout Muslim cousin. Parallel storylines involve Lucas's family dynamics, including his twin brother Diego and godfather Dr. Albieri, a pioneering geneticist obsessed with human cloning after experimenting successfully with animals. A tragic accident claims Diego's life, prompting Albieri to secretly clone Lucas using preserved embryonic cells, producing Daniel—a genetic duplicate who physically mirrors a young Lucas but develops independently.[21][8] Decades later, adult Lucas and Jade reunite amid personal upheavals, rekindling their passion, but the emergence of Daniel introduces a profound ethical and emotional triangle, questioning identity, destiny, and the boundaries of science. Subplots explore intergenerational conflicts, drug addiction within Lucas's family, and the tensions between modernity and tradition in Muslim communities, set across Miami, Morocco, and other locales. The series, spanning 2010 episodes from February 15 to November 5, examines how cloning disrupts natural familial and romantic bonds.[22][23]Core Themes
Cloning and ethical implications
In El Clon, the cloning subplot revolves around geneticist Dr. Augusto Albieri, who secretly creates a human clone named Daniel using DNA extracted from Lucas Ferrer, the twin brother of Albieri's deceased godson Diego, following a fatal car accident. Albieri justifies the procedure as a scientific triumph to overcome death and push boundaries, selecting an infertile surrogate named Deusa to gestate the embryo after her husband's consent, though Daniel is ultimately raised by Dora, a woman who discovers and adopts him as her own son. This narrative device integrates cloning into broader familial and romantic conflicts, particularly as Daniel matures and encounters Lucas, sparking tensions over identity and rivalry for Jade's affections. The series portrays ethical dilemmas through Albieri's hubris, depicting him as a well-intentioned but reckless innovator who evades oversight to "break ethical barriers" in pursuit of progress, a stance he defends explicitly in dialogues with colleagues. Daniel's personal anguish underscores questions of humanity and autonomy: he implores Albieri to conceal his cloned origins from authorities to avoid being perceived as a "freak," reflecting fears of dehumanization and social stigma associated with clones lacking full agency or recognition as individuals. The plot further examines consent violations, as Lucas remains unaware of the unauthorized use of his genetic material, raising issues of bodily integrity and proprietary rights over one's DNA in reproductive technologies. Religious perspectives amplify the ethical scrutiny, with Muslim characters like Ali arguing that cloning defies divine will by replicating life artificially, asserting that each soul is uniquely created by God and must endure its natural lifecycle, including mortality, rather than being engineered as a surrogate for the dead. This clashes with Albieri's secular rationalism, portraying science as encroaching on spiritual domains and potentially eroding moral absolutes. The surrogate arrangement with Deusa introduces reproductive ethics, highlighting exploitation risks for infertile women and the commodification of gestation, as she carries Daniel without forming a lasting parental bond. Critics of the original Brazilian precursor O Clone—upon which El Clon is directly adapted—have noted that while social and ethical facets like the clone's potential soul, personhood, and societal integration are introduced early, their deeper psychological ramifications, such as identity fragmentation and familial displacement, unfold gradually, often subordinated to melodramatic elements until later episodes. The telenovela thus uses cloning not merely as a plot catalyst but to probe tensions between empirical scientific advancement and immutable ethical principles, though it prioritizes narrative sensationalism over rigorous philosophical resolution.Cultural and religious conflicts
The narrative of El Clon prominently features conflicts arising from the intersection of traditional Islamic Moroccan culture and Western individualism, particularly through the romance between Jade, a young Muslim woman, and Lucas, a Brazilian man from a Catholic family background. Jade, initially raised in Miami after fleeing Morocco, returns to her uncle Ali's household following her mother's death, confronting rigid enforcement of Islamic customs such as veiling, gender segregation, and familial authority that starkly contrast with her prior exposure to American freedoms.[5] This adjustment precipitates ongoing tensions, including her forced marriage to Said, who embodies patriarchal norms by practicing polygamy—taking a second wife, Rania, which exacerbates Jade's sense of entrapment and highlights intra-Islamic debates over spousal rights and fidelity.[24] Religious differences amplify these cultural divides, as Jade's adherence to Islamic prohibitions on premarital relations and interfaith unions clashes with Lucas's secular-leaning Catholic upbringing, leading to clandestine meetings and eventual separation driven by familial religious edicts. Ali, a devout Muslim scholar, invokes Quranic principles to justify controlling women's autonomy, portraying religion as a barrier to personal choice, while Lucas's family offers nominal opposition rooted in Christian moral reservations rather than doctrinal rigor.[25] The series depicts broader societal frictions, such as honor-based violence threats against Jade for defying traditions and the exoticization of Moroccan bazaars and mosques as symbols of otherness, underscoring a binary between Islamic communalism and Western individualism.[26] These conflicts extend to ethical dilemmas within Muslim characters, including Said's internal struggle between religious permission for multiple wives and emotional monogamy, and Latifa's defense of polygamy as divinely sanctioned despite personal jealousy. Critics have noted the portrayal reinforces stereotypes of Muslim women as oppressed, with Jade's arc symbolizing a push toward modernization against religious conservatism, though the narrative resolves tensions through love transcending faith rather than doctrinal reconciliation.[27] Such depictions, while fictional, drew from real cultural practices in Moroccan society, including Sharia-influenced family law that prioritizes male guardianship, contributing to the telenovela's appeal in Latin America by dramatizing perceived incompatibilities between Islam and liberal values.[5]Family dynamics and personal struggles
In El Clon, family structures reflect deep cultural divides, with Jade's extended Muslim kin imposing rigid patriarchal norms that prioritize religious conformity and arranged unions over individual desires. Her uncle Zoraide functions as a domineering guardian, enforcing seclusion and obedience on female relatives like Jade and Latiffa, which exacerbates intergenerational conflicts when younger members, such as Zamira, pursue interfaith romances defying familial edicts.[28][29] This dynamic underscores causal pressures from tradition-bound households, where parental authority suppresses personal agency, often resulting in elopements or suppressed rebellions. Lucas's Western family, by contrast, navigates more fluid but emotionally turbulent bonds marked by grief, infidelity, and scientific hubris. Following his father's death in a plane crash on September 11, 2001—mirroring real-world events—Lucas contends with his mother Marisa's detachment and his stepfather Leonardo's ethical lapses in cloning research, straining nuclear ties through unspoken resentments and divided loyalties.[20][30] Albieri's paternalistic fixation on creating Lucas's clone, Daniel, further disrupts relational stability, as his godfather-like role to Daniel fosters identity confusion and rivalry within the household. Personal struggles amplify these familial fractures, particularly through youth rebellion and addiction. Natalia, Lucas's daughter, spirals into drug dependency amid perceived parental neglect, culminating in a rehab stint that exposes lapses in monitoring by her mother Marisa, whose own history of relational instability contributes to the cycle.[30][31] Jade grapples with internalized conflict between her forbidden love for Lucas and obligatory marriage to Said, embodying the psychological toll of cultural assimilation failures, while Daniel's emergence as a clone provokes existential crises over autonomy and belonging, challenging notions of selfhood independent of biological origins.[28][5]Cast and Characters
The telenovela El Clon features a principal ensemble cast portraying characters entangled in themes of romance, cultural identity, and scientific ethics across settings in Miami and Morocco. Mauricio Ochmann leads in a triple role as Lucas Ferrer, Diego Ferrer (Lucas's twin brother), and Osvaldo Daniel (Lucas's human clone created through experimental biotechnology), depicting a privileged young man whose life is upended by forbidden love and identity crises.[14][32] Sandra Echeverría stars as Jade Mebarak, the central female protagonist, a young Muslim woman from Morocco who rebels against traditional family expectations in pursuit of personal freedom and cross-cultural romance.[14][32] Supporting roles include Saúl Lisazo as Said Hashim, Jade's possessive husband who embodies rigid patriarchal norms within an immigrant Muslim family.[8][14] Juan Pablo Raba portrays Zein, a wealthy club owner and antagonist who complicates romantic entanglements through manipulation and rivalry.[8] Andrea López plays Marisa Antonelli, Lucas's ex-girlfriend entangled in personal and familial dramas involving infidelity and social status.[14]| Actor | Character | Role Overview |
|---|---|---|
| Mauricio Ochmann | Lucas Ferrer / Diego Ferrer / Osvaldo Daniel | Protagonist and his twin/clone; central to cloning plot and love triangle with Jade.[14][32] |
| Sandra Echeverría | Jade Mebarak | Moroccan immigrant defying cultural and religious constraints for love.[14][32] |
| Saúl Lisazo | Said Hashim | Jade's husband; represents traditional Islamic family authority and jealousy.[8][14] |
| Juan Pablo Raba | Zein | Antagonistic club owner pursuing Jade and clashing with protagonists.[8] |
| Andrea López | Marisa Antonelli | Lucas's former partner; involved in secondary romantic and social conflicts.[14] |
| Roberto Moll | Augusto Alfaro | Businessman and father figure influencing Lucas's world.[14][32] |
| Luz Stella Luengas | Zoraida | Jade's supportive aunt; bridges cultural gaps in the family dynamic.[14][32] |
| Lucy Martínez | Mamá Rosa | Maternal figure providing comic relief and household stability.[14][32] |